WhatsApp Business — Channel Overview

Researched: May 2026

Why This Channel

WhatsApp is the dominant messaging platform in India (500M+ users), Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa — all primary markets for Leadmetrics clients. For local service businesses, clinics, restaurants, and retail shops, WhatsApp is how customers actually communicate — not email. A client getting 50 WhatsApp inquiries a day but only 3 email newsletter opens is a client who should be running WhatsApp campaigns, not email campaigns.

WhatsApp Business API enables:

• Broadcast campaigns — send templated messages to opt-in customer lists (the WhatsApp equivalent of email newsletters)
• Automated flows — respond to inbound messages with structured flows (appointment reminders, order confirmations)
• Two-way messaging — customer replies land in a unified inbox

For Leadmetrics, this is a publishing channel and a campaign channel. The Social Post Writer can generate WhatsApp message templates; the Activity Planner can schedule WhatsApp campaigns alongside social posts and blog content.

Auth Mechanism

API Key (Meta’s WhatsApp Business API, accessed through a registered Meta App).

• Provider: Meta Cloud API (free, no BSP required for up to 1,000 marketing messages/month on free tier)
• Registration: client registers a WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) + phone number in Meta Business Manager; Leadmetrics’ Meta App is granted WABA access
• Auth: WABA_ID, PHONE_NUMBER_ID, and a permanent ACCESS_TOKEN from Meta
• No OAuth popup — the client adds their phone number ID and access token directly (similar to API key auth)

Alternative: use a BSP (Business Solution Provider) like Twilio or 360dialog — simpler onboarding, no Meta App setup, but adds per-message cost. Recommended for v1 if Meta App registration is too complex for clients.

What It Enables

Message Template System

WhatsApp requires all outbound messages (outside a 24-hour customer-initiated window) to use pre-approved templates. Leadmetrics must:

1. Generate template content via the social-post-writer.worker.ts (new WhatsApp branch)
2. Submit the template to Meta for approval via POST /v17.0/WABA_ID/message_templates
3. Wait for approval (usually 1–24 hours; Meta review is automated)
4. Once approved (status: APPROVED), schedule the campaign send

This adds an approval step unique to WhatsApp — it should surface in the DM Portal as a “Pending Template Approval” status before the campaign can be scheduled.

Workers Needed

Insight Worker Output (ChannelInsight)

• Total messages sent, delivered, read (last 30 days)
• Read rate and reply rate trend
• Opt-out rate (critical to monitor — high opt-out can get the number banned)
• Best day/time to send based on historical read rates
• Top performing message templates by read rate
• Suggested: next campaign topic based on highest-engagement templates

Channel Detail Page — WhatsAppChannelDetail.tsx

Tabs:

1. Overview — phone number, WABA status, messages sent/read this month
2. Campaigns — list of past campaigns with delivery/read/reply metrics
3. Templates — list of approved templates; status of pending templates
4. Insights — AI-generated performance summary
5. Suggestions — action items from insight worker

Implementation Plan

Phase 1 — Connect + Template Submit + Manual Campaign

1. Create packages/providers/whatsapp/src/index.ts:

   • sendMessage(phoneNumberId, accessToken, to, templateName, languageCode, components) — POST /v17.0/{phone_number_id}/messages
   • submitTemplate(wabaId, accessToken, template) — POST /v17.0/{wabaId}/message_templates
   • getTemplates(wabaId, accessToken) — GET /v17.0/{wabaId}/message_templates
   • getMessageAnalytics(wabaId, accessToken, dateRange) — analytics API
   • verify(phoneNumberId, accessToken) — GET /v17.0/{phone_number_id}

2. Connection flow (API Key auth, no OAuth popup):

   • Add channel form collects: Phone Number ID, WABA ID, Access Token
   • POST /tenant/v1/channels → store as basicInfo: { phone_number_id, waba_id } + tokenInfo: { accessToken }

3. Add seed entry with authenticationType: "ApiKey" (repurposed to collect the three fields)

4. Create whatsapp-template-submitter.worker.ts:

   • Triggered after social-post-writer generates WhatsApp content
   • Submits template to Meta; stores templateName + status: pending_approval on the SocialPost
   • Scheduler polls template status every 30 min until APPROVED or REJECTED

5. Create whatsapp-publisher.worker.ts:

   • Fires when campaign is scheduled + template is APPROVED
   • Sends to contact list via batch sendMessage calls (rate limit: 1,000/day free tier)

6. Create WhatsAppChannelDetail.tsx

Phase 2 — Contact List Management

7. Add WhatsAppContact model: { tenantId, phone, optedIn, tags, lastMessageAt }
8. Import contacts from Zoho CRM or HubSpot opt-in lists
9. Segment contacts for targeted campaign sends

Phase 3 — Inbound Messaging

10. WhatsApp webhook: POST /tenant/v1/whatsapp/webhook — receive inbound messages
11. Unified inbox in DM Portal for replying to customer messages within the 24-hour window

Important Constraints

• Opt-in requirement: Contacts must have explicitly opted in to receive WhatsApp messages. Leadmetrics must surface this clearly in the campaign creation flow — sending to non-opted-in contacts violates Meta’s policy and risks WABA suspension.
• Quality rating: Meta assigns quality ratings (High/Medium/Low) based on opt-out and block rates. Low rating limits sending volume. The insight worker should alert when quality rating drops.
• Template approval time: 1–24 hours typically; automated review can be near-instant for standard templates.

Seed Entry

// packages/db/prisma/seed.ts — CHANNEL_CATALOGUE
{
  type: "WhatsApp",
  name: "WhatsApp Business",
  iconKey: "whatsapp",
  description: "Send templated campaigns and broadcast messages to opted-in customers via WhatsApp.",
  authenticationType: "ApiKey",  // repurposed: collects Phone Number ID + WABA ID + Access Token
  requiresUrl: false,
  isActive: true,
  categories: ["communication", "social_media"],
},