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Click-to-WhatsApp ads (CTWA)
Facebook and Instagram ads whose call to action opens a WhatsApp chat with your business, passing a referral payload you can attribute.
One term from the WhatsApp Business Platform glossary. Last updated 2026-07-25.
A Click-to-WhatsApp ad replaces the landing page with a conversation. Someone tapping the ad on Facebook or Instagram lands in a WhatsApp thread with the business rather than on a form, which removes the step where most mobile traffic in India drops out.
The part that matters operationally is the referral payload. Meta attaches the originating ad, headline and source to the first inbound message, so a platform can attribute the eventual sale back to the campaign that produced it. Without that payload surfaced in the inbox and the CRM, click-to-WhatsApp spend becomes unattributable, which is the usual reason these campaigns get cut.
Related terms
- Opt-in
- The recorded permission a customer gives before a business sends them WhatsApp template messages. Meta requires that you collect it, make clear which business is messaging, and honour opt-outs.
- Customer service window
- The 24-hour window that opens when a customer messages your business. Replies you send inside it are free-form and are not charged as template messages.
- Template message
- A pre-approved message format required to contact a customer outside the 24-hour customer service window. Meta categorises templates as Marketing, Utility or Authentication, and charges a different rate for each.
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