Easy ways to use WhatsApp without a phone number

WhatsApp is the biggest messaging platform on Earth. But to use the app, you need a registered number. The good news is that there is a way around that. As a business owner, if you’re wondering how to get a free phone number for WhatsApp, here’s everything you need to know.

Contents:

Why you should be interested in a free WhatsApp number
Ways to use WhatsApp without a phone number
Why businesses should look beyond a free WhatsApp number
How to get a free virtual number to use on WhatsApp
Can you sign up for WhatsApp Business with any virtual number?
Why you should get WhatsApp with Chalkboard
How to get WhatsApp with Chalkboard
How to get WhatsApp with a landline number
Why you should use a virtual app to get WhatsApp

Before we discuss how to get a free number for WhatsApp, let’s understand why, as a business owner, you should be interested in the app.

Why you should be interested in a free WhatsApp number

Exceptionally easy to use and highly intuitive, WhatsApp offers enormous benefits for business owners and solopreneurs, whether you’ve been running your business for a while or are starting a new one. It can help you with marketing, lead generation, customer service, and customer retention in the following ways.

Scale. The first thing to know about WhatsApp is its scale. Around 1.2 billion people use the platform every month. Over 100 billion messages are sent on the platform every day. Irrespective of the location of your audience or the category that you target, you will find your prospective users on the platform.

Ease of use. WhatsApp is incredibly easy for the user. Everything from simple text messages to videos can be shared with the utmost ease. You don’t need trained IT personnel to use the app. You also don’t have to educate the audience or hope for them to migrate to the platform. They’re already there and quite comfortable using the app.

Engagement. Messaging happens quickly and in real-time on WhatsApp. Unlike an email, website or social media query, the user can immediately receive an answer to their question. This can dramatically improve customer service, which will go a long way in helping you retain your customers.

Cost-effective. Most digital or legacy marketing tactics are expensive for small business owners. They also require external expertise or internal oversight from trained staff members. WhatsApp is one of the most cost-effective platforms you can ever use. You can engage with customers at a fraction of the cost that you would need for other platforms.

Comprehensive. If you were to email your subscribers or customers or showcase your new products on social media, they might have to complete the desired action on another platform like a website. The same goes for addressing customer queries. But on WhatsApp, you can execute all the actions without leaving the app.

Sharable. If a customer likes the image or video of your product or service, they can instantly share it with their friends or colleagues. It can give your marketing campaign immense reach. This kind of traction is limited by algorithms on other platforms.

Context. When a customer emails you or contacts you via social media or website, you need to search for your previous interactions with them. This can be a cumbersome process. On WhatsApp, you can find your previous communication in the chat window. This gives the engagement context, which will help you better serve the customer.

Whether you prefer the phone or desktop version of WhatsApp, you need to register a phone number. But there are also ways to use the app without a phone number.

Ways to use WhatsApp without a phone number

What’s the easiest and quickest way to get a free phone number for WhatsApp? By downloading a virtual number. This cannot just be your WhatsApp number but also your new number exclusively for work-related calls and messages. Now you can comfortably share this number on all your marketing platforms and collateral.

Several virtual number providers will give you a free number. If you’re getting a free WhatsApp number for personal use, it may not be a problem. But if you’re getting one for business use, you should examine the total value of such numbers. A free virtual number for WhatsApp won’t have the features that you business will need.

It should also be noted that you can use WhatsApp without a phone. But to get the best experience of the platform, especially if you plan to use WhatsApp Business, you need to use it on a device.

Why businesses should look beyond a free WhatsApp number

With a free phone number for WhatsApp, you wouldn’t get important business tools such as call forwarding, call queueing, broadcast SMS, voicemail-to-text transcription or auto-reply. This raises an important question: if it’s a free phone number for WhatsApp that you need, why do you need these features?

Because people will also use your number outside of WhatsApp.

The number one reason for you to get business features is that your potential and existing customers might use the same number to call or text you. Once you share it as your business number, you can’t specify or expect people to only use it as a WhatsApp number.

You might get several calls a day on your new number. You might get multiple calls at the same time. People might also send you texts. You would need additional business tools to manage that communication load.

A free phone number for WhatsApp might come with ad support and weak privacy settings. The last thing you want when talking to a client is to be interrupted by ads. You also want your virtual number provider to have adequate data security provisions.

Finally, like with anything free in the digital world, a free number for WhatsApp will come with nonexistent or minimal customer support. Regular users may not have an issue with this but as a business, you don’t want any interruptions to your service.

If it’s a free WhatsApp number, you may have to turn to online forums for help. That can be torturous and take a long time.

How to get a free virtual number to use on WhatsApp

With the profusion of virtual numbers, it’s easy to get a free phone number for WhatsApp. But you should always look at the additional features that your business would need to optimise its communication. The following steps will help you select the right virtual number for WhatsApp.

Identify your needs: Figure out the features your business would need. If you answer a lot of calls every day, get a virtual number with auto-reply, voicemail and call forwarding. A free WhatsApp number may not have these vital features.

Understand potential usage: When choosing a free phone number for WhatsApp, have your potential usage in mind. Will you be expanding to more locations and adding more employees? Will you be launching new products? These require additional resources.

Domain expertise: One of the biggest disadvantages of choosing a free phone number for WhatsApp is that it’s mostly aimed at non-business users. What you want in your new WhatsApp number for business is a system that knows the needs of your category.

Ease of use: As a small business, independent creative or startup, you may not have the necessary staff strength to manage complex systems. Your free virtual number for WhatsApp should be easy to use and shouldn’t require technical help.

Customer reviews: Always check the customer reviews of the free phone number for WhatsApp that you have in mind. Is the app intuitive and with a good user interface? Does it have bugs? Does it have a reliable customer support division? Do they respond fast enough?

Can you sign up for WhatsApp Business with any virtual number?

You can’t sign up for certain services using virtual numbers. This is because several service providers don’t send verification codes to a virtual number.

But in some cases, you can still sign up for WhatsApp Business if you have a virtual number. For this, you need to select the option to receive the code through a phone call instead of a text message.

Why you should get WhatsApp with Chalkboard

Chalkboard isn’t a free phone number for WhatsApp. But it provides immense value at affordable costs for small businesses, startups and freelancers. You can get this second line for work and use it as your WhatsApp number to amplify your marketing and customer service.

Now your personal number can stay private and your new business number can be shared on all marketing collateral and digital platforms.

Chalkboard allows you to organise your contacts and send group broadcast SMS to your customers. There’s also advanced messaging to unleash the power of conversational marketing. With auto-reply, you can engage with individuals whose calls you might miss. All these make Chalkboard the perfect ally for your WhatsApp outreach.

How to get WhatsApp with Chalkboard

This is how you can get Chalkboard, an advanced virtual number for WhatsApp:

• Download Chalkboard on any of your connected devices and launch the app.

• Try all the features without entering into a long-term contract.

• Choose your new WhatsApp number. It can be a UK mobile number or US local number.

• Download WhatsApp on your phone, set it up, and enter your new number from Chalkboard.

• Choose the option of calling the number for verification.

• You will soon get your verification code on your new number from Chalkboard.

• Submit the code and launch WhatsApp.

How to get WhatsApp with a landline number

While it certainly is the smartest and easiest way to get a free WhatsApp phone number, a virtual number isn’t the only option you have. You can also get a free phone number for WhatsApp using your landline. This option doesn’t require verification or a code through an SMS.

• Download WhatsApp on your device and launch the setup.

• If you already have the app, delete and reinstall it. Make sure that you back up your data on a computer before deleting the app.

• Enter your landline number with the country and state code.

• If there’s an option for calling the number for verification, choose it.

• If there’s no such option, wait for the SMS verification to fail. Once it fails, WhatsApp will suggest the option of calling the number.

• Now you will get a call on the landline number you provided.

• Enter that number on WhatsApp and start using the app.

• The landline number you give should be yours and can’t be an extension number.

Why you should use a virtual app to get WhatsApp

A virtual app doesn’t just give you a free phone number for WhatsApp. You get a whole lot more. To begin with, you don’t have to buy a new device. This saves you money and time. You also don’t have to worry about getting a new SIM, so, there won’t be any interruptions to your business communication.

If you were to use WhatsApp Business, you will need a new number that you haven’t previously used on the platform. This is another reason to opt for a virtual number.

With your new virtual number, you can protect your personal number from falling into the hands of scammers. You can share your new business number on your website, social media pages and marketing collateral.

Virtual numbers give you dual functionality. Along with using them for WhatsApp, you can use them to make and receive calls and send and answer texts.

An app like Chalkboard gives you business tools to effectively manage your communication. Interestingly, you may not be aware of the need for those business tools until you start using them.

You can organise your contacts and your communication with them, which will help you save time. With group broadcast SMS, now you have another channel to engage with your customers. Advanced chat allows you to talk to your customers like friends and improve your engagement. You also get auto-reply to send pre-written texts to missed calls.

Download Chalkboard today and get your new number. It’s affordable, advanced and has everything you need to make the most of WhatsApp.