The power of WhatsApp marketing
With over 3 billion global users, WhatsApp allows brands to meet customers where they already are. The conversational, multimedia nature of the channel enables direct, real-time communication that builds trust, drives conversions, and boosts retention.
Adding WhatsApp to your Klaviyo marketing strategy allows you to:
- Reach international audiences on the same channel they use to connect with friends and family.
- Send personalized messages with rich formats that drive engaging conversations.
- Combine WhatsApp with email, text message, and push for cohesive omnichannel experiences.
- Automate transactional and promotional messages that meet customers at the right moment.
- Connect marketing to service conversations for seamless customer experiences.
Note: You can send WhatsApp messages as single-channel campaigns or within omnichannel campaigns.
Build WhatsApp message templates
Every effective WhatsApp message starts with a strong template. Templates ensure consistency, compliance, and approval from Meta before messages are sent to subscribers. There are 2 types of templates you can choose from:
- A single rich card, which may consist of a header (optional media), body, footer, and buttons.
- A media cards carousel, which may consist of a body, and up to 10 individual media cards.
Use the gallery below to understand how the components that make up templates to help your message get delivered and stand out.
Header
If your template uses a single rich card, you can add a clear, concise header to capture the recipient’s attention. While headers are optional, they’re strongly recommended.
Headers can be text or image based. If you choose an image-based header, you can elect to do a static or dynamic image; both are great options for showcasing a product or confirming an order.
If you choose a text-based header, keep in mind there is a limit of 60 characters.
Body
The body is the main content of your message, and is required. Keep it conversational and under the 1,024 character limit. Be clear, concise, and include the most important details about your initiative.
Try personalizing your message with personalization tags like {{ first_name }} to resonate better with recipients.
Footer
Footer text appears below the body. While optional, it’s strongly recommended to use Footers to clearly state your opt-out instructions.
Keep in mind these Footer regulations:
- Footers only support text (you cannot add media into your footer).
- Footer text can’t exceed 60 characters.
Buttons
Interactive buttons allow your recipient to take immediate action, like visiting your website or replying with a quick response. It is optional to add a button to your template.
The types of button actions you can choose from are:
- Quick replies
- Visit website
- Call phone number
- Copy code
Each button type has its own regulations, but here are general button rules:
- Labels can’t exceed 25 characters.
- URL can’t exceed 2000 characters, and must be valid.
Media card
If your template uses a media card carousel, you can add up to 10 horizontally scrollable media cards within a single message.
Media cards must each consist of a static or dynamic image. You can then optionally add body text and up to 2 buttons for each card (either quick replies or calls-to-action).
Note: If you wish, you can create a Media cards carousel template. In this case, you’ll be required to add a Body, as well as all of your multi-media cards. Headers, buttons, and footers are not available for media cards carousel templates.
Successfully deliver your WhatsApp messages
Before sending, make sure you’re following Meta’s WhatsApp Business standards. Use the dropdowns below to learn how to maintain deliverability, quality, and compliance.
Follow the template approval process
Before you send your first WhatsApp message, your template must be reviewed and approved by Meta. While this process usually takes only a few minutes, it can take up to 24 hours.
Kicking off the review process is simple and easy, and you can do it directly in Klaviyo. Open the template editor, build your template, and click Submit for review.
Follow the full list of guidelines to get your template successfully approved by Meta.
During review, you may see any of the following statuses for your template:
- Pending
- Rejected
- Paused
- Disabled
- Appeal Requested
If your template is rejected, you can make the necessary edits and resubmit it for approval.
Improve your quality ratings
WhatsApp rates the quality of both your account and message templates. Keeping an eye on these ratings helps you spot and fix anything that might hurt your overall performance.
- Template quality ratings
Template quality ratings are assigned after your template is approved (during the process outlined in the dropdown above). Your templates could be assigned quality ratings of: high quality, medium quality, or low quality.
Template quality ratings are based on recipient engagement and feedback. You can see template quality ratings in Klaviyo when you click into each template. - Account quality ratings
Your account gets a quality rating once you start sending messages. You will be assigned a quality rating of: high, medium, or low.
This rating affects your messaging limits; a higher rating can increase your limit, while a lower one can reduce it. Meta bases this rating on recipient engagement from the past 7 days, taking into account recipient actions like blocks and reports. The more recent the interactions are, the more heavily they’re weighted in your ratings.
You can see your account quality rating by clicking on your organization name>Settings > WhatsApp.
Learn how to maintain a high WhatsApp quality score.
Follow messaging limits
Every WhatsApp sender has a messaging limit that determines how many unique users you can message within a 24 hour period.
Messaging limit tiers are:
- Tier 0: Up to 250 business -initiated conversations in a 24-hour period.
- Tier 1: Up to 2,000 business-initiated conversations in a 24-hour period.
- Tier 2: Up to 10,000 business-initiated conversations in a 24-hour period.
- Tier 3: Up to 100,000 business-initiated conversations in a 24-hour period.
- Tier 4: Up to unlimited business-initiated conversations in a 24-hour period.
Strong engagement and quality ratings can help raise your tier automatically.
Learn more about messaging limits and the process for increasing your limit.