Omnichannel · Daily operations · 10 min read

WhatsApp templates and broadcasts

Create and submit approved templates, send one to a list of consenting contacts, and use catalog, flows and call logs.

Before you begin

• A WhatsApp account must be connected. See Connect a channel.
• Templates need omni.whatsapp.template. Broadcasts need omni.broadcast.
• Marketing templates need the Marketing app, which records consent. Without it, every marketing recipient is skipped. Utility templates still go.

Create a template

1. Go to Omnichannel > WhatsApp > Templates and click Create.
2. Type the Template name. It is lower-cased and anything other than a-z, 0-9 and _ becomes _. Example: order_update. A blank result gives 'Name the template (lower case, numbers and underscores).' The same name and language on one number gives 'A template with this name and language exists.'
3. Choose the Category: Marketing, Utility or Authentication, and the Language.
4. Choose the Business number. Blank means the first number at submit.
5. Optionally type a Header, and a Footer. Meta allows 60 characters for the header and footer; the screen accepts more, so Meta may reject longer text.
6. Type the Body (up to 1024 characters). Use {{1}}, {{2}} for variables, for example Hi {{1}}, your order {{2}} is ready. Empty gives 'Write the body.'
7. Give an Example for each variable, used by the preview and Meta's review.
8. Add up to 10 Buttons: Quick reply, Visit website or Call phone.
9. Click Preview, then Submit.

Approval and status

Sandbox accounts approve at once. Live accounts show Pending until Meta replies. Click Sync status to fetch the answer: Approved or Rejected (with the reason). Only Draft or Rejected templates can be edited or submitted. To change an approved template, click Clone, edit the copy (named ..._copy) and submit. Archive hides a template from senders. The list shows quality, last used and sent counts.

Send a template in a conversation

In the conversation choose Send Template, pick an approved template, fill the variables and send. Only approved templates can be sent ('Only an approved template can be sent.').

Send a broadcast

1. Go to Omnichannel > WhatsApp > Broadcasts and click New broadcast.
2. Type the Name ('Name the broadcast.').
3. Choose the Business number and an Approved template.
4. Choose an Audience (a Marketing audience), or type WhatsApp contacts tagged with up to 10 tags. With neither: 'Choose an audience or contact tags.' Contacts without a phone are left out, blocked contacts are skipped, and duplicate numbers are removed.
5. Fill each {{n}} variable. {name} becomes each contact's name.
6. Click Send now, or enter a Schedule date and time and click Schedule. Click Cancel on a scheduled one to stop it.

What the numbers mean

Consent is checked for each recipient. Example: an audience of three. One has opted in, one has opted out and one has no record. You send a marketing template: Sent 1, No consent 2. Open the sent broadcast and Recipients shows 'skipped' with a reason for each. Delivered, Read, Replies and Failed fill in as receipts and replies arrive. Each recipient gets a conversation in Waiting for customer. When a recipient replies, the window opens and agents can answer in free text.

A sent broadcast cannot be changed: 'Only a draft or scheduled broadcast can be changed.'

Flows, catalog and calls

• Flows: forms a customer fills inside WhatsApp. Create one with screens and fields, set the status to Published and send it from a chat. Only published flows can be sent.
• Catalog: under WhatsApp > Catalog add products from the product master (needs omni.configure), click Sync to WhatsApp, then use Send Catalog in a chat. Prices are always the product master's.
• Calls: Start Voice Call from a chat logs a call. Open it under WhatsApp > Calls and click Log call with outcome, duration and notes; this creates a done call activity on the CRM lead.

Good to know

• Scheduled times are run as UTC. Check the time after saving; Dubai is 4 hours ahead.
• If a customer writes STOP and the Marketing keyword rule exists, Marketing records the opt-out and later broadcasts skip them.