WhatsApp message template

Definition

A WhatsApp message template is a pre-written message submitted to Meta through the WhatsApp Business Platform and approved before use. It is the only kind of message a business may send on its own initiative, meaning outside a customer service window opened by the client. Each template has a name, a language, a category (marketing, utility or authentication), a body with numbered variables, and optionally a header, footer and buttons (quick replies, URL, call). Meta reviews the content, may reject it, and keeps monitoring it afterwards: a template that draws blocks or reports can be paused or disabled. Since Meta moved to per-message pricing in 2025, the category also sets the price of each send.

What you need to know

For a brokerage, templates carry all outbound communication: premium reminders, debit-order failure notices, document requests, renewal notices, claim updates, policy anniversaries and cover-review invitations. The category decision is the sensitive one. A message about an existing policy that does not promote a purchase is utility; any promotional wording pushes Meta to classify it as marketing, which costs more and is monitored more closely. Meta sometimes recategorises a utility submission as marketing during review; the fix is to strip the sales language and resubmit.

Variables ({prenom}, {contrat}, {montant}, {date}, {conseiller} in this site's templates) personalise the message while keeping the approved wording fixed. Quick-reply buttons ("Paid", "Call me", "Send documents") are the most reliable way to get an answer, and an answer opens a 24-hour window for free-form conversation.

In ORIS, templates are created and synchronised with Meta from the WhatsApp screen, with the approval status shown (Awaiting Meta approval, Template Rejected); a campaign only goes out with an approved template to opted-in clients. The template library on this site offers variants by tone and timing, and the South African setup guide explains how the first ten templates get approved.

Concrete example

A Nairobi brokerage submits "Hi {prenom}, your {contrat} premium of {montant} is due on {date}. Ask us about our new medical cover!" and Meta classifies it as marketing. The firm removes the last sentence, resubmits as utility and gets approval the same day. The medical-cover offer becomes a separate marketing template sent only to clients with a recorded marketing opt-in.