Getting customers to respond to traditional ads is an ever growing challenge. Think about how many times you’ve clicked on an ad only to navigate away before entering any information in a contact form.
Click-to-WhatsApp ads solve this problem by turning ad clicks into instant conversations. When someone sees your ad on Facebook or Instagram, a single click can open a WhatsApp conversation with your business. Visitors no longer need to fill out forms or navigate your website in order to start a message thread with your team.
In this article, we’ll walk you through what ads that click to WhatsApp are, how to build themselves, and how to optimize campaigns to drive real business results.
What are click-to-WhatsApp ads?
Click-to-WhatsApp ads are Facebook or Instagram ads that open a WhatsApp conversation between a business and a prospect or customer. Instead of directing visitors to a landing page or website, where there is the potential for dropoff, these ads create an instant messaging connection.
From a customer’s point of view, they might see your ad while scrolling through Facebook or Instagram and tap the call-to-action button. This automatically opens a WhatsApp chat with a pre-filled message and they can either send the message as is or adjust as needed. This creates a seamless experience that eliminates multiple friction points in the customer journey, making it easier for prospects to directly engage with your business the moment they’re interested.
Why click-to-WhatsApp Ads outperform traditional ad formats
In addition to creating a frictionless journey for customers, click-to-WhatsApp ads also generate a number of advantages including higher engagement and conversion rates for visitors.
Improved engagement. Ads featuring a direct messaging link can drive higher engagement compared to traditional static ads that just drive visitors to a website. Consider how Air France used click-to-WhatsApp ads to drive a 4.5x higher click-through rate for best offer newsletter messages and 85% of their customer care conversations on social all took place on WhatsApp.
Increased conversion rates. By offering direct, immediate communications, customers can ask questions and get the answers they need in real-time before making a purchase. Movistar Mexico, a mobile network service provider, used click-to-WhatsApp ads to connect customers directly with their sales team, resulting in a 3x increase in average monthly sales from customers reached via Meta apps.
Better retargeting opportunities. Once a customer or prospect messages you on WhatsApp, you have a direct line to them for future communications. With ActiveCampaign WhatsApp Messaging, you can segment these contacts based on their conversation history and create highly targeted follow-up campaigns.
Setting up your click-to-WhatsApp ads
Before creating your click-to-WhatsApp ads, make sure you have a Meta ad account and a WhatsApp account connected to your Facebook page. Once you’re in your Ads Manager, you’ll create a new campaign and set your message destination to WhatsApp.
When creating your campaigns, you’ll want to define your target audience in order to actually reach people who are most likely to engage via messaging. Facebook needs a sufficient size audience in order to find the right people, but too broad an audience could dilute your ad’s relevance. Keep in mind your audience’s age, interests, and online behaviors; if you track people who have previously visited your website or engaged with your content, you can also create custom audiences to further hone in your target audience.
The copy you supply for your ads also needs to grab people’s attention and encourage them to open a WhatsApp conversation with you. Highlight any benefits a customer might get if they start a message thread, but also keep it concise to minimize any visitor bounces. Specificity matters when creating your ad copy and with a tool like WhatsApp Messaging you can create multiple flows for each ad campaign and know exactly which ad prompted each conversation.
The real power of click-to-WhatsApp ads comes from automation. When someone messages your business, tools like WhatsApp Messaging can automatically engage them with a personalized conversation flow based on which ad they clicked. Within WhatsApp Messaging, you can build out conversation journeys for a variety of use cases including lead generation, product inquiries, service bookings, and even rescheduling services.
For more details on how to set up your click-to-WhatsApp ad, check out this article.
Best practices to drive WhatsApp conversations
Setting up your click-to-WhatsApp ad is the easy part. You also need to drive engagement and get visitors to initiate a conversation with your brand. Here are several best practices to keep in mind to optimize your ads for success:
Be patient
Meta’s algorithm needs time to learn which users are most likely to message your business and recommends running your ad campaigns for at least seven days before making any changes. If you’re not seeing the results you want immediately, wait a few days for the algorithm to have time to optimize for delivery.
Personalize the welcome experience
When someone messages you from your ad, they likely have high interest in your product or service. Don’t waste this opportunity with a generic “how can I help you?” response. Try personalizing your message by referencing the ad copy, acknowledging that you know which ad they clicked and have an idea of what they’re interested in.
Test, test, and test again
To find the most effective combination of text and visuals, consider running A/B tests to see which rich media assets, headlines, and trigger phrases drive the most engagement. Test one variable at a time so you can clearly identify what’s driving performance improvements.
Make your CTA crystal clear
Your ad should explicitly tell people that clicking it will start a WhatsApp conversation so they know what to expect. For example, you might use phrases like “Message us on WhatsApp” or “Chat now for instant answers” to make it obvious and inviting instead of assuming people will figure it out.
Balance automation with a human touch
Automated workflows can efficiently handle initial interactions, but it’s also important to know when to route a conversation to a human agent. For situations where empathy and judgement play a factor, high-value opportunities, or complex questions that require additional expertise, consider redirecting visitors to a human agent. The best approach combines automation for speed and scale with humans for conversations that call for additional nuance or are about relationship-building.
When to use click-to-WhatsApp ads
Click-to-WhatsApp ads work across nearly every industry, but there are some scenarios where you might find greater success over others:
Lead generation
To attract and engage new leads, consider offering guides, consultations, or quotes in exchange for starting a conversation. Arabian Automobiles Company (AAC), an exclusive Nissan distributor in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, created click-to-WhatsApp ads to simplify the booking experience for test drives. This resulted in double the leads compared to their usual approach, a 56% reduction in cost-per-lead, and a 4% lower cost per link compared to their traditional advertising efforts.
Ecommerce inquiries
Shoppers in-person can flag down a sales associate to ask questions before they make a purchase. With click-to-WhatsApp, businesses can replicate that exact experience entirely online by letting customers talk to someone before committing to a purchase. This is especially valuable for complex or high-ticket products like furniture, electronics, or custom items.
Appointment booking
Click-to-WhatsApp makes it easy and conversational for service businesses like salons or medical practices to fill appointment slots directly via chat. Apollo 24|7, a multi-channel healthcare platform, used WhatsApp to increase their bookings by 49% and growing average revenue per order by 72%.
Customer support
Reduce call center volume while improving customer satisfaction by encouraging visitors to reach out via WhatsApp for support. By managing their customer outreach entirely on WhatsApp, Benefit Cosmetics delivers fast, convenient service for customers and saw a 60% faster agent response time with WhatsApp compared to email.
Turn clicks into WhatsApp conversations
Click-to-WhatsApp ads represent a fundamental shift in how we market to consumers. Instead of interrupting people with messages about your products and services, WhatsApp ads invite them into a conversation where you can better understand and address their actual needs.
The results speak for themselves: higher engagement rates, lower costs per click, and improved conversation rates put WhatsApp a step ahead of traditional ad formats. And by integrating click-to-WhatsApp ads with tools like ActiveCampaign WhatsApp Messaging, you can scale these personal conversations without having to proportionally scale your team. Automated flows handling initial qualification and common questions while human agents can step in for conversations that require personal attention.
Ready to start turning ad clicks into customer conversations? Set up ActiveCampaign Messaging and launch your first click-to-WhatsApp ad campaign today.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does ActiveCampaign’s WhatsApp Messaging help businesses automate and personalize customer conversations?
ActiveCampaign’s WhatsApp Messaging empowers businesses to automate customer conversations with intelligent workflows, chatbots, and pre-approved templates, ensuring every interaction is timely and relevant. You can personalize messages at scale using dynamic variables, segment audiences for targeted campaigns, and seamlessly route conversations to the right team member. This automation reduces manual workload while delivering a consistent, human touch in your WhatsApp marketing campaigns—so your team can focus on building relationships and closing deals.
What support does ActiveCampaign provide during WhatsApp API onboarding and setup?
ActiveCampaign provides hands-on support throughout the WhatsApp API onboarding and setup process, including guidance on business verification, compliance, and technical configuration. As an official WhatsApp Business Solution Provider, ActiveCampaign takes care of the complex setup steps, so you can start building automated WhatsApp experiences quickly and confidently.
Can I integrate WhatsApp Messaging with my existing ActiveCampaign workflows and CRM?
Yes, WhatsApp Messaging is fully integrated within ActiveCampaign, allowing you to trigger WhatsApp messages from your existing automations and sync customer responses directly to your CRM. This ensures all your customer data, interactions, and follow-ups are unified, enabling smarter segmentation and more personalized marketing across every channel.
How do WhatsApp API templates streamline the process of sending bulk marketing messages?
WhatsApp API templates allow you to pre-approve and reuse message formats for bulk campaigns, ensuring compliance and fast delivery. By using dynamic fields, you can personalize each message at scale, making it easy to send high-impact marketing communications to large segments without manual effort or risk of delays.
In what ways do Flows help automate and simplify WhatsApp marketing campaigns?
Flows automate customer journeys within WhatsApp by guiding users through interactive steps, collecting data, and triggering personalized follow-ups—all without manual intervention. This reduces repetitive work for your team, ensures consistent experiences, and lets you nurture leads or resolve inquiries efficiently, even at high volumes.
