## Overview

A **WhatsApp campaign** sends a message to a **contact list** at once. You define the **audience**
(by labels), choose the **content** (an approved **HSM template** or a message with variants), and
decide **when to send**. The platform sends at a controlled pace and shows progress (sent, delivered,
read and replied).

It's the right tool for announcements, promotions, notices and contact re-engagement — always
respecting WhatsApp's rules for bulk messaging.

## Prerequisites

- Access to the **Campaigns** module.
- A connected **WhatsApp inbox**.
- **Contacts** with **labels** that define the audience.
- For template-based campaigns: **approved HSM templates** on the inbox (see the templates and
  variables article).

## Step by step

1. Open **Campaigns** in the sidebar and select the **WhatsApp** type.
2. Click **Create campaign** and give it a **title**.
3. Select the **WhatsApp inbox** that will send it.
4. Define the **audience** by selecting the **labels** of the contacts who should receive it.
5. Build the **content**:
   - **HSM template**: pick the template and language, then fill in the **variable values**; or
   - **Message with variants**: write the message (using the variable picker) and, if you want, add
     **variants** so each contact receives slightly different wording.
6. Adjust the **send settings** (min/max delay between messages, batch size and randomization) for a
   more natural send.
7. In **Conversation created by the campaign** (when the feature is enabled on the account), choose
   the status of each contact's conversation, what happens when the customer replies, the assignment,
   the labels and what to do with a conversation that already exists.
8. Choose **when to send**: **send now**, **schedule** for a date/time, or **save as draft**.
9. Confirm and track the **status** and **progress** in the campaign list.

## Settings & options

- **Title**: internal identifier for the campaign.
- **Inbox**: the WhatsApp number that will send the messages.
- **Audience**: contacts selected by **labels**.
- **Content**: HSM template (with variables) or a message with **variants**.
- **Send settings**: min and max delay (seconds), batch size and variant randomization — these help
  reduce the risk of blocking.
- **Scheduling**: send now, schedule, or draft.
- **Status**: draft, scheduled, sending, paused, completed or failed.
- **Actions**: pause, resume or cancel a running campaign. On the official API (WhatsApp Cloud), a
  campaign can be cancelled before it starts, during the send or while paused; pause and resume live on
  the campaign detail page. Pausing is reversible and, on resume, only whoever is still waiting
  receives it. Cancelling is permanent and asks for a confirmation that shows the campaign name and how
  many contacts are still waiting and will be skipped. If Meta refuses the template in the middle of
  the send, the campaign pauses automatically (see
  [WhatsApp campaign results](/hc/ajuda/articles/campaigns-whatsapp-campaign-results-en)).
- **Progress**: sent, delivered, read, replied and failed.

### Conversation created by the campaign

Each contact receives the message inside a conversation. This section defines what happens to it:

| Option | Values | Default for a new campaign |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Status of the created conversation | Pending · Open · Resolved | Pending |
| When the customer replies | Open the conversation · Keep the conversation pending | Open the conversation |
| Assignment when it opens | Inbox rules · Specific agent · Specific team · No assignment | Inbox rules |
| Conversation labels | none, or up to 10 labels of the account | none |
| Contact's existing conversation | Keep its current status · Apply status and labels | Keep its current status |

- **Pending**: the conversation stays out of **Open** and does not notify the team. When the customer
  replies for the first time, it opens, receives the chosen assignment and the inbox team is notified
  once. Automations, flows and webhooks receive the opening like any other status change.
- Automations on the **Conversation Created** event receive this conversation already pending, and the
  event does not repeat when it opens. To act when the customer replies, use the **Conversation
  Opened** event.
- **Notifications and lead score in batched sending.** When the campaign is sent in batches, the
  conversation it creates, open or pending, does not notify the team or add the support event to the
  contact's lead score at send time. Both happen once, when the customer replies for the first time.
  Assigning an agent still notifies that agent as usual.
- **Open**: the usual behavior — the conversation enters **Open** as soon as the campaign is sent.
  Campaigns created before this feature keep working this way.
- **Resolved**: the conversation is created resolved and reopens on its own when the customer replies,
  following the regular inbox rules.
- **Assignment**: happens at the first reply and never replaces an agent who is already assigned.
- **Existing conversation**: by default the campaign reuses the conversation without changing its
  status. Applying the status does not accept **Resolved**, because resolving a conversation in
  progress would send the satisfaction survey to the customer right before the campaign message. With
  **Pending**, applying the status takes a conversation that is being handled out of the agent's
  **Open** list until the customer replies, and each reused conversation notifies webhooks and
  automations of the status change.
- On the campaign detail page, the **Opened by a reply** card shows how many pending conversations the
  customer's reply opened.

## Use cases

- Announce a **promotion** to customers in a specific label.
- Send an **important notice** (hours change, new product) to the right audience.
- **Re-engage** inactive contacts with a segmented offer.
- Confirm attendance at an **event** or remind people of a date.

## Tips, limits & best practices

- To start conversations with people outside the 24-hour window, WhatsApp requires an **approved HSM
  template** — free-text messages only work inside the service window.
- Use the **send settings** with **delays** between messages and smaller **batches**: very fast sends
  increase the risk of blocking (**anti-ban**).
- On the official API, the pace follows the **number's limit at Meta**: 80 messages per second at first,
  up to 1,000 once Meta releases the number, and 20 on a number that also uses the WhatsApp Business app
  (coexistence). Campaigns use up to the limit minus 5: 75, 995 or 15 messages per second. The limit
  covers the sum of every automated send from the number (campaigns, follow-ups, flows, distribution
  and sales recovery). While Meta has not confirmed the number's level in the last 24 hours, the
  default limit of 80 applies. The campaign detail shows the pace in use.
- Segment well by **labels** and send only **relevant** content to reduce opt-outs and reports.
- Test with a small audience before a large send.
- Track the **progress** and **pause** the campaign if you notice many failures.
- If an official API campaign stops advancing for more than 15 minutes, the campaign is **paused** and
  administrators get a notice; just use **Resume**, and nobody receives it twice. With batched sending
  enabled on the account, the platform first tries to resume the dispatch on its own, up to 3 times
  within an hour.
- For large campaigns, prefer **Pending**: the team is only told about the conversations in which the
  customer actually replied, and the **Open** list is not flooded.
- If a bot serves the inbox, the pending conversation stays with it when the customer replies; the bot
  hands it over to the team when needed.
- **No assignment** only stops the campaign from assigning. If the inbox has automatic assignment
  turned on, the inbox can still assign the conversation later, in its next distribution.

## Troubleshooting

- **I can't select the inbox**: confirm there is a connected WhatsApp inbox.
- **Empty audience**: check whether contacts exist with the chosen **label**.
- **Template doesn't appear**: verify there are **approved templates** on the selected inbox.
- **Many send failures**: lower the pace (increase the **delays** and reduce the **batch size**) and
  check the health of the WhatsApp number.
- **The conversation did not open when the customer replied**: check that the campaign uses **Open the
  conversation** on reply and whether a bot serves the inbox — in that case the conversation stays
  pending with the bot. Pending conversations appear in the **Pending** list.
- **I can't apply the status to existing conversations**: the option is disabled with the **Resolved**
  status; choose **Pending** or **Open**.

## See also

- [HSM templates and variables](/hc/ajuda/articles/campaigns-templates-hsm-variaveis-en)
- [Campaigns overview](/hc/ajuda/articles/campaigns-overview-en)
- [Website campaigns](/hc/ajuda/articles/campaigns-campanhas-site-en)