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Referral payload
Attribution data attached to the first message of a conversation that started from a click-to-WhatsApp ad, identifying the ad, campaign and source that produced it.
One term from the WhatsApp Business Platform glossary. Last updated 2026-07-25.
When someone taps a click-to-WhatsApp ad, the first inbound message carries a referral object identifying the ad and campaign. This is the only point at which that attribution is available — it is not repeated on later messages in the thread.
A platform that does not capture the referral payload on first contact loses ad attribution permanently for that conversation, which is why ad-driven WhatsApp funnels so often show spend on one side and unattributed conversations on the other.
Related terms
- 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.
- Free entry point conversation
- A WhatsApp conversation started when a customer taps a click-to-WhatsApp ad or a Facebook Page call-to-action. Meta gives these an extended free window to encourage ad-driven chat.
- Segmentation
- Dividing contacts into targeted groups using tags, custom fields, lifecycle stage, purchase history or consent state, so a message reaches only the people it is relevant to.
See Referral payload in a real workspace
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