WhatsApp marketing campaigns

What are WhatsApp marketing campaigns

WhatsApp marketing campaigns allow you to send bulk promotional messages to your customers directly from the Interlinked CRM. Unlike regular one-to-one conversations, campaigns let you reach many customers at once with a pre-approved message template — perfect for announcing promotions, product launches, seasonal offers, or important updates.

Campaigns use WhatsApp message templates that have been approved by Meta. This ensures compliance with WhatsApp’s messaging policies and provides a structured, professional way to communicate with your audience.

Requirements

Before you can create a campaign, you need:

• WhatsApp connected — Your Interlinked workspace must have a WhatsApp Business Platform connection. See Connect WhatsApp Business.
• At least one approved template — You must have at least one message template approved in your Meta Business Suite (WhatsApp Manager).
• Leads with phone numbers — Recipients must be leads in your CRM that have a phone number associated with their profile.

Understanding WhatsApp message templates

Message templates are the foundation of WhatsApp marketing campaigns. They are pre-written, structured messages that Meta reviews and approves before they can be used for outbound communication.

Why templates are required

WhatsApp requires templates for all business-initiated messages (messages sent outside the 24-hour customer service window). This policy exists to:

• Protect users from spam and unsolicited messages
• Ensure quality by reviewing message content before it is sent at scale
• Maintain trust in WhatsApp as a personal messaging platform

Template categories

Templates are classified into categories that affect their pricing and review process:

Category	Purpose	Examples
Marketing	Promotional messages, offers, announcements	”🎉 Flash sale! 30% off all items this weekend.”
Utility	Transaction-related updates	”Your order #1234 has been shipped. Track it here.”
Authentication	Verification codes and security	”Your verification code is 123456.”

Marketing campaigns in Interlinked primarily use Marketing category templates, though you can also use Utility templates for transactional notifications.

Creating and managing templates

Templates are created and managed in Meta Business Suite (not in Interlinked):

1. Go to Meta Business Suite
2. Navigate to WhatsApp Manager → Account Tools → Message Templates
3. Click Create Template
4. Choose a category, name, language, and write your template content
5. Submit for Meta review

Meta typically reviews templates within 24 hours. Once approved, the template becomes available in the Interlinked campaign wizard.

Template best practices

• Be clear and valuable — Templates should provide genuine value to the recipient (exclusive offers, important updates, useful information).
• Include an opt-out option — Consider adding “Reply STOP to unsubscribe” or similar language.
• Use dynamic variables — Templates can include placeholders for personalized content (customer name, order details).
• Keep it concise — WhatsApp is a personal messaging platform — keep messages short and to the point.
• Test with a small group first — Before sending to your entire customer base, test the template with a small group to verify formatting and reception.

The campaign wizard

The campaign wizard is a three-step process accessible from the CRM sidebar. Look for the 🌐 globe icon next to the search bar in the conversation list.

Step 1: Campaign name and template selection

The first step asks you to:

1. Name your campaign — Enter a descriptive name (e.g., “March 2026 Promotion,” “Summer Sale Launch,” “Appointment Reminders”).
2. Select a template — Browse your approved WhatsApp templates and select the one you want to use. Each template shows:
   • Template name
   • Language badge (e.g., “es,” “en”)
   • Category badge (e.g., “MARKETING,” “UTILITY”)

Click on a template to select it. A green border and radio indicator confirm the selection.

The Next button becomes available once you have entered a campaign name and selected a template.

Step 2: Recipient selection

The second step lets you choose which customers will receive the campaign:

1. Browse your leads — All leads from your CRM are listed with their name, avatar, platform, and a WhatsApp/phone indicator.
2. Search for specific leads — Use the search bar to filter by name.
3. Select individually — Click on each lead to toggle their selection. A checkbox confirms the selection.
4. Select all / Deselect all — Use the bulk selection button to select or deselect all visible leads.

The recipient counter shows how many leads are currently selected.

Step 3: Preview and launch

The final step shows a summary of your campaign before launch:

• Campaign name — The name you entered in Step 1
• Template details — The selected template name, language, and category
• Recipient count — The number of selected recipients

An amber warning reminds you that launching a campaign is an irreversible action — messages will be sent to all selected recipients immediately.

Click Launch Campaign to send. A loading state appears during delivery, followed by a success confirmation showing the campaign name and recipient count.

Campaign costs

WhatsApp marketing campaign messages are billed by Meta (not by Interlinked). Costs depend on:

• Template category — Marketing templates typically cost more than Utility templates
• Recipient country — Meta charges different rates based on the phone number’s country code
• Volume — Costs are per conversation (not per message within a conversation)

Campaign charges appear on your Meta billing, not on your Interlinked subscription invoice. Check your WhatsApp costs in Meta Business Suite → WhatsApp Manager → Account Tools → Billing.

Compliance and opt-in

WhatsApp marketing campaigns must comply with WhatsApp’s Business Messaging Policy and local regulations:

Customer opt-in

You are required to obtain proper opt-in from customers before sending them marketing messages. Acceptable opt-in methods include:

• Customer initiating a conversation with your business on WhatsApp
• Customer providing their phone number with explicit consent to receive WhatsApp messages
• Opt-in forms on your website or during checkout
• In-person consent during sales or service interactions

What to avoid

• Do not send messages to contacts who have not opted in — This violates WhatsApp’s policies and can result in your account being flagged or restricted.
• Do not send misleading content — Templates must accurately represent the message content.
• Do not ignore opt-out requests — If a customer asks to stop receiving messages, honor their request immediately.
• Do not exceed your messaging limits — Respect your account’s messaging tier to avoid restrictions.

Quality rating impact

Sending campaigns that customers find irrelevant or unwanted can negatively impact your WhatsApp quality rating:

• Blocks — When customers block your number after receiving a campaign, your quality rating decreases.
• Reports — When customers report your messages as spam, your quality rating decreases.
• Low engagement — Consistently low read rates can signal to Meta that your messages are not welcome.

A healthy quality rating is essential for maintaining high messaging limits and a good account standing. See Connect WhatsApp Business for the messaging limit tier breakdown.

What to do next

• Create your first template — Go to Meta Business Suite → WhatsApp Manager → Message Templates to create and submit a template for approval.
• Connect WhatsApp — See Connect WhatsApp Business if you have not connected WhatsApp yet.
• Manage your inbox — See Manage CRM inboxes and filters to organize conversations generated by campaign responses.