Connect Marketing Cloud & WhatsApp for Customer Journeys
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 4:35 am
The Marketing Cloud WhatsApp integration enables marketers to connect accounts and send WhatsApp messages using Journey Builder. While the setup seems simple, the truth is there are a few steps to preparing Marketing Cloud Engagement for WhatsApp sends.
Anton Minnion headshot
Anton Minnion
4 mins
3D eBook cover with text Creating Customer Journeys in Marketing CloudFree ResourceDownload now
Table of Contents
1. Connect WhatsApp to Marketing Cloud
2. Get your message templates approved
3. Create a Data Extension with correct fields
4. Create an opted-in audience
5. Use WhatsApp messaging in journeys
Bonus tip: Be aware of ‘Super Messages’
For those used to using Journey Builder to create brazilian phone numbers triggered customer journeys, you’d be forgiven for assuming the process for WhatsApp is similar to sending email and SMS.
There’s a typical assumption that you can create a Data Extension from your contact data, add a phone number in a dedicated field, and include it in your journey. The WhatsApp activity is visible in Journey Builder, so ‘boom’, you have everything you need to start chatting with potential customers, right?
Unfortunately, it’s not that straightforward.
Moreover, there are considerations for using WhatsApp within marketing journeys. This guide will take you through the steps you need to send outbound WhatsApp messages from Marketing Cloud.
Before we begin, it’s worth noting that WhatsApp will assign you a quality score between 0 and 5, based on messages sent in the past seven days. The higher the quality score, the more WhatsApp messages you can send. In the beginning, you’ll be limited to Tier 1: 1000 business-initiated conversations.
Anton Minnion headshot
Anton Minnion
4 mins
3D eBook cover with text Creating Customer Journeys in Marketing CloudFree ResourceDownload now
Table of Contents
1. Connect WhatsApp to Marketing Cloud
2. Get your message templates approved
3. Create a Data Extension with correct fields
4. Create an opted-in audience
5. Use WhatsApp messaging in journeys
Bonus tip: Be aware of ‘Super Messages’
For those used to using Journey Builder to create brazilian phone numbers triggered customer journeys, you’d be forgiven for assuming the process for WhatsApp is similar to sending email and SMS.
There’s a typical assumption that you can create a Data Extension from your contact data, add a phone number in a dedicated field, and include it in your journey. The WhatsApp activity is visible in Journey Builder, so ‘boom’, you have everything you need to start chatting with potential customers, right?
Unfortunately, it’s not that straightforward.
Moreover, there are considerations for using WhatsApp within marketing journeys. This guide will take you through the steps you need to send outbound WhatsApp messages from Marketing Cloud.
Before we begin, it’s worth noting that WhatsApp will assign you a quality score between 0 and 5, based on messages sent in the past seven days. The higher the quality score, the more WhatsApp messages you can send. In the beginning, you’ll be limited to Tier 1: 1000 business-initiated conversations.