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Send a broadcast campaign on WhatsApp
Send a broadcast campaign on WhatsApp

Learn to send a broadcast campaign with WhatsApp.

Gareth Burroughes avatar
Written by Gareth Burroughes
Updated this week

Private preview

This feature is currently in private preview and not available to all users.

Before you start

Things you need to know:

  • Meta must approve your templates to initiate conversations with contacts.
    Learn to create a message template.

  • Our WhatsApp editor supports the following variable formats:

    • Header: image, text

    • Body: text

    • Buttons: text (URL)

  • We recommend messaging your customers via SMS or WhatsApp during this Private Preview. Not both channels at the same time. Learn more.


Send a broadcast campaign

To send a broadcast campaign:

  1. In Dotdigital, go to Campaigns > WhatsApp.

  2. Select NEW CAMPAIGN.

  3. For Create, select the template you want to use in your campaign.
    Video, document, and location headers are not supported.

  4. Select Save & Continue.

  5. For Content, if you’re using variables you need to replace them with the image or text you want to use.

  6. To replace images, select ADD MEDIA and add a new image.

  7. To replace the text, select the personalisation marker, then enter the text you want to use or select a data field for personalisation.

  8. For Contacts, select the contacts you want to send the campaign to. You can include and exclude lists or segments. It’s a good idea to add your own phone number to the test list and to send a test campaign before sending it to contacts.

    If you send to a segment, you must select Refresh on the segment before sending.

  9. On Send, review the campaign details. To send your campaign, select SEND.

Create segments for WhatsApp

During this Private Preview, you should message your contacts using either SMS or WhatsApp, but not both channels at the same time. This ensures you only contact customers on the channel they have consented to.

For Accounts Using WhatsApp

When sending messages via WhatsApp, always include the data field WHATSAPP_CONSENT = Yes in the segment. This makes sure that only contacts who have consented to receive WhatsApp messages will be targeted, preventing SMS-only contacts from receiving them.

Segment for WhatsApp sends:

  • Include: WHATSAPP_CONSENT = Yes

For Accounts Using SMS and Want to Use WhatsApp

Follow the same rule as above for WhatsApp messaging. Additionally, when sending SMS messages, always exclude the segment of contacts who have ever subscribed to WhatsApp. This prevents contacts from receiving messages on both channels.


Segment for WhatsApp sends:

  • Include: Any list or segment with SMS subscribers.

  • Exclude: Contacts who have ever subscribed to WhatsApp

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