Checklist for Message Broadcasts and Campaigns
If you are using On-Premise API, remember that it is being discontinued by Meta. No new signups will be allowed with this type of integration from May 15, 2024.
Numbers registered before this date will still be supported, but should start planning a change of hosting type as soon as possible.
Message broadcasts and mass campaigns can be a powerful tool for engaging with customers and promoting a brand or product. However, there are several best practices that should be followed in order to ensure that the campaign is successful and reaches its intended audience.
Here we have outlined some of the key steps that should be taken before any message is sent out or a campaign is launched.
If you need further guidance, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. Our team is always available to discuss your needs and provide support throughout the process.
1. Check how many messages a specific Channel can send
There are 3 elements who control how many messages can be sent by a WhatsApp Business API account:
Messaging Limits: How many messages that can be sent through a WhatsApp Business Account.
Capacity Rate Limits: How many messages per second an account can process.
Per-User Marketing Template Message Limits for Indian Businesses
Messaging Limits
An important factor to consider is the messaging limit of the WABA. This limit determines the maximum number of messages that can be sent through a WhatsApp Business Account within a certain period. If you exceed this limit, your account may be flagged or suspended, which could negatively impact your business.
See our Messaging Limits documentation to understand how this is defined and how to increase the messaging limit.
Checking message limit: Businesses with Shared WABA can view their message limits via the WhatsApp Manager > Overview Dashboard > Insights tab. If the WABA is registered under the On-Behalf-Of model (OBO), message limits can be checked in the 360dialog Client Hub under account details.
Capacity Rate Limits
Capacity Rate Limits defines how many messages per second a number configuration can process.
How to test your set up
You should constantly monitor the response time of the webhook to ensure optimal performance for any type of campaign. Meta recommends having a response time of 80ms or less to prevent any deliverability issues. You can also use the Messaging Health Status API to check the current status of messaging node of the channel.
360dialog channel capacity rate limits
Under ideal conditions, Cloud API channels can handle up to 80 messages per second. Ideal conditions include your webhook responding in less than 200ms and having sufficient technical resources to ensure optimal performance.
It is possible to expand this to 1000 messages per second, depending on eligibility criteria. See Messaging Throughput documentation.
Feel free to reach out to our Support Team in case you have any questions regarding Cloud API throughput capabilities. If you are planning a messaging campaign that requires higher throughput, we recommend to request the upgrade at least 10 days prior to the sendout.
Template Pacing Mechanism
Template pacing is a process created by Meta that manages the distribution of templates within marketing campaigns. It does so by initially sending these templates to a small subset of users, subsequently assessing the quality of the content based on initial feedback.
Depending on this quality assessment, it either:
Proceeds to deliver the remaining messages to a broader audience, or
Notifies the business to update the template and halts the delivery of queued messages that have received negative feedback from users. This pause allows the business to make necessary edits and subsequently resume the campaign automatically.
See more information about Template Pacing here.
The Quality Rating of your number heavily impacts the Template Pacing mechanism. Ensure you have high Quality Rating at all times to prevent having messages not delivered to users.
Per-User Marketing Template Message Limits
This feature is only valid for businesses in India. It will launch globally by April 1st, 2024.
Meta is implementing several policies to enhance the user experience in WhatsApp. Recently they announced a limit for the amount of marketing conversations a user receives from any business over a specific timeframe, starting with a small number of conversations that are less likely to be read.
The limit is determined based on the number of marketing template messages that person has already received from any business, and is not related to your business specifically. This reinforces the need to maintain only high engaged campaigns active, as well as crafting rich campaign content and defining the right audience.
The policy only applies to marketing template messages that would normally open a new marketing conversation. If a marketing conversation is already open between you and a WhatsApp user, marketing template messages sent to the user will not be affected.
See our Per-User Marketing Template Message Limits documentation.
2. Build the Campaign
Make sure to go through every step below with your client to prevent issues.
Defining your target audience that has explicitly opted-in to receive messages
The first thing you need to get in place to send out messages is a list of your target audience. If you’re going to be communicating with different groups of people, try segmenting your list and experimenting the send outs with different frequencies. It’s important that these groups are clearly defined and that the messaging aligns with the needs of each group, to avoid having your messages being reported.
Any users included need to have explicitly opted-in to receive messages from this business.
Display Name
The display name is what customers see when they get a message from a business. It's the name that shows up on the WhatApp App (“Display Name”). Due to the high visibility of the text, it influences what consumers expect and believe about the messages they receive, which can impact the performance of the campaign.
See our Display Name Guidelines documentation.
Crafting the template content
When it comes to creating effective template content for your send outs, it's not enough to simply craft an eye-catching template and hit send. To truly engage your audience and drive results, there are several key considerations to keep in mind. Here are some hints to help you while creating template content for your campaign:
Select the correct category for your message
By selecting the correct category while creating the template can reduce the chances of it being rejected and can help avoid getting your account flagged. See the category descriptions here.
Create the template in advance, writing clear and healthy content
We recommend creating the template at least 2 business days before the campaign launch, as it provides sufficient time to make any necessary adjustments or revisions.
Write healthy content that is relevant and valuable to the users. This means avoiding spammy or misleading language and focusing on providing useful information or a compelling offer that benefits the recipient.
Use Seasonal Campaigns keywords
Meta is evolving its marketing message measurement to expand capabilities and boost performance, and we're committed to helping enrich marketing efforts with valuable data, especially during seasonal campaigns.
To achieve this, we recommend including keywords related to specific seasonalities (such as Black Friday BR, Buen Fin MX, and Christmas, or any other seasonality) in the template names for these campaigns.
This strategy will enable Meta and 360dialog to accurately track conversation volumes associated with these seasonal moments. We appreciate your support in providing valuable insights to optimize the capabilities of marketing messages.
Direct Campaign Support 2024
For dedicated assistance with seasonal campaigns, please mention "Campaign Support 2024" when contacting our Support Team and provide the following information:
Campaign Support: Inform which accounts you intend to use for campaigns during the upcoming H1/2024 festive season.
Campaign Duration: Inform the specific start and end dates for your campaigns.
WhatsApp Business Accounts (WABAs) and Phone Numbers: Provide the details of the WABAs and phone numbers that will be utilized in your campaigns.
Message Volume: Provide us with the expected number of messages you plan to send during the campaigns.
This will help expedite your request and provide you with direct support from Meta for your campaign needs.
Include an opt-out option for recipients
It's also crucial to guarantee that the customer journey is seamless and that an opt-out option is included to respect their preferences and privacy. By focusing on creating a positive customer journey and providing options for customers to control their experience, businesses can differentiate themselves and stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Ensure that the template is approved
Before starting a campaign, make sure that the template is with the approved status and that it complies with Meta's guidelines and policies.
Edit and Resubmit: In the event of template rejection, edit the rejected template with necessary corrections, include an example for context, and resubmit it for review. See Template Rejection and Appeal.
Handling Specific Types of Rejected Templates
Here's some advice for handling template points:
Spam/Scam Templates: Templates categorized as spam or scams, including unsolicited communications, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or any other illegal or impermissible communications, are subject to immediate rejection in accordance with Business Terms of Service. Always ensure the template content is compliant and legitimate.
Duplicate Templates: Templates that share the same name, content, and language are usually flagged for being duplicates and are subsequently rejected.
Unclear Business Relationship: Templates lacking a clear connection to the business will be quickly identified and rejected. Make sure that it has a direct and recognizable association with the business or the services/products offered.
3. Check and test technical aspects
Ensure that Media Messages aren't heavy and use media ID instead of media URL
When sending campaigns with media messages such as images, videos, or audio files, it is important to ensure that they are not heavy, as processing heavy media files at once can cause delays in transmission and lead to issues with message delivery.
To optimize bulk messaging, we suggest uploading media beforehand using the /media endpoint and then utilizing the media_id obtained from the response when sending messages. By following this approach, you can ensure that the media file is processed accurately without causing any delays or latencies during send-outs.
See our Media Messages documentation for reference.
Please keep in mind that, even while using media_id, you should always throttle requests sending to avoid heavy stack load. If the business needs to send many media messages in a short period of time, please consider upgrading the WABA MultiCore (MC) setup which will have better resources and higher throughput. See our scalable plans here.
Separate your audience in batches
Instead of sending all messages at once, it's important to separate your audience in batches to send a limited number of messages per minute, respecting the account's capacities.
Test your send outs
Before launching your campaign, test your send-outs to ensure that they are working correctly.
Send test messages to a small group of recipients and check if they are received and processed correctly. If you notice any unexpected behavior, please contact our Support Team immediately.
Ensure you are correctly tracking messages statuses
The only way to know if a message was successfully sent and read by users is to track the message statuses and webhook events received when sending messages.
4. Monitor the Account Quality
Monitoring the quality of your messaging account is also critical to ensuring that your campaigns are successful. By monitoring the account's quality of the WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) you can identify and address issues before they affect your message delivery or account status.
Monitor the response time of the webhook
You should furthermore monitor the response time of the webhook to ensure optimal performance for any type of campaign. Meta recommends having a response time of 80ms or less to prevent any deliverability issues.
Monitoring the quality of your templates
By monitoring your templates, you can ensure that they comply with the guidelines and that they are not rejected or flagged. You can subscribe to the template_category_update, which will notify you of the status changes to any of your templates. You must subscribe to each WhatsApp Business Account you'd like to get the updates.
Monitor the quality of the WABA and phone number
WhatsApp Business API accounts are subject to WhatsApp's business policies, and any violations can result in account suspension or termination. By monitoring your quality of the WABA and phone number, you can ensure that you are following the guidelines and that you are providing a good user experience to your customers. See more about the Quality Rating here.
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