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Click to WhatsApp Ads (CTWA) convert ad traffic from Instagram and Facebook into WhatsApp conversations, letting businesses engage with customers faster and in a more personalized way. This guide walks you through the full setup process, from initial configuration to campaign activation.

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Common Use Cases

CTWA works across a wide range of business objectives. In every case, it helps you grow your audience by capturing the phone numbers of previously unknown users.

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Before You Begin

Make sure you have the following in place before setting up your CTWA campaign:

WhatsApp Number

An active WhatsApp number connected to Connectly

Meta Ads Manager

An active Meta Ads Manager account

Facebook Page

A Facebook Business Page for your brand

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Step 1: Connect Your Facebook Page to WhatsApp Business

1

Open your Facebook Business Page settings

Click your profile picture in the top-right corner, then go to Settings & Privacy → Settings.
2

Link your WhatsApp number

In the left menu under Permissions, select Linked Accounts, then click WhatsApp.
3

Verify your number

Select your country code, enter your WhatsApp Business phone number, and click Send WhatsApp Code. Enter the confirmation code you receive and click Confirm.
If you have an existing number and want to connect a new one, select Connect another number. See Meta’s official guidelines for details.

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Step 2: Create the Ad Campaign in Meta Ads Manager

The setup steps vary slightly depending on your campaign objective. In all cases, WhatsApp must be selected as the message destination.
1

Start a new campaign

Go to Ads Manager and click + Create. Select Traffic, Engagement, or Sales as your objective, then click Continue.
2

Name your campaign

Enter a campaign name, review the details, and click Next.
3

Set the conversion destination

In the Conversion section, select Message destinations. Choose the relevant Facebook Page and check the box next to WhatsApp.
4

Set your performance goal

A default goal is set based on your objective. If you selected Engagement, choose your goal from the dropdown.
5

Set up the message template

Complete the ad setup until you reach the Message template section. Choose Create new or Use existing. You can use the Start conversation template to suggest prompts for customers. Edit and save it.
6

Publish

Complete the rest of your ad and click Publish when ready.
See Meta’s official guidelines for full details on creating Click to WhatsApp ads in Ads Manager.

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Auto-Populated Message Templates

When a user clicks your ad, a conversation opens in WhatsApp with a pre-configured template message. This message is set up in your Meta Ads Manager account under the Message Template section of the ad, and it determines how the conversation starts. There are two types of customer actions you can configure:

Pre-filled Message

A customizable first message that is automatically pre-filled for the user when they open the chat. The user can edit it before sending.

Frequently Asked Questions

Up to 5 suggested questions the user can tap to start the conversation. No automated response is needed — you can build a customized flow for each option in Connectly’s FlowBuilder.
Both template types can be saved for reuse in future campaigns. See Meta’s guidelines on pre-filled messages for more detail.

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Step 3: Build the Customer Journey in Connectly

Create the campaign flow that triggers when users message your business through the ad.
Input variables are not supported in CTWA flows because the user is unknown at the time of contact. You can use output variables to collect information from users during the conversation.
1

Create a new Inbound Flow

Log in to your Connectly account, click Create a new campaign in the top-left corner, and select Inbound Flow.
2

Start with an 'If Customer Replies' node

Always begin the flow with an If Customer Replies node.
  • If your ad uses a pre-filled message or FAQs, add an If Customer Replies node for each option with the corresponding regex pattern.
  • Also add an extra If Customer Replies node without a regex pattern to capture free-text responses.
  • Build the appropriate response flow for each branch.
You can use any message type or node (time delays, Sofia AI takeover, etc.) to create the best experience.
3

Save and approve the flow

When the flow is complete, click Save to approve it, then click Next.
After approving the flow, you’ll be taken to the Audience step.
1

Select the CTWA option

Choose Click to WhatsApp and enter the corresponding Ad ID(s). You can add up to 50 Ad IDs.
2

Enable performance metrics

Check the box to automatically receive performance metrics in your Ads Manager.
3

Confirm the campaign

Click Next, review the campaign details, and click Confirm.
The Ad ID is a unique identifier assigned to each ad in Meta Ads Manager. Follow Meta’s guidelines to find your Ad ID — it’s visible in the Ads Manager table view.

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Step 4: Track Campaign and Ad Performance

You can monitor performance from two places: Connectly’s Analytics dashboard and Meta Ads Manager.

Connectly Analytics

From the Analytics dashboard, select a timeframe and campaign name, then click Send Report to access:
  • User phone numbers (generated leads)
  • Message delivery rates (sent, delivered, read)
  • Customer opt-outs
  • Button and link clicks
  • Output variable values

Meta Ads Manager

See Meta’s reporting guide for full instructions. Available metrics include:
  • Amount spent on the ad
  • Impressions (total times the ad was displayed)
  • Reach (unique users who saw the ad)
  • Ad clicks
Combine both data sources for a complete view of your CTWA campaign performance: