If you’ve ever run any advertising on Facebook (whether you did it from the Ads Manager, or you boosted a post on your business page) you’ve probably wondered which channel you should you choose: Whatsapp vs Messenger.

And if you’re an agent where Whatsapp is a primary channel of communication, you might have opted for leads to contact you directly on Whatsapp.

Whatsapp vs Messenger: which one might see you get fewer leads? 

While Whatsapp is what you use on a daily basis – and is what your clients and potential clients use to communicate with friends, family and service providers daily – choosing the Whatsapp objective may actually see you get fewer leads than if you opted for Messenger.

Why would Messenger get more leads than Whatsapp?

First a disclaimer: this is by no means a conclusion based off of more than an understanding of human behaviour.

But one really good reason why Messenger is a better lead conversion channel is due to the fact that leads can remain almost entirely anonymous until they choose to provide you with their contact information. 

Sure, you will be able to see who they are by their Facebook profile, but you will not be able to communicate with them on any other channel besides Messenger.

Whatsapp on the other hand sees first-time contacts needing to “opt in” to talking directly with you (which can cause them to second guess their decision).

How to get leads off of Messenger and into Whatsapp

Actually getting time to speak to prospects (whether over the phone, on Whatsapp chat, or in person) is vital to success in real estate: people need to trust you enough to part with their time first and their money second.

So, how do you get leads from Messenger to provide you with their contact details?

It may sound obvious, but answering their questions with well thought out answers is a good start, as well as giving away some value in the first interaction.

For example, if you’re looking to generate more seller leads, and your ad promises a free resource or a complimentary desktop valuation, send it over to the prospect via Messenger without asking for contact information first.

But follow up with an offer to help them make sense of the data and how their home fares compared to the other homes on the market in their area.

This is best done via a phone call, so requesting their number at this point makes sense.

How Popi and other personal data legislation plays into Messenger’s hands

We are living in the age of data privacy. And an increasing number of consumers are sensitive to sharing their personal information with companies and service providers who may or may not abuse their data.

It’s these same people who still need a solution to their problems (buying or selling a house), but who want to only give their personal information to businesses and service providers who they feel they can trust.

Establishing trust first is therefore crucial to taking a prospect from a lead to a potential client.

So lead with value and goodwill, and don’t put the proverbial cart before the horse.