WhatsApp Message TemplatesUpdated a year ago

Message Templates are specific message formats businesses can use to send out notifications or customer care messages via WhatsApp - they can be sent outside of the 24-hour conversation window, allowing you to start new conversations or follow up with customers who have gone silent.

Setup

1. Open the WhatsApp Manager in Facebook Business Manager.

2. Select Create and Manage.

3. Click WhatsApp Manager.

4. Select Message Templates located in the top bar.

5. Click Create Template.

6. Fill in the fields in the official submission form:

• Name
• Type
• Language
• Content
• Custom fields

You can also find instructions on how to create Templates in this Facebook article. We also recommend checking out this article on how to ensure high quality of your message templates, which will prevent them from being paused or disabled.

Once you create your Templates, they'll appear in Gorgias under the WhatsApp Integration they're connected to. To see them, navigate to Settings -> App Store -> My apps -> WhatsApp -> your WhatsApp Integration, then click on the Message Templates tab.

Similar to Macros, you'll be able to see the name of the Template, category, status, language, etc. In the top right corner, the button will lead you to your Meta Business Manager, where you can manage your existing Templates or create new ones.

If you click on a Template, a sidebar will open where you'll be able to review it (you'll also be able to use WhatsApp Variables in your Templates).

If you want to respond to a ticket whose channel is different than WhatsApp, change the channel within that ticket and then use your Templates to reply - this will keep the conversation in one ticket, even though you sent a new message using a different channel.

Once you create a new ticket in your helpdesk, change the channel from Email to WhatsApp in the drop-down menu. Then, you'll be prompted to use your existing Templates to initiate a conversation.

And you'll see your Templates listed out:

Requirements

To ensure that your Template is approved, it must:

1. Belong to one of the following accepted Template categories:

• Marketing - Send promotional offers, product announcements, and more to increase awareness and engagement. This category must be 'Custom' for it to work with Gorgias.
• Authentication - Send codes that allow your customers to access their accounts securely. 
• Utility - Send account updates, order updates, alerts, and more to share important information.

Not allowed:

• Message Templates with content that violates the WhatsApp Commerce Policy.
• Message Templates with content that violates the WhatsApp Business Policy.
• Message Templates with content that contains potentially abusive or threatening content, such as threatening a customer with legal action or threatening to shame them publicly.

2. Have a name (can only contain lowercase alphanumeric characters and underscores).

3. Meet WhatsApp's length and character guidelines:

• Templates can't have newlines, tabs, or more than 4 consecutive spaces.
• The character limit for the body component is 1024, while the character limit for the header and footer components is 60 characters each.

4. Include translations for all languages that you plan to support.