WhatsApp campaigns have proven to be a boon when it comes to connecting restaurants with consumers, and initiating conversations which eventually turn into conversions.

You can auto engage with customers based on their behaviour at your restaurant, send campaigns around festive seasons and special items, let customers know about updates to your menu, discounts and offers, send abandoned cart notifications, and a lot more.

With WhatsApp integrated onto your Thrive Marketing Suite via your Business Dashboard, creating campaigns has never been easier. But there are a few hygiene practices to keep in mind when putting together templates for your campaigns, and this piece will take you through them.

To increase the chances of getting templates approved by WhatsApp, it is recommended to follow these best practices:

1. Build simple and concise message templates: Create templates that convey information clearly and concisely to users. Avoid unnecessary complexity or ambiguity in the messages.

2. Ensure correct grammar and spelling: Proofread the content of your templates to eliminate any grammatical or spelling errors before submitting them for review.

3. Maintain correct formatting: Pay attention to the formatting of your templates. When using variable parameters (e.g., {{1}}, {{2}}), ensure that you use the correct number of curly brackets. Incorrect formatting may lead to template rejection.

4. Use full URLs, not short links: When including links in your templates, make sure to use full URLs instead of shortened links generated by URL shorteners like bit.ly or tinyurl.

5. Choose appropriate template names: Select template names that are descriptive and relevant to the content of the template. Use lowercase alphanumeric characters and underscores, avoiding whitespaces and special characters.

6. Match template language with message language: Ensure that the language used in your message templates matches the selected template language. It is important to use the language that is supported by WhatsApp for effective communication.

7. Tag templates with correct category and language: Assign the appropriate category and language tags to your templates.

8. Adhere to WhatsApp Commerce Policy: Ensure that your message templates comply with the WhatsApp Commerce Policy. Avoid sending non-transactional messages, conducting surveys, or engaging in games and contests unless explicitly allowed by WhatsApp.

9. Avoid abusive or threatening content: Refrain from including any content that is abusive, threatening, or violates the terms of service of WhatsApp.

Examples of Approved Templates:

To illustrate the application of these best practices, let's consider some examples of approved templates:

a. Approved Templates:

1.Template Category: Abandoned Cart Message:

Hi {{1}},

Did you forget something? The payment for your recent order with Hundo Pizza was not completed! Still thinking it over?

Here's a special offer just for you - use DIRECT50 to get 50% off on the bill while checking out. Use this link to complete your order: https://thrivenow.in/cart_wZYt64hRh

2. Template Category: Father’s Day Campaign Message -

Header: Time to cool Dad down with Ice Cream! 😤 🥶

‍Body: Father’s Day is nearly here! 👴 Pre-order treats for Dad for the 18th of June, only from XYZ 🍦

Use GIFTFORDAD to get 25% off upto Rs. 100! 💰 P.S. Don’t forget to pick his favourite flavours! 😋

‍Button: Order now

b. Reasons for Template Rejections:

Templates may get rejected for the following reasons:

• Missing or mismatched curly braces in variable parameters (e.g., {{1}}).
• Variable parameters containing special characters (#, $, %).
• Non-sequential variable parameters (e.g., {{1}}, {{2}}, {{4}}, {{5}} without {{3}}).
• Content violating WhatsApp's Commerce Policy or Business Policy.
• Inclusion of potentially abusive or threatening content.
• Duplicate templates that already exist.

By implementing these best practices, you can enhance your communication, provide a seamless user experience, and build stronger relationships with their customers through WhatsApp campaigns.

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