What it does
Connect your own WhatsApp Business number and Wemu can send these on WhatsApp:
- confirmations for bookings made on your public page
- 24-hour and 1-hour appointment reminders
If a WhatsApp message can't be sent, Wemu sends a text instead, as long as SMS is ticked for that message too. Confirmation emails go out as usual.
WhatsApp messages don't use your Wemu SMS credits. Meta charges for them through your own Meta account.
What you need
- A Meta business account, and an app in Meta's developer dashboard with the WhatsApp product added
- A phone number set up on the WhatsApp Business Platform. It can't be a number you use in the WhatsApp app.
- Two message templates approved by Meta, in English (language code en), named exactly as below
The templates:
- booking_confirmation, with three variables: the customer's name, the service, and the date and time
- booking_reminder, with three variables: the customer's name, the service, and the date and time. The 1-hour reminder sends just the time.
Wemu doesn't create the templates for you. A message whose template is missing or not approved isn't delivered.
Connecting
Navigate to: Settings → Integrations → WhatsApp
- Enter the Phone Number ID, Permanent Access Token and Business Account ID from Meta's dashboard
- Press Connect to WhatsApp. Wemu checks the number and token with Meta before saving.
- Use Send Test Message to check it works. Meta only delivers this kind of plain message to someone who has messaged your WhatsApp number in the last 24 hours, so test with a phone that has.
Choosing what goes by WhatsApp
Navigate to: Settings → Notifications
- Switch on WhatsApp. The switch only works once WhatsApp is connected.
- Under Notification Triggers, tick WhatsApp for Booking Confirmation, 24h Reminder and 1h Reminder
- Press Save Changes
Not available yet
These are coming soon:
- Customer replies in Wemu's Messages. Replies arrive in your WhatsApp Business account, not in Wemu.
- Cancellations, invoice reminders, order updates and receipts on WhatsApp. The WhatsApp boxes for Booking Cancellation and Invoice Reminder in Notification Triggers don't send anything yet.
- WhatsApp on one-off custom campaigns
- WhatsApp opt-outs and consent records
Automated campaigns can send on WhatsApp using a template named campaign_message, but Wemu doesn't yet check WhatsApp consent. Only use it if every customer in the campaign has agreed to WhatsApp messages from you.
Disconnecting
Press Disconnect on the WhatsApp page. WhatsApp messages stop, and messages with SMS ticked go by text instead.