Implementation of Meta’s ‘channels’ tool last December provided a platform for the expansion of an Argentinian publisher’s WhatsApp audience.

Head of social media at Vía País Cielo Maguna tells the story in an INMA ‘satisfying audiences’blog.

The tool enabled the dissemination of public messages to large audiences, and currently almost 30,000 users follow the Vía País’ WhatsApp channel, revitalising its engagement strategy.

“With an average of five million users in recent months, Vía País is responsible for informing a large number of Argentinians,” she says. “One of our team’s main daily tasks is to select the five news stories we believe our audience should read during the workday from more than 120 articles, on average.”

With nearly 30,000 users following the WhatsApp channel, the tool, along with Facebook, keeps the audience informed and also significantly boosts traffic percentages. Followers receive an average of five daily messages, with the same structure and acquisition strategy use as on Facebook: a cover designed by the graphic team and two paragraphs of copy, the first no more than three lines to announce the event and the other with the publication link inviting readers to click.

“The aim is to generate the highest number of impressions and clicks, and the results speak for themselves. Traffic has increased since last December, when following the fall of Instant Articles that affected the entire media spectrum, the portal managed to grow from around two million monthly users to about five million and steadily rising.

“Vía País’ intelligence in facing adversity, reflected in the numbers, involved exploring new avenues beyond Facebook and Google. The WhatsApp channel is a clear example of this”.