In our previous lesson we talked about using WhatsApp links to establish a faster connection between your business and consumers. So in this lesson, we decided to share all about how you can reach your target audience faster and scale the number of conversations you have every day – introducing click-to-WhatsApp ads.

What are WhatsApp Click to Chat Ads?

Just like Click to Chat links, WhatsApp Click to Chat Ads direct customers to a conversation with your business on WhatsApp. WhatsApp Click to Chat Ads are advertisements with a WhatsApp Chat button added to them, allowing users to start a WhatsApp conversation with you in just one click.

These ads can be displayed on social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram. When buyers click on the ad, it will open up a new chat with you.

Here’s what the interaction with a click-to-WhatsApp ad looks like:

Prospective leads may opt-in to receive communication from your business. Once leads have opted in, you can message them with qualifying questions to close a sale.

To get your leads to opt-in, you may require setting up an automation for confirmation using a WhatsApp Business API solution provider like Interakt.

Why use WhatsApp Click to Chat Ads?

WhatsApp Click to Chat Ads have several advantages when compared to traditional lead generation methods. Let’s take a look at some of them:

1. No hassles

Customers don’t have to save your number on their phones before sending a message to your business. In a scenario where you lead a consumer to the website, the online shopper needs to look through the pages to find contact details before being able to reach out to you.

2. Just one click to chat 

All it takes is one click to start a conversation on WhatsApp. Irrespective of what you’re promoting through ads, it gives consumers a chance to address all their pre-purchase concerns easily.

3. Eliminates the need to fill up a contact form

Many buyers dislike filling up long forms. Some may even provide false details, in which case you can’t get back in touch with them. With WhatsApp Click to chat Ads, you don’t have to worry about getting the wrong contact details.

4. Shortens the sales cycle 

Traditionally, an ad takes an online shopper to the website. Post which, they’re meant to look for the product they’re interested in, add it to the cart and then move to checkout to complete the process. When on WhatsApp, they can use conversations with the business to reach the product faster!

How to set up WhatsApp Click to Chat Ads?

Before you set out to create these ads, make sure to download the WhatsApp Business App and link your WhatsApp account to your Facebook business page.

Connect your WhatsApp Business number to your Facebook page

Step 1: Navigate to your Facebook Business page.

Log in as the admin of the page and click ‘Settings’ under the ‘Manage Page’ tab. Next, move to ‘Page Settings’ and click on

Step 2: In the next step, you need to enter your WhatsApp Business phone number.

Make sure you enter the number along with the country code before clicking Continue.

If you already have an active Facebook business page, you may see a pop-up as the following to make the connection. Simply add your phone number as before to connect your WhatsApp Business account.

Step 3: Enter the code that you receive on your WhatsApp Business phone number. Click Confirm.

Step 4: Your WhatsApp Business account is now connected to your Facebook page.

You can also choose to set WhatsApp as your Facebook page button.

If you choose to use WhatsApp as the main call-to-action on your Facebook business page, here’s how it will appear to your audience:

Set up click-to-WhatsApp ad on Facebook

Now that your WhatsApp Business account is connected to Facebook, here are the steps you need to follow to set up click-to-WhatsApp ads:

• Go to Ad Creation within Ads Manager

• Choose your ad campaign objective

• Choose your campaign budget and click Next

• Under Ad Type, select Click to Message to proceed

• In the Messaging Apps section, select WhatsApp

• Choose your Audience, Placements, Budget, and Schedule

• Select your ad format and complete your ad setup as directed

• Click + Create to create your flow

• Click Save and Finish when you’ve completed

• Click Publish to submit your ad campaign for review before going live

What can you use click-to-WhatsApp ads for?

There are a number of business objectives that you can achieve through click-to-WhatsApp ads. Some of the most popular use cases being:

• Accepting pre-orders: Promote an upcoming product or collection with an exclusive discount, and get interested buyers to book items on WhatsApp.

• Sharing exclusive deals: Get online shoppers to start a conversation with your business on WhatsApp to get access to exclusive deals and discounts; similar to how you get email newsletter subscriptions.

• Share product details: Retarget consumers who have shown interest in a product but not made the purchase. Offer to share shopping assistance or more product details on WhatsApp.

• Book an appointment: If you want to encourage store walk-ins, use your click-to-WhatsApp ads to get more appointments. This could also be used to entice shoppers seeking custom fittings, etc.

• Take custom orders: If you sell customizable products or services, use these ads to get a consumer chatting with your business to share requirements.

• Make purchases on-the-go: There could be times your consumer is traveling and may not have the time to visit your site to make a purchase. Give them an easier way out by taking and confirming the orders on WhatsApp.

• Accepting reorders: Make it easy for consumers to purchase the same products or services with reorder requests on WhatsApp, instead of having to follow the long route all over again.

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As you can see, click-to-WhatsApp ads can be used in a number of ways depending on what your business sells and who your target audience is.

The only thing we do recommend is to keep the purchase cycle as easy as possible for a consumer. Even if you’re getting an interested buyer to the chat app, you want to make sure their journey to purchase checkout is fast.

Get more conversions from your click-to-WhatsApp ads

Simply setting up click-to-WhatsApp ads is no guarantee to get more conversions from your target audience. You need to be able to capture their intent and engage them almost instantly to be able to make the most of the conversations triggered.

This where using a WhatsApp Business API solution provider like Interakt comes in handy to:

1. Qualify leads faster with a multi-user functionality 

Answering leads quickly increases your chances of turning them into sales. This is difficult with the WhatsApp Business App which supports only one user on one device.

If your company is growing, what you need is the advanced version of the WhatsApp Business Account called the WhatsApp Business API which is made available by Interakt. Interakt’s shared inbox supports multiple users empowering you to respond to leads faster and manage chats effectively.‍

2. Message leads anytime with WhatsApp template messages 

Template messages are those which have to be pre-approved by WhatsApp before they are sent out to customers and leads. With Interakt, you can create message templates for different business objectives with ease.

Communicate more proactively with customers using WhatsApp Click to chat Ads!

Get access to WhatsApp Business API on Interakt to power your business communication and harness more leads through ads.

If you’re ready to get started with click-to-WhatsApp ads, Signup for WhatsApp Business API with Interakt.

But if you’re wanting to learn more about instantly engaging consumers who opt-in to your WhatsApp Business account through promotions, ads and other means, head over to our next lesson on setting up winning welcome templates.