What is WhatsApp Cloud API
WhatsApp Cloud API is a solution by WhatsApp using which business owners can send bulk WhatsApp to their customers with buttons.
If you follow this guide correctly then you can get approved and start sending bulk messages to your prospects in less than an hour!
Advantages of WhatsApp Cloud API
✅ It is the perfect choice for generating leads, qualifying, Warming up old leads, and keeping your current leads engaged with automated WhatsApp messages.
✅ You can set it up and get started right away.
✅ Unlike SMS or email, users see 100% of WhatsApp messages.
✅ Users can reply with just one tap, so with the right message you can get almost 100% engagement.
✅ Because of the high engagement, it is the best way to generate, qualify and warm up leads.
How is WhatsApp Cloud API (WACA) different from regular WhatsApp?
Normal WhatsApp | WhatsApp Cloud API | |
Type of number | Can be new or old | Must be a new number |
Who can you send msgs to | Only to saved contacts | Anyone |
What msg can you send | You can send any meessage that you want | For first message you can only send pre-approved templates, after getting a reply you can send whatever you want |
How many msgs can you send | You can forward to maximmum 5 saved contacts at a time | unlimited |
Number Banning | If more than 5 people report your number it gets banned by WhatsApp | There is no concept of banningin WACA |
if you use an existing WhatsApp or WhatsApp business account then after approval for WACA the number will be removed from normal WhatsApp.
Send Personalized WhatsApp in Bulk!
Try automatic WhatsApp welcome messages with buttons with TeleCRM.
See How it WorksHow to signup for WhatsApp Cloud API
Pro tips for getting quick approval for WhatsApp Cloud API
- Business name: Choose a name that clearly describes the nature of your business.
- Number verification: Before approving WhatsApp will verify your number with an OTP.
- Brand new number: Chose a number that is not in use in WhatsApp or WhatsApp business because the moment you apply for WACA from a number it gets disconnected from any other WhatsApp platform.
- How To apply for green tick: Green tick is available to a few businesses only. But you can try to apply for the green tick by following the steps in this video.
Limitations of WhatsApp Cloud API
- Price: Unlike normal, WhatsApp business WACA messages are not free,
- No interface: WACA is an API-only solution so you can see sent/failed reports or replies unless you use a solution like TeleCRM because TeleCRM provides you with the interface to use WACA just like normal WhatsApp.
WhatsApp Cloud API Pricing
There are 2 types of messages that you can have on an approved WACA number
- User-Initiated Conversation (UIC): These are messages where the user has sent the first message. In this case, any reply that you send within a 24-hour window is absolutely free!
- Business Initiated Conversation (BIC): These are the conversations where are you as a business owner sent the first message to the user. Here you cannot just send any message that you want, this will be a template-based message that has to be preapproved template by WhatsApp.
First 1000 conversations are free for every month. After that WhatsApp charges Rs.0.55 (55 paisa) per conversation session for business initiated conversations.
You can check the price charts for international numbers here➡
What is the meaning of per conversation session?
👉 You won’t be charged for replying to messages that users send you.
👉 If you send a message, you will be charged 55 paise and you will get a 24-hour window within which you can send any number of messages to that user without any extra charge!
What is the process of sending messages?
- Go to the WACA dashboard, create a template and submit it for approval by WhatsApp.
- Once the template is approved by WhatsApp you can use that to start a business-initiated conversation with any prospect, lead, or customer.
WhatsApp Cloud API templates best practices
How to create
You can go to the WhatsApp dashboard and create a new template – Watch this video for the step-by-step process.
WACA Templates pro tips
- Simplify the templates as much as possible.
- You can add images up to 5MB in a WACA message template.
- You can add videos of up to 25 MB in a WACA message template.
- The template must be grammatically correct.
- WACA message templates don’t accept short URLs like bit.ly or TinyURL. So if you have to set up a link in your WACA message templates you have to make sure it’s a simple URL.
Advanced WhatsApp Cloud API features & how to use it with TeleCRM
Here are some of the key automation you can build by combining TeleCRM with WACA
- Instantly send WhatsApp to a new lead.
- Notify team members via WhatsApp on getting a new lead.
- Run WhatsApp chatbot to qualify leads.
- Provide automated support through WhatsApp chatbot and much more.
- You can setup subscriber’s list and send them WhatsApp chained messages (just like email marketing).
WhatsApp Cloud API Best practices – How to prevent getting flagged
- Don’t send blindly promotional messages, instead deliver value.
- Give them an option to opt-out in case they are not interested.
- Smartly structure your messages like a funnel to build conversations and get conversions instead of spamming them non-stop.
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