WhatsApp is already part of business life in the UAE.
Companies use it to answer enquiries, confirm appointments, share documents, follow up on sales and resolve customer problems. In many businesses, it has become an unofficial front office.
But WhatsApp is also becoming a useful PR channel, particularly for businesses that want a direct way to share news, insights and updates with people who have chosen to hear from them.
A recent conversation with Shishir Surendran, whose company Decimal Technologies helps businesses make better use of WhatsApp, prompted me to look more closely at where the platform is heading. Shishir believes WhatsApp could increasingly bring customer service, AI, commerce and payments into one conversation.
The recent appointment of CRED founder Kunal Shah as WhatsApp’s new global head adds weight to that view. His background is in consumer behaviour, fintech and payments, rather than messaging alone.
For small businesses, however, there is a more immediate opportunity: WhatsApp Channels.
A direct route to your audience
A WhatsApp Channel allows a business or organisation to publish updates to followers without adding them to a group or exposing their phone numbers to other members.
It is a one-way broadcast tool. Followers can react to posts and respond to polls, but the Channel does not become another busy discussion group requiring constant moderation.
That makes it useful for sharing:
- Company news and announcements
- New blog posts and expert advice
- Event invitations and reminders
- Media coverage and interviews
- Leadership insights
- Useful industry updates
At Market Buzz, we use our WhatsApp Channel to share practical PR advice (like this one), new articles and communications insights. It gives people another way to receive our content without relying on a social media algorithm or adding more email to their inbox.
This does not mean every business needs a Channel. It needs a clear purpose and enough useful content to justify someone following it.
Why Channels matter for PR
Social media reach is unpredictable. Email remains valuable, but crowded inboxes and filtering can limit visibility. WhatsApp offers something different: access through an app many people already check throughout the day.
Meta says the WhatsApp Updates tab, which contains Channels and Status, is used by 1.5 billion people globally every day. It also introduced Channel subscriptions, promoted Channels and advertising in Status, although these features are being rolled out gradually.
This suggests that Channels are not a temporary addition. Meta is developing the Updates tab as a distinct space for content discovery and business communication.
The distinction matters. Businesses have often treated WhatsApp as one large communications bucket, mixing personal chats, customer enquiries, marketing messages and internal discussions. That can quickly become intrusive and difficult to manage.
WhatsApp is reportedly testing an “Offers & Updates” folder for some business messages. If business messages are increasingly separated from personal conversations, companies will need to think more carefully about what they send, where they send it and whether people genuinely want it.
A WhatsApp Channel gives people a clear choice to follow. That is a better starting point than adding numbers to a broadcast list and hoping recipients will not object.
Use it as a channel, not a dumping ground
Creating a WhatsApp Channel is easy. Making it worth following requires more thought.
Start by deciding what your followers will gain from it. If every update is promotional, people will mute it or leave. A useful Channel should offer information, perspective or access they are unlikely to get elsewhere.
Keep updates short enough to read easily on a phone. Link to longer content when more detail is needed. Use visuals selectively and avoid posting so often that your Channel becomes background noise.
Like all communications channels, there also needs to be consistency. A Channel that posts enthusiastically for two weeks and then disappears for three months does little for credibility.
Most importantly, remember that a Channel is not a substitute for customer service. If someone needs an answer, a complaint resolved or a decision recorded, they should have a clear route to the right person or business system. Important agreements should not be left buried inside an employee’s personal WhatsApp chat.
What this means in practice
Before launching a WhatsApp Channel, ask:
- Who is it for?
- Why would people choose to follow it?
- What will we share that is genuinely useful?
- Who will manage it?
- How often can we post consistently?
- How will it support our wider website, email, media and social media activity?
WhatsApp Channels can be a valuable addition to a PR plan, especially in a market where WhatsApp is already part of daily business communication.
But the principle is the same as with every communications channel. Being present is not enough. You need a reason to be there and something worthwhile to say.
