Campaigns Overview

Campaigns are the core of Waflow's messaging capabilities. A campaign combines an approved template with an audience to deliver personalized WhatsApp messages at scale. This guide introduces you to campaign concepts and helps you understand how to use them effectively.

What is a Campaign?

A campaign in Waflow is a structured way to send WhatsApp messages to a group of contacts. Each campaign consists of:

• Template: The approved message format you want to send
• Audience: The contacts who will receive the message
• Variable mapping: How contact data fills in template placeholders
• Schedule: When the messages should be sent
• Tracking: Real-time monitoring of delivery and engagement

Think of a campaign as the execution layer that brings your templates to life by connecting them with real contact data and delivering messages at the right time.

Why Use Campaigns?

Organized Messaging

Campaigns help you organize your messaging efforts:

• Group related messages together
• Track performance by initiative
• Maintain clear records of what was sent

Scalable Delivery

Send to thousands of contacts efficiently:

• Parallel message processing
• Automatic rate limiting to respect WhatsApp limits
• Retry logic for failed messages

Data-Driven Insights

Measure what matters:

• Delivery rates
• Read rates
• Response rates
• Engagement analytics

Compliance and Control

Stay compliant and in control:

• Honor opt-out preferences automatically
• Maintain audit trails
• Control send timing

Campaign Types

Waflow supports several types of campaigns based on your messaging needs:

Immediate Campaigns

Send messages right away to your selected audience.

Best for:

• Time-sensitive announcements
• Breaking news
• Urgent notifications
• Quick promotions

How it works:

1. Create campaign
2. Select template and audience
3. Map variables
4. Click "Send Now"
5. Messages begin sending immediately

Scheduled Campaigns

Plan messages to send at a specific date and time.

Best for:

• Planned promotions
• Event reminders
• Regular updates
• Time-zone optimized sending

How it works:

1. Create campaign
2. Select template and audience
3. Map variables
4. Set date and time
5. Campaign queues and sends automatically

Recurring Campaigns

Automate regular messaging on a schedule.

Best for:

• Weekly newsletters
• Monthly statements
• Regular reminders
• Periodic updates

How it works:

1. Create campaign with recurrence pattern
2. Set frequency (daily, weekly, monthly)
3. Define audience criteria
4. Campaign runs automatically on schedule

Triggered Campaigns

Send messages based on events or actions.

Best for:

• Welcome messages
• Abandoned cart reminders
• Order confirmations
• Anniversary messages

How it works:

1. Define trigger conditions
2. Set up template and variable mapping
3. Enable the trigger
4. Messages send when conditions are met

Note: Triggered campaigns require integration with your systems via webhooks or API.

Campaign Lifecycle

Every campaign moves through defined stages:

┌──────────┐    ┌───────────┐    ┌─────────┐    ┌───────────┐
│  Draft   │ -> │  Queued   │ -> │ Sending │ -> │ Completed │
└──────────┘    └───────────┘    └─────────┘    └───────────┘
                     │                │
                     v                v
                ┌─────────┐      ┌────────┐
                │ Paused  │      │ Failed │
                └─────────┘      └────────┘

Draft

Campaign is being configured but not yet ready to send.

In this state you can:

• Edit all campaign settings
• Change template selection
• Modify audience
• Update variable mappings
• Delete the campaign

Queued

Campaign is scheduled and waiting to send.

In this state you can:

• View campaign details
• Cancel before send time
• Cannot modify settings

What happens next: Campaign automatically moves to "Sending" at the scheduled time.

Sending

Messages are actively being delivered.

In this state you can:

• Monitor real-time progress
• View delivery statistics
• Pause sending if needed

What you'll see:

• Messages queued
• Messages sent
• Messages delivered
• Messages read
• Messages failed

Paused

Campaign sending has been temporarily stopped.

Why pause:

• Need to verify content
• Unexpected issues
• Business decision to wait

In this state you can:

• Resume sending
• Cancel remaining messages
• Review sent messages

Completed

All messages have been processed.

In this state you can:

• View final analytics
• Export delivery report
• Review performance metrics
• Use insights for future campaigns

Failed

Campaign encountered critical errors preventing completion.

Why campaigns fail:

• Template became unavailable
• API connection issues
• Account limits exceeded

In this state you can:

• Review error details
• Fix underlying issues
• Create a new campaign

Campaign Components

Template Selection

Choose an approved template for your campaign:

• Only approved templates are available
• Template determines message structure
• Consider template category and cost

Audience Selection

Define who receives your message:

Options:

• All contacts: Everyone in your contact list
• Segment: A predefined group based on criteria
• Tags: Contacts with specific tags
• Import: Upload a CSV for this campaign
• Manual: Select individual contacts

Variable Mapping

Connect template variables to data sources:

Media Attachments

For templates with media headers:

• Upload images, videos, or documents
• Use same media for all recipients, or
• Map to contact-specific media URLs

Campaign Best Practices

Before You Start

1. Verify your template: Ensure the template is approved and appropriate
2. Clean your audience: Remove invalid numbers and opted-out contacts
3. Test first: Send to yourself or team before full launch
4. Prepare variables: Have all necessary data ready

Audience Considerations

• Quality over quantity: Smaller, engaged audiences outperform large, disengaged ones
• Recent consent: Only message contacts who expect to hear from you
• Frequency awareness: Don't over-message the same contacts
• Segment appropriately: Send relevant content to relevant groups

Timing Matters

• Respect time zones: Consider where your audience is located
• Business hours: Typically better engagement during daytime
• Avoid sensitive times: Early morning, late night, holidays
• Test and learn: Try different times to find what works

Content Quality

• Match expectations: Content should match what contacts signed up for
• Provide value: Every message should benefit the recipient
• Clear call-to-action: Tell people what to do next
• Personalize thoughtfully: Use names and relevant data

Campaign Metrics

Track these key metrics to measure campaign success:

Delivery Metrics

Engagement Metrics

Quality Metrics

Cost Considerations

WhatsApp charges per message based on:

Category Pricing

Cost Optimization Tips

1. Choose the right category: Don't use marketing for utility messages
2. Clean your lists: Avoid paying for undeliverable messages
3. Segment wisely: Send to engaged audiences only
4. Use 24-hour window: Free-form messages during active conversations

Getting Started

Ready to create your first campaign? Here's your path:

1. Prepare your template: Create and get approved (Create Template)
2. Build your audience: Import or organize contacts (Contacts)
3. Create your campaign: Follow the step-by-step guide (Create Campaign)
4. Schedule or send: Time it right (Scheduling)
5. Track results: Monitor performance (Tracking)

Next Steps

• Create a Campaign - Step-by-step campaign creation
• Campaign Scheduling - Timing your campaigns
• Campaign Tracking - Monitor and analyze results