Customize and manage WhatsApp message templates

After creating message templates in Meta's WhatsApp Business Account Manager, review and personalize your synced templates directly in HubSpot. Templates created in your WhatsApp Business account automatically sync to HubSpot, where you can customize them to fit your messaging needs.

Once your templates are set up, send them to contacts from a contact record, the conversations inbox, help desk, or use them in workflows to automate outreach.

You can also analyze template performance and track insights such as delivery, engagement, clicks, and messaging errors.

Before you get started

Before working with this feature, review the following requirements, limitations, and considerations.

Requirements

• To send a message via contact-based or conversation-based workflows, you must get verifiable opt-in consent from the contact. Learn more about collecting opt-in consent for your WhatsApp conversations.
• To manage WhatsApp message templates in HubSpot, you must have connected a WhatsApp Business account as a channel in the conversations inbox or help desk.
• To use the same WhatsApp Business phone number in both the WhatsApp Business App and HubSpot simultaneously, learn about using WhatsApp coexistence.

Limitations & considerations

• Syncing message templates that use a location header or flow button types is not supported.
• Sending WhatsApp messages via the HubSpot mobile app is not supported.
• If you're using the legacy WhatsApp template manager, existing templates will automatically create two entries on the WhatsApp listing page, one for each sending method: Published for automation and Published for CRM. 
• If you want to use the same message for a different sending method, clone the message and select the appropriate sending option.
• You cannot define custom default values for templates within your WhatsApp Business account. Instead, set a global default or add a fallback value. Learn more about creating default values for personalization tokens.
• Only contact and company personalization tokens are supported in WhatsApp template messages. Deal, ticket, and custom object tokens cannot be used.
• WhatsApp sample templates (e.g., sample_purchase_feedback, sample_issue_resolution, sample_shipping_confirmation, etc.) are automatically generated by WhatsApp and will not sync to HubSpot. HubSpot will only sync templates that you or another user in your account created in your WhatsApp Business account.

Insert template variables, components and configure external media

While editing your template in WhatsApp Business, you can insert variables and specify external media to customize later in HubSpot:

• Template variables: while editing the body of your template, you can click Add variable below the text input box to insert a variable.
  • This variable will appear as a numerical placeholder value (e.g., 1). This will be replaced with dynamic content from your HubSpot account.
  • After you publish your template and it syncs to your HubSpot account, you can customize the dynamic content of the variable using contact or company personalization tokens.
• External media: in supported sections of your template, such as the header or footer, you can select the type of media to include. After your template is approved and synced, you can choose the specific media file directly from your HubSpot files.

Use tracked URL buttons

Copy HubSpot tracking link

To create a tracked URL button, start by copying your HubSpot tracking link. This link acts as the base URL for your dynamic button, when a contact clicks the button in a WhatsApp message, HubSpot uses it to capture interaction data, such as clicks and engagement, across your templates. Once copied, add it to your template in Meta.

1. In your HubSpot account, click the settings icon in the top navigation bar.
2. In the left sidebar menu, click WhatsApp.
3. At the top, click the Tools tab.
4. Next to the tracking link that you'd like to use, click Copy link.
   
   
   

Create a tracked URL button in Meta

1. Navigate to your WhatsApp Business Account Manager.
2. Create a message template and add a Visit Website or URL button type. 
3. Click the URL type dropdown menu and select Dynamic.
4. In the Website URL field, paste the branded or shared tracking link from WhatsApp. For example, https://thisisalink.com/hs/m/
5. In the Add sample URL field, enter an example link. For example, https://thisisalink.com/hs/m/example
6. Save your template.

The template will automatically sync to HubSpot, where you can customize it and manage it.

Customize a WhatsApp message template in HubSpot

1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to CRM > Message Templates. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to CRM > Message Templates directly.
2. Click the WhatsApp tab.
3. In the upper right, click Create message.
4. In the right panel, enter your WhatsApp message name.
5. Click Create.
6. On the Meta templates page, view the templates synced from your connected WhatsApp Business Accounts. To select a template, click Use template.
7. On the Edit tab, customize the content you've included in your message template:
   • If you plan to include media in your template (e.g., an image in the header), you can insert the corresponding media type from your HubSpot files, or you can also upload a new document, image, or video.
   • To customize any template variables, click Personalize under the variable to map it to a personalization token. Each variable will appear in the order that you inserted them in your WhatsApp Business account. For example, the first template variable that appears as 1 in the body of your message template will be listed as Variable 1 in HubSpot.
   • If your template includes a Call to action button that prompts a user to visit your website, and you opted for a dynamic website URL, you can customize the final segment of the URL after the trailing backslash by entering a plain text value.
8. At the top, click the Sending tab.
9. Click the How will you send this message dropdown menu and select an option:
   • Publish for automation: select this option to send messages using the workflows tool.
   • Publish for CRM: select this to send messages from the record, conversations inbox, or help desk.
10. Once you're done editing your template, in the top right, click Review and publish.
11. In the right panel, click Publish message.

Send WhatsApp messages in HubSpot

After creating and customizing your template, send it to opted-in contacts through a workflow, contact record, conversations inbox, or help desk.

Send a WhatsApp message in a workflow

To configure a contact or conversation-based workflow that sends WhatsApp messages, contacts must first provide opt-in consent. Learn more about collecting and managing consent for WhatsApp conversations.

1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to Automation > Workflows. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to Automation > Workflows directly.
2. In the upper right, click Create workflow, then select From scratch.
3. In the left side panel, set your workflow enrollment triggers.
4. In the top right, click Next.
5. Click the + plus icon.

6. In the left side panel, under Communications, select Send WhatsApp Message:
   
   • Click the Target Contact dropdown menu and select a contact option.
   • Click the WhatsApp message dropdown menu and select a message. You can only select messages that were published for automation.
   • Click the Sending phone number dropdown menu and select a phone number. You can only select a phone number which is on the same WhatsApp Business Account as the template being used.
   • In the top right, click Save.
7. Continue editing your workflow, then click Review and turn on.

Please note: to opt contacts into a WhatsApp subscription type via workflows, it's recommended to add the Manage communication subscriptions action before the Send WhatsApp Message action. Learn how to add and configure the Manage communication subscriptions action in workflows.

Send a WhatsApp message from the record timeline

To create and send a message directly from the record timeline:

1. Navigate to the home page of your associated records:
   • Contacts: In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to CRM > Contacts. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to CRM > Contacts directly.
   • Companies: In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to CRM > Companies. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to CRM > Companies directly.
   • Deals: In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to CRM > Deals. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to CRM > Deals directly.
   • Tickets: In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to CRM > Tickets. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to CRM > Tickets directly.
2. In the table, click the name of a record.
3. In the left side panel, click the WhatsApp icon. If the WhatsApp icon doesn't appear below the record name, click the ellipses icon, then select Create a WhatsApp message.

4. In the pop-up box, compose your message:
   • Click the From dropdown menu and select a connected WhatsApp phone number.
   • If the contact has not sent your business a WhatsApp message in the last 24 hours, you can only send a business-initiated message by selecting one of your message templates.

5. Click Send message.
6. Locate your template, then click Use template.
7. In the bottom right, click Send message. You may be prompted to navigate to the conversations inbox to respond to messages if there's already an existing thread with the contact.

Send and respond to WhatsApp messages in the conversations inbox or help desk

Start or respond to WhatsApp conversations directly in the conversations inbox or help desk. Incoming messages automatically create a new thread and start a WhatsApp session, where you and your team can respond. Learn how to compose and reply to messages in the conversations inbox or create and respond to tickets in help desk.

WhatsApp sessions will be open for 24 hours after the last response from the contact. Once an existing WhatsApp session has closed you can reinitiate the thread by sending a template message to the contact. If the contact replies to your template message, it will open a new 24 hour session, during which you can send non-templated WhatsApp messages.

Manage WhatsApp messages

Review all messages that have been created in HubSpot using synced WhatsApp templates.

1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to CRM > Message Templates. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to CRM > Message Templates directly.
2. At the top, click the WhatsApp tab.
3. At the top of the page, click a view to filter templates by status:

• • All WhatsApp messages: all templates, regardless of their status.
  • Drafts: templates that have not yet been published.

• • Needs action: the template is unusable and requires action. For example, the template may have been deleted or changed in WhatsApp.
  • Published: the template has been approved by WhatsApp and any personalization options have been specified.
  • Archived: templates that have been archived.

5. At the top of the table, click the dropdown menus to filter your templates. You can also use quick or advanced filters. Learn more about filtering objects in HubSpot.
6. To edit a message, hover over it and click Edit. Learn more about customizing your template.
7. To duplicate a message, hover over it and click Clone.
8. To view the message details, including where it's being used and its performance, click View details.
9. To preview the message, click View message.
10. To control who can access the template, click Manage access, select a sharing option, and click Save.
11. To archive the message, click Archive. In the dialog box, click Archive.
12. To delete the message, click Delete. In the dialog box, click Delete.

Learn more about adding and managing views in HubSpot.

View synced WhatsApp templates

1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to CRM > Message Templates. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to CRM > Message Templates directly.
2. At the top, click the WhatsApp tab.
3. In the upper right, click Meta templates.
4. To use the template, click Use template.
5. To view more information about the template, click View details.
   
   
   

Troubleshoot common WhatsApp message errors and issues

If a WhatsApp message fails to send or a template is unavailable in HubSpot, review the following common issues:

• Missing phone number: the contact record must have the WhatsApp Phone Number property populated with a valid phone number.

• Missing opt-in consent: if your template is associated with a subscription type, the contact must have opted in to receive WhatsApp communications before the message can be sent. Learn more about collecting opt-in consent for WhatsApp conversations.

• Template not synced: templates created in Meta must sync successfully to HubSpot before they can be used in workflows, records, the conversations inbox, or help desk. Learn more about viewing synced WhatsApp templates.

• Monthly limit reached: HubSpot supports up to 1,000 template messages per month across all connected WhatsApp Business accounts. If you've reached this limit, additional template messages will fail to send until the limit resets. Learn more about WhatsApp message limits.

• Template unavailable: if a template was rejected, paused, disabled, or deleted in Meta, it may become unavailable in HubSpot and appear under the Needs action section in the WhatsApp templates dashboard.

• Mismatched accounts: the sending phone number must belong to the same WhatsApp Business account as the template being used. If the phone number and template belong to different accounts, the message won’t sent.

Analyze WhatsApp messages

1. In your HubSpot account, click More, then navigate to CRM > Message Templates. If More doesn't appear in your account, navigate to CRM > Message Templates directly.
2. At the top, click the WhatsApp tab.
3. In the upper right, click Analyze.
4. To filter the dashboard, use the filters in the upper left. Once a filter is applied, it will be applied to all reports on the dashboard.
5. You can view the following reports:
   
   • Engagement overview: engagement statistics for WhatsApp messages. For example, the number of sends, deliveries, clicks, opens, and replies.
   • Delivery & engagement funnel: tracks WhatsApp message performance across delivery and engagement stages, showing message counts at each step.
   • Time series comparison: compare events per day, such the number of messages that were Sent, Delivered, Read etc.
   • Opt-outs over time: the number of contacts who chose to opt out of WhatsApp messaging over a given date range, alongside the total number of messages that were delivered.
   • Sending & Delivery failures: the number of WhatsApp messages that failed to send, along with the reason for each send failure.
   • Recipient locations: number of recipients delivered broken down by recipient phone number regions.
   • CRM, sends by user: the number of CRM WhatsApp messages sent by each user in your portal.