Create Template message
Overview
Broadcast messages are WhatsApp messages sent from your dedicated number to participants. They are used to invite participants into studies, send reminders, share results, and communicate any other research-related messages throughout the lifecycle of a project.
Every broadcast message must be approved by Meta before it can be sent. This is a standard requirement of the WhatsApp Business API — Meta reviews each message template to ensure it meets their policies. Approval typically takes between 5 minutes and 4 hours.
How It Works
Creating a Broadcast
Navigate to the Broadcast Messages tab.
Click Actions → Create.
Select the type of broadcast you want to create.
Name your broadcast.
Choose the message category (Marketing or Utility).
Select the language.
Design the message (header, body, buttons).
Submit for Meta approval.
Once approved, send to your participants.
Broadcast Types
When creating a broadcast, you select from eight pre-configured types. Each type is designed for a specific purpose, and some have restrictions on how the message can be configured to ensure they function correctly.
Participant Invite — Invite participants to start a study. Includes a campaign button that kicks off the survey, interview, or diary.
Reminder — Prompt participants who haven't completed a study. Cannot use CSV variable placeholders — reminders fire automatically and can't pull dynamic participant data.
Follow-Up — Re-engage participants after a study or between activities. Used in multi-day studies or for post-completion communication.
External Link — Direct participants to an external URL. The link is pre-populated in the message (e.g., Google review, incentive page, results page).
Thank You — Acknowledge completion and express gratitude. Sent after study completion.
Incentive — Communicate reward or incentive details. Used for prize draw announcements, voucher distribution, or payment confirmation.
General — Any other communication purpose. Flexible format for ad-hoc messages.
Opt-Out Confirmation — Confirm a participant has been removed from future messages. Triggered when a participant opts out.
Note: Some broadcast types restrict certain features to ensure they work correctly for their intended purpose. For example, reminder messages cannot include CSV variable placeholders because they are designed to fire automatically and cannot dynamically pull individual participant data at send time.
Message Categories: Marketing vs. Utility
Every broadcast must be classified as either Marketing or Utility. This classification determines both the cost and the delivery rules.
Marketing Messages
Marketing messages are promotional or request-based messages where you're asking the participant to do something. Examples include invitations to take a survey, requests for feedback, and incentive-driven calls to action such as "Share your thoughts and win a R3,000 voucher."
Marketing messages cost approximately $0.04 / R0.68 per message and can be sent to any participant on your contact list.
Utility Messages
Utility messages are transactional messages directly related to a specific action or account event. Examples include post-purchase feedback requests referencing a specific transaction, appointment confirmations, and payment processing notifications.
Utility messages cost approximately $0.01 / R0.15 per message — roughly 5x cheaper than marketing — but must be directly related to a specific participant interaction or transaction.
How Meta Classifies Messages
Meta reviews every broadcast template and assigns the final classification — regardless of what you select when creating it. Meta is restrictive about granting utility classification. What commonly happens is that you create a broadcast and select "Utility" as the category, Meta reviews the template, and if the message doesn't meet their strict transactional criteria, Meta reclassifies it as Marketing.
To maximise your chances of utility classification:
Reference a specific event — "You completed a purchase on [date]" rather than "We'd love your feedback."
Use Meta's standard survey templates as a starting point.
Keep the message short and transactional in tone.
Include specific customer context — account details, transaction references, service interactions.
Avoid promotional language — words like "win," "exclusive," and "special offer" will trigger marketing classification.
Cost optimisation tip: Where possible, use link-based access instead of broadcast invitations. When a participant clicks a link to start a study, it's classified as a service conversation — which is free. Reserve broadcast invitations for situations where you need to proactively reach participants who wouldn't otherwise find the link.
Designing a Broadcast Message
Each broadcast message has three components: a header, a body, and buttons.
Header
Choose between a logo/image or text. The image option pulls your organisation's logo from your account settings. If you update the logo in settings, it updates across all broadcasts — even those already created.
Tip: Use the image header to include incentive details, study branding, or visual context. Participants are more likely to engage with messages that include an image.
Body
The main message text. This is where you explain what the study is about and why the participant should take part.
Variable placeholders: You can insert dynamic placeholders into the body text that are populated from your participant CSV upload. For example, {{1}} might map to the participant's first name, and {{2}} might map to a company name, product purchased, or any other CSV column.
When creating the broadcast, you insert dummy/proxy text into each placeholder. This dummy text serves two purposes: it shows Meta how the message will be used during the approval process, and it demonstrates the intended context and personalisation.
Example body text: "Hi {{1}}, we're conducting research on {{2}} and would value your input. It takes just 5 minutes."
Rendered for participant: "Hi Sarah, we're conducting research on banking and would value your input. It takes just 5 minutes."
Note: Variable placeholders are not available on all broadcast types. Reminder messages, for example, cannot use CSV variables because they fire automatically.
Buttons
Up to two buttons can be added at the bottom of the message:
Campaign Button — The primary call-to-action. When tapped, this starts the participant's entry into the study (survey, AI interview, or diary). The button text can be customised (e.g., "Start Survey," "Begin," "Take Part," "Share Feedback").
Opt-Out Button — Allows the participant to opt out of receiving further broadcast messages from your number. This gives participants control over their engagement and is required by Meta's policies.
Meta Approval Process
How It Works
You design and submit your broadcast template.
Meta reviews the content, category, and structure.
Meta either approves or rejects the template.
If approved, you can begin sending immediately.
If rejected, you'll need to revise and resubmit.
Typical Approval Time
Most templates are approved within 5 minutes to 2 hours. Some templates take up to 4 hours. Rejected templates require revision and resubmission, adding an additional review cycle.
Tips for Fast Approval
Follow Meta's template guidelines closely.
Use clear, straightforward language.
Avoid anything that could be interpreted as spam or misleading.
Include an opt-out option.
Don't include URL shorteners (use full URLs).
Ensure placeholder text accurately represents how the message will be used.
Common Rejection Reasons
Message is too promotional for utility classification.
Missing opt-out option.
Placeholder text is vague or misleading.
Message violates Meta's commerce or advertising policies.
URL shorteners or suspicious links included.
Broadcast Costs & Billing
Message Pricing
Marketing: ~$0.04 / R0.68 / £0.038 per message
Utility: ~$0.01 / R0.15 per message
Service (participant-initiated via link click): Free
How Billing Works
WhatsApp message costs are charged by Meta, not Yazi. You have two options for handling these costs:
Pay Meta directly — Enter your payment details within Meta Business Manager. Message costs are billed directly to your account. You can track usage by project within the Yazi platform for internal cost allocation.
Consolidated billing — Yazi can handle Meta message costs and add them to your Yazi invoice. This simplifies finance operations if you prefer a single vendor invoice.
Opt-Outs & Compliance
How Opt-Outs Work
When a participant taps the opt-out button on any broadcast message, they are immediately removed from future broadcast messaging, they receive an opt-out confirmation, and their opt-out status is recorded in the platform. They can no longer be sent marketing or utility messages from your number.
Why This Matters
Meta requires that participants have the ability to opt out of receiving messages. Maintaining low opt-out and block rates protects your sending reputation and limits. High block rates can result in Meta restricting or suspending your number's messaging capabilities.
Best practice: Only send broadcasts to participants who have a reason to hear from you. Unsolicited messages to cold contacts will drive up block rates and damage your number's reputation.
Message Design Best Practices
Keep it short — Participants decide within seconds whether to engage. Front-load the value proposition.
Use an image header — Messages with images get significantly higher engagement than text-only messages.
Include incentive details in the image — If you're offering an incentive, put it in the header image where it's immediately visible.
Personalise with variables — "Hi Sarah" performs better than "Hi there." Use CSV data to personalise wherever possible.
Set expectations — Tell participants how long the study takes and what it's about.
For sending workflows, automated reminders, sending limits, timing, and delivery monitoring, see Sending a Broadcast and Broadcast Statistics.
Known Limitations
Meta has final say on category — You can request utility classification, but Meta may reclassify your template as marketing regardless of your selection.
Sending limits apply — New numbers start at 250/day. Plan your number warm-up timeline before large launches.
Template approval is not instant — While most templates are approved within minutes, allow up to 4 hours. Don't leave template creation to the last minute before a launch.
Reminder messages cannot use CSV variables — Because they fire automatically, they cannot dynamically insert participant-specific data from your uploaded contact list.
Opt-out is permanent per number — Once a participant opts out, you cannot send them further broadcast messages from that WhatsApp number.
Steps to Create
Click "Create New" in the Share tab of a campaign or "Create" in the Broadcast Messages page
Specify the Message details in Content tab
Give it a Header: Either an image (Logo) or header text
Update the Body of the message. You can also add placeholders to your message body to personalise the message for each recipient.
Once you have filled in all the details, you can click ‘Create Template 🚀’
Templates typically take 1 minute - 1 day to be approved.
Example of a Generic Template Message
Placeholder Guide:
{{1}}: Participant's name.{{2}}: Topic of research.{{3}}: Number of questions or interview details.
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