Connecting to WhatsApp
Guidelines on how to create and connect your new WhatsApp Business account
Getting your Converso account connected to your WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) in your Meta / Facebook Business account, takes only a couple of minutes.
When connecting your Converso workspace to your Meta Business account, we strongly recommend assigning one WABA with a single number for each workspace.
Doing so reduces the risk of your WABA being blocked by Meta, which (if using a single account with multiple numbers) could result in all your workspaces being blocked simultaneously.
It's also recommended before you start to read the article on WhatsApp Business accounts, as it has some useful information on the set up and management of your WhatsApp service.
In summary, before you get started, you will need:
- the registered name of your company
- the URL of your company website
- admin permission for your company's Meta Business Manager account
- the phone number on which you will send WhatsApp messages: this number should not be in use with another WhatsApp service and you should also be able to receive voice calls on this number to verify it belongs to you.
You can either use your existing Meta Business Account or create a new one, and you can either use an existing WABA to connect to, or create a new one.
If this is your first time using WhatsApp Business Platform, you will need to create a new WABA.
Let's get started!
First make sure you have the relevant business info, as detailed above, populated in the Business Info section of Business Manager settings.
This includes a legal name, an address, your business phone number, and your website address.
Important
This information is used by Facebook to check compliance with the Commerce Policy. If it's not correctly set up, the account may be blocked.
Therefore, it's important that the website address is given, which includes a clear description of your company's business.
In Converso, under the relevant workspace, click on Channels, and then click on the Login with Facebook button:
Important: Don't keep the sign up pop-up window open for more than one hour, otherwise the session may expire. You should also try to avoid clicking on another browser tab, as the Facebook pop up may close.
You will then be prompted to log into your Facebook Business account - this will also have access to the Meta Business Manager that will manage your new WABA (WhatsApp Business Account).
You should therefore log in with a user that has Admin level access to your Facebook Business Account.
You can then start the connection process:
Select from an existing Business portfolio or create a new one:
If you need to create a new Business portfolio, you will be prompted for your business name, business phone number, business website and business address.
Select the appropriate number source for your WhatsApp service:
Then create your new WhatsApp Business account or select from an existing one:
Input your display name and business profile:
Verify your WhatsApp number
It is advisable to verify your number using a voice call if its a new number.
Once your number is verified you can finish the connection process:
It will then take a couple of moments before your new WhatsApp number is connected and a confirmation notification is displayed:
Congratulations, your WhatsApp Business service is now live!
You will be able to receive inbound messages, but you need to wait for approx 2 hours before you can send outbound messages via message template.
You can find further info on sending and receiving messages here.
Key points post connection
Display name
After Business Verification is finished, WhatsApp will also approve your company's Display Name.
The Display Name is only shown in the Contacts view, in a smaller font size (as shown below "Converso"). In all other views, the phone number is displayed.
You can add your logo, website, address, business description in the profile section in your WhatsApp Manager.
In the conversation, if your number is not saved to the recipient's contacts, only the number will be shown. But WhatsApp has made it easy to save contact details of Business Accounts. The user just has to click on the number, the WhatsApp profile information opens up and when clicking on "adding contact" all the details are pre-filled automatically.
Your logo is also shown in the list of conversations as well as the conversation header:
Display Name Guidelines are very strict, and names will often get rejected for small details or minor discrepancies between the name and the Facebook Business, website, or social media.
To avoid this, make sure you thoroughly review Facebook's guidelines.
In order to display your business name in the chat list, chat screen and contacts view (instead of the phone number and even if the user hasn't added the business to their address book), you need an Official Business Account. This also enables you to add a green checkmark badge in your profile.
This is WhatsApp's way of confirming that an authentic, reputable brand is the owner of this account. Only a few companies will have an official company account. The decision is based on a variety of factors, such as whether the brand is notable. It is not possible to pay to turn a Business account into an Official business account.
Display logo
You can display your logo at the top of WhatsApp conversations:
Go to your WhatsApp Manager to upload your logo.
Support
If you have difficulties during the sign up process, please open a ticket for Converso Support at [email protected].
You can also refer to Meta's own list of errors listed here.
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