Brevo: Launch SMS and WhatsApp Marketing for Your Business (2025)
In a hyper-connected world, brands are constantly seeking new ways to capture and hold customer attention. While email marketing remains a cornerstone, the immediacy and intimacy of SMS and WhatsApp marketing have emerged as powerful complements. Both have driven impressive engagement and responsiveness. Brevo, a platform long recognized for its intuitive email marketing tools, has expanded its offerings to include these dynamic channels. At Feisworld, we use Brevo exclusively for all our brand communications. In this guide, we’ll explore how SMS and WhatsApp marketing with Brevo can furhter elevate your brand’s communication strategy.
SMS Marketing: Fast, Personal, and Direct
SMS marketing has become a go-to strategy due to its unmatched open rates—over 90% of texts are read within three minutes of receipt. Brevo simplifies SMS marketing, allowing businesses to instantly communicate personalized messages, promotional offers, and timely updates directly to customer devices.
Why SMS Marketing with Brevo?
- Immediate Engagement: SMS messages are read almost instantly, making them ideal for flash sales, appointment reminders, or urgent notifications.
- Personalization: Brevo lets you easily personalize texts, adding names or specific details relevant to each customer segment.
- Cost-effective: With affordable rates and no hidden fees, SMS marketing is an accessible tool for businesses of all sizes.
Real-World Applications:
Imagine working as a content creator or a small business owner, and sending a personalized text message about a limited-time sale to your loyal customers. The immediacy of SMS ensures your message isn’t just sent—it’s actively noticed, driving traffic both online and in-store.
As I’m writing this article, I received an SMS from a favorite shop of mine called Ground Up. It’s simple and clear. (Check out my interview with Carolyn Cesario, the cofounder of Ground Up)
Here’s another example from a local coffee shop called The Rose Room in Webster, MA. This simple SMS highlights an upcoming art event that’s just in time as I’m planning for my weekend.
WhatsApp Marketing: Engaging Conversations at Scale
WhatsApp isn’t just a messaging app, it’s a platform where meaningful, conversational marketing thrives. With over two billion active users worldwide, WhatsApp provides businesses an opportunity to engage customers through rich, interactive content like videos, images, and clickable buttons.
Why WhatsApp Marketing with Brevo?
- Rich Media Integration: Use engaging content formats—photos, videos, GIFs—to communicate your brand’s personality effectively.
- Interactive Communication: Offer immediate customer support, answer FAQs, and guide purchase decisions seamlessly.
- Global Reach, Local Impact: Leverage WhatsApp’s global popularity, especially valuable for businesses with an international customer base.
Real-World Applications:
Consider an online educational platform that uses WhatsApp to distribute short video lessons or quick learning tips directly to students’ phones, creating an interactive learning community. Students can respond, ask questions, or access more resources directly through the platform, enhancing engagement and satisfaction.
Before Sending SMS and WhatsApp – What You Should Know
I highly recommend that you check out Brevo’s best practices for SMS deliverability. After all, sending SMS follow a separate set of rules compared to emails.
Furthermore, it’s important to understand and follow the SMS marketing regulations in your recipient country.
If you are sending an SMS campaign to recipients in the United States (USA)🇺🇸 or Canada 🇨🇦, you have to register for a toll-free number and comply with the United States regulations. If you are in charge of SMS and WhatsApp campaigns for your company, you need to plan and start the process EARLY! For example, your toll-free number registration (which is required for sending SMS) will be reviewed by the toll-free provider which can take up to 4-6 weeks. You will receive updates on your registration status directly in your Brevo notification center and by email.
Get Started with SMS in Brevo
1. Purchase SMS and WhatsApp credits in Brevo
Once you have secured a toll-free number and crosschecked against your country’s SMS rules and regulations, you are ready to get started!
You can use the Brevo free plan and buy credits to use the SMS and WhatsApp add-on features, but you cannot use the add-ons without having a basic Brevo account (including the free plan).
- Sign up for a Brevo account for free
- From Brevo, go to Your account name > My Plan.
- Purchase credits for SMS and WhatsApp as needed. Below is an example for 100 SMS and 100 WhatsApp with message destination in the United States.
2. Set up and send your first SMS campaign
Brevo makes SMS campaign setup quite intuitive. If you are familiar with their email marketing interface, chances are that you will find the SMS setup just as easy. You will have the option to:
- Create a draft of the SMS message
- Personalize the message (i.e. use FIRSTNAME to address the recipient)
- Select an image – this feature is available to some users in the US. To understand the full capabilities and limitations with images in SMS, check out this guide from Brevo.
4. Segment recipients (i.e. people who you want to receive the SMS)
Getting Started with WhatsApp in Brevo
Before you start, make sure you’ve already linked your WhatsApp Business account to Brevo and connected all your WhatsApp phone numbers. I recommend you check out Brevo’s detailed guides:
- Link your WhatsApp Business account to Brevo
- Add multiple phone numbers to your WhatsApp Business Account
The process of sending WhatsApp messages in Brevo is similar to SMS. However, it’s highly recommended that you Create your WhatsApp template in advance. This way you will ensure it’s ready when you need to launch your WhatsApp campaign as it requires Meta to approve it before sending. If you choose a template that has not been approved by Meta yet, you won’t be able to schedule your campaign. You have to wait for Meta to approve the template to send your WhatsApp campaign.
SMS vs. WhatsApp: Which is right for you?
While both SMS and WhatsApp have distinctive strengths, deciding between them (or integrating both) depends on your specific business needs:
- Choose SMS if:
- Your messages require urgent attention.
- You’re primarily sending brief notifications or reminders.
- Your customer base prefers quick, straightforward communication.
- Choose WhatsApp if:
- You want richer, more interactive communication.
- You aim to build longer, conversational interactions.
- Your audience appreciates multimedia content and detailed interactions.
- Your audience is more global (i.e. they are not based in one country)
The good news? With Brevo, you don’t necessarily have to choose—many successful brands integrate both channels to maximize effectiveness.
Best Practices for Success with Brevo’s SMS and WhatsApp Marketing
- Segmentation is Key: Leverage Brevo’s powerful segmentation capabilities to send highly relevant messages tailored to customer preferences and behaviors.
- Respect Privacy and Consent: Ensure you have clear consent before messaging your customers—Brevo helps manage opt-ins and maintain compliance easily.
- Personalize Your Messages: Utilize Brevo’s personalization tools to make each interaction meaningful and contextually relevant.
- Analyze and Optimize: Regularly review your campaign performance using Brevo’s analytics dashboard. Adjust your strategy based on customer engagement data to improve future results.
Conclusion: Realize Your Marketing Potential with Brevo
Brevo’s comprehensive suite of tools makes integrating SMS and WhatsApp into your marketing mix intuitive and impactful. By incorporating these direct communication channels, you can drive higher engagement, foster deeper customer relationships, and ultimately boost your business growth.
With that said, setting up SMS and WhatsApp campaigns in Brevo may be straightforward, you will have to comply with local rules and regulation, as well as third-party approvals (i.e. toll-free number, Meta approvals). In other words, SMS and WhatsApp require you to do some extra work before you can get started. Most small businesses may not be ready or willing to put in these efforts and dedicate resources to learn these new skills. However if you are willing to go the extra mile, the rewards could be missing piece for the next level of your business success.
Ready to add SMS and WhatsApp in addition to email marketing for your brand? Check out Brevo with a free trial and start testing SMS and WhatsApp for as little as $10 for the add-on.