Send a WhatsApp Broadcast

Sinorbis users can start a conversation with contacts by sending a WhatsApp broadcast. This unique feature lets users open a line of communication by sending a WhatsApp message (e.g. marketing material, program updates, forms, etc.) to dozens or even hundreds of contacts at one time.

Prerequisites

Before sending a broadcast, users must create a WhatsApp custom template on their Meta Business Suite account and then submit the template to Facebook for approval. Once approved, users can create a WhatsApp broadcast with that template. 

• We showed users how to create a WhatsApp custom template in a different article. Click here to learn more.

Selecting a template

Log into the dashboard and click ENGAGE > Messages.

Click the Conversation link at the top of the page. In the blank TO field, enter a few letters of a contact name. Sinorbis auto-suggests options. Select one or more contacts for this broadcast. You can also send a message to a segment.

Click the Create a WhatsApp broadcast button.

Sinorbis pulls the templates from the WhatsApp Manager page and displays the options in the centre window. 

Notes

1. In the above screenshot, there is only one custom template option (called sinorbis_outreach).
2. The Languages tab shows the available language options for this Sinorbis account (i.e. the locales purchased by the user). In this case, there is only one language. The Language tab acts as a filter because Sinorbis only pulls templates with matching languages. If, for instance, the user created a WhatsApp custom template in Malay, Sinorbis would not display that template here because the user did not have a Malaysia locale.
3. The page displays the message that the user will send out in the WhatsApp broadcast.
4. Click the Customize Template button to add dynamic content.

Adding customizations

The message below has only one dynamic field after Hello. That field {{1}} holds the contact's first name.

To add that content:

1. Click the matching row.
2. Enter the dynamic content label inside the curly braces (e.g. firstname). Optionally, drag a blue button variable to the field. 

Depending on the field, users can also enter static content like a date (e.g. August 16, 2023) without curly braces.

Sending the broadcast

Click the Schedule Now or Send button. Users can send the broadcast now or schedule a date. 

Use the icons to set a broadcast date and time (based on your local time zone). Click the Done button to finish the broadcast setup.

After the broadcast sends, Sinorbis adds the message to feed in the side panel.

That's it.

Now you know how to start a WhatsApp conversation with a WhatsApp broadcast.