[NEW] How to Create a WhatsApp Campaign Template

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Learning Center Mekari
  • Updated

Campaign Menu, previously known as the Broadcast menu, is one of the features in Mekari Qontak that allows you to send bulk messages to your customers using templates approved by META, with the following category options:

  1. Marketing. Send marketing messages or personalized offers to re-engage customers who have given their consent (opt-in).

  2. Utility. Send non-promotional messages such as real-time updates and reminders.

  3. Authentication. Verify user identity and authenticate transactions using one-time passcodes.

Learn more about pricing per template message category here.

A. Key Points to Know Before Creating Template Content

WhatsApp applies the following policies to maintain the quality of campaign delivery, as follows:

  1. Template Pacing. This feature provides early feedback on templates that receive unfavorable responses from recipients, enabling you to adjust the template content before reaching more customers. Available for Marketing and Utility template categories. 

  2. Business Portfolio Pacing. Set up gradual campaign delivery (batching) when running large-scale messaging campaigns, so you can review and confirm responses from a portion of customers before sending the campaign to the entire recipient list. 
    The business portfolio pacing mechanism applies to businesses that meet the following criteria: 
    - A business portfolio that has collectively sent fewer than 500,000 template messages across all business phone numbers in the last 365 days.
    - A business portfolio that is under monitoring due to suspicious activity, such as suspected violations of META’s policies. Learn more about the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy and WhatsApp Messaging Guidelines

Therefore, before creating a template, you can refer to the guidelines provided by Meta to help you create template content that aligns with its category and intended purpose.

Important
Starting April 9, 2025, Meta will automatically reclassify template categories from Utility to Marketing if the template content contains promotional messages. Therefore, you are advised to double-check the template category before sending any campaign. You may submit an appeal for this change to Meta within a maximum of 60 days through Meta’s Business Support Home page. 
(Coming soon) Information and the confirmation process for template category changes will be gradually available in Mekari Qontak starting early March 2026.

B. Creating a WhatsApp Campaign Template

Follow the steps below to create a WhatsApp campaign template in Mekari Qontak.

  1. Log in to your Mekari Qontak account.

  2. Select the Campaign menu.

  3. Then click "Templates".

  4. Next, on the WhatsApp tab, click Create template and select Campaign template.

  5. You will be directed to the first page, Template setup.

No. Feature Name Explanation
1 Account
(Mandatory)

Displays a list of integrated WABA (WhatsApp Business Account) accounts along with their phone numbers. 

Learn how to integrate a WABA account here

2 Template name
(Mandatory)

Enter a template name with a maximum of 512 characters.

The following rules apply when filling in the Template name:

  1. It only accepts lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores as word separators.

  2. Other characters or spaces are not allowed and will be automatically restricted while typing.

  3. The template name must be unique for each language.

    Example
    if template_name_1 has already been used for a Marketing template in English (US), the same name cannot be used again for templates in English (US), whether for Utility or Authentication. However, you can still use that name for templates in languages other than English (US)

    If you copy and paste a template name that does not comply with the rules above, the input will not be accepted.

3 Category 
(Mandatory)

Select the template category you want to create, with the following options:

  1. Marketing

  2. Utility 

  3. Authentication

Important
Make sure the content you create matches the selected category and language. If there is any mismatch, the template and messages may not be processed by META.

4 Language
(Mandatory)
Select the language you will use to create the template content.
  1. If the information above has been filled in, click "Continue" to proceed to the next step and create the template content.

B.1. Creating Marketing and Utility Templates

  1. If you select a template with the Marketing or Utility category, you need to fill in the required information.

No. Feature Name Explanation
1 Media content: Type
(Optional)

Select the media type to be used as the message header. You can only choose one media type per template.

The following media type is available for the message header:
a. Image
You can upload an image file in JPG, JPEG, or PNG format with a maximum file size of 5 MB.

b. Video
You can upload a video in MP4 format with a maximum file size of 16 MB.

c. Dokument
You can upload a document in DOC, XLS, PPT, or PDF format with a maximum file size of 100 MB.

2 Body: message
(Wajib)

You can compose your message content in this field using emojis, text formatting, and variables to make your message more engaging and personalized, with a maximum of 550 characters (without variables) or 412 characters (with variables).

The character limit for Marketing and Utility body message templates has been changed from 1024 to 550 characters, along with a maximum of 10 emojis per template. This adjustment has been made to comply with META regulations that have been in effect since March 27, 2025. View META’s change log here.

The following text formatting options are available:

  • Italic
  • Bold
  • Strikethrough
  • Monospace
  • Bulleted list
  • Numbered list
  • Quote
  • Inline code


You can use variables to insert dynamic information (for example, customer-specific details such as the customer’s name) into your message content. You are required to fill in sample values for the variables when creating the template.

The variable values are taken from the information available in the recipient lists. You need to map the recipient list “columns” that will be used as variables when sending a campaign. Learn how to upload recipient lists.

- Variables are optional.
- Variables must be in numeric format (for example, {{1}}, {{2}}, etc.), must be sequential, and must not be placed at the end of the body message.
Example of invalid usage: {{1}}, {{2}}, {{4}}.
- It is recommended that variable values do not contain long words to avoid message delivery failures caused by the total campaign message length exceeding the limit.

 

3 Interactive action: Action type
(Opsional)

You can add interactive buttons to guide customers on the next action they can take, with the following options:
- Call To Action (Phone Number & URL)
- Quick Reply

You can only select one type of interactive action per template. Below is an explanation of each available interactive action type:

a. Call to Action
You can provide a URL link and a Business Phone Number using the Call To Action type. Click Add Button, then select the option you want.
 
In this case, you can choose either the Call Button or the URL Button type.

Below is the display that appears when you select the Call Button. Please select the country code and enter your business phone number. Once the number is filled in, customers who click the Call Button text will be automatically directed to the phone call feature on their mobile device.


Below is the display that appears when you select the URL Button. You can choose to use either a static URL or a dynamic URL. Click the Static icon to switch the type to a dynamic URL.

Static URL example:

Dynamic URL example:

b. Quick Reply
Quick Reply allows customers to select from predefined responses provided by the business, with a maximum of 3 buttons. When you choose Quick Reply, the system will display the Button Text field and an Add Button option to add more responses.

You can customize the Button Text with the response options you want to offer to customers, for example: “View price list” or “Yes, I’m interested.”

  1. You can preview the template on the right side to ensure it appears as expected before confirming the template creation.

  2. Click Submit once all the information you have entered is complete and correct.

  3. The template will then be successfully created with an In Review status and submitted to META for review before it can be used to send campaigns. Learn more about template statuses here.

  4. A notification pop-up will appear if the data you submitted is correct.

    If you enable the OTP Enforcement feature, you must enter the OTP code sent to your email before you can confirm the creation of Marketing and Utility templates. 

B.2. Creating an Authentication Template

  1. If you select a template with the Authentication category, you need to fill in the following information.

    No. Feature Name Explanation
    1 Add security recommendation
    (Optional)

    If the “Add security recommendation” checkbox is selected, the system will display a security disclaimer in the body message:

    • ID: Demi keamanan, jangan bagikan kode ini.
    • EN: For your security, do not share this code.


     

    2 Add expiry time for the code

    If the “Add expiry time for the code” checkbox is selected, the system will display an additional field to set the code expiration time in minutes.

    You can configure the expiration time from 1 minute up to a maximum of 90 minutes.

    3 Button text

    The Button Text functions as a copy-to-clipboard action that helps users copy the verification code with a single click, making the verification process faster and easier without manual typing.

    If you select Indonesian as the language option, this field will be automatically filled with “Salin Kode”. If you select English, it will be automatically filled with “Copy code”.

    Please do not change the button label, as this naming is validated by META.

  2. You can then view the template preview on the right side to ensure it appears as expected before confirming the template creation.

  3. Click Submit once all the information you have entered is complete and correct.

  4. The template will then be successfully created with an In Review status and sent to META for review before it can be used to send campaigns. Learn more about template statuses here

  5. A notification pop-up will appear if the data you submitted is correct.