Templates
A template is a message Meta has approved in advance. Anything you send first is a template. What you reply inside the 24-hour window doesn't have to be.
Building a template
You name it, pick a category and a language, and write the text. A preview next to the form follows what you type, so you can see how it lands on the customer's phone.
There are 3 categories. Marketing is anything carrying an offer or an invitation. Utility is a confirmation, a status update, or a reminder tied to a transaction already in motion. Authentication is a login code.
Variables
A variable is the part of the message that differs per recipient. You can number them or give them names, but not both in the same template.
Each variable needs a sample value. Meta reviews the template with those samples filled in, so a sample that makes no sense can get it rejected. A variable also can't be the first or last word of your message.
Header, footer, and buttons
Above the text you can add a header: a short line of text, or an image, video, or document. Below it you can add a footer, for example an unsubscribe line.
There are 3 button types: a quick reply the customer taps to answer, a link to a web page, and a button that calls your number.
| Part | Limit |
|---|---|
| Message text | 1,024 characters |
| Text header | 60 characters, at most 1 variable |
| Footer | 60 characters. A variable in the footer is allowed for utility templates only |
| Buttons | 10 in total, including at most 2 links and 1 phone number |
| Button text | 25 characters |
Tracked links
You can track clicks on a link button. Enter your own destination; we replace it with a short link that forwards the customer there. The destination must use https.
Each recipient gets their own code, so the campaign report shows both the click count and who clicked.
Approval and syncing
A submitted template sits at pending, then turns approved or rejected. We pull that status from Meta the moment you open the templates page, and there's a button to refresh it by hand.
Only approved templates can be picked for a campaign. Each template also shows how often it has been used in one.
The category isn't really yours to choose: you propose one when you submit, but Meta decides the final one. An offer inside a utility template turns it into a marketing template, at the marketing rate.