It’s important to know what types of messages WhatsApp supports to get the most out of the API and budget for costs.
Incoming and outgoing messages
- Outbound : These are messages sent by the business to the consumer (also called “notifications” or “message templates”). They can only be sent to contacts who have given their consent and must follow previously approved templates.
- Incoming messages : These are messages sent by consumers to contact the company. No consent is required, as when they contact you via WhatsApp, they agree to receive your response. In addition, these messages do not follow templates.
A big advantage of WhatsApp messages over SMS is that they can be multimedia messages (with images, video, attachments, reply buttons, products and lists).
Automatic responses
The outgoing message example shown is an gambling data philippine example of an automated message. This means that you can automate WhatsApp messages to save time, especially on repetitive tasks. Automations are responses that are sent when predefined conditions are met. For example, you can schedule an automatic order confirmation response to reach a user every time they make a purchase.
Once you have a Meta-approved WhatsApp template (explained in the previous steps), you can create an automation scenario in which the final action is to send a WhatsApp message. Automatic responses can be very varied: welcome messages, order confirmations, reminders, and much more. These are messages that are widely used, for example, in e-commerce.
In the eyes of users, automated responses will offer a chatbot-like experience. However, these types of messages do not work in the same way. They are responses that are sent when a series of conditions that you have determined are met, but they cannot improvise responses or allow you to converse with a user like a chatbot does.
Ultimately, what the WhatsApp API allows is to take advantage of the benefits of using automation : it can help you delegate repetitive tasks and how to use ai to write better seo content use your time to define your marketing strategy, explore the potential of this tool, and much more.
Respond to your customers’ WhatsApp messages within 24 hours
Another important aspect of the WhatsApp Business API is the 24-hour sessions, which affect both the price and the allowed actions.
If a user contacts you on WhatsApp, you have 24 hours to respond with a free-form message or exchange as many messages as necessary. If more than 24 hours have passed since the customer’s last message, you can reopen the conversation with a template message. This is a way to ensure that the user only receives relevant messages that follow WhatsApp’s policies .
If you want to start a conversation, you need to use an outgoing message and follow a template. You can create WhatsApp templates in Facebook esperanto leads Business Manager or by using your provider’s WhatsApp Business API interface. Below you’ll find some of the available templates.
How to use the API for your WhatsApp campaigns
Since the WhatsApp Business API has direct access to your CRM, you can use customer behavioral data to send timely and relevant WhatsApp messages.
Here are some ideas of what you can do:
- Streamline password resets and two-step verifications
- Promote your product catalog with mass messages
- Set up quick responses to frequently asked questions
- Set up automated messages to be sent outside of customer service hours
- Create Welcome Flows
- Send appointment or new order reminders
- Communicate status and delivery updates
- Offer new products to your most loyal customers
- Ask for feedback from customers and study the reach of messages sent.