WhatsApp Marketing with iPresso: Everything You Need to Know
WhatsApp is no longer just a messenger, but a serious marketing tool – and there is a specific reason for that.
Messages sent via WhatsApp have an open rate of around 98%. By comparison, email marketing hovers around 20%. CTR in WhatsApp campaigns reaches up to 60%, while in emails it rarely exceeds 5% (Wapikit, WhatsApp Business Statistics 2025).
In this article, we’ll explain how WhatsApp marketing works in iPresso – from the technical details, through campaign creation, to reporting and integration with other marketing automation platform tools.
Why WhatsApp and not another email
First things first: how WhatsApp differs from the channels you already know.
Email is the inbox channel. A message lands there and waits. It might wait an hour, maybe a week. Often, it won’t be opened at all.
WhatsApp goes directly to the conversations the recipient has every day. 80% of WhatsApp messages are read within 5 minutes of delivery (SociallyIn, WhatsApp Statistics 2025).
Then there’s the scale. With over 3 billion monthly users worldwide, WhatsApp is one of only three platforms to have surpassed this threshold, alongside Facebook and Instagram.
If you operate especially in Western European markets, DACH, Brazil, India, the Middle East, then WhatsApp is a channel you cannot ignore.
How does WhatsApp in iPresso differ from a chatbot?
Before anyone starts thinking about a chatbot – this is something else.
The classic WhatsApp chatbot works reactively. The user types first, and the bot responds. iPresso does it differently.
In iPresso, the platform, not the user, initiates communication. Just like with email marketing or push notifications, the marketer decides when and to whom to send a message, rather than waiting for someone to write.
The difference is significant because it opens WhatsApp as a full-fledged outbound channel – segment campaigns, triggered scenarios, abandonment reactivations, transactional communication.
At the same time, WhatsApp is inherently bidirectional. This is something iPresso supports – the campaign doesn’t end after the message is sent, but rather responds to the contact’s responses according to a pre-planned automated conversation tree.
If a contact clicks the quick reply button, the system automatically sends another message or triggers a defined action. If they select a different button, a different action occurs.
How iPresso’s WhatsApp Channel Works – Technical Basics
WABA account and phone number
To send messages via WhatsApp Business API, you need a WABA (WhatsApp Business Account). The entire setup process is handled by the iPresso team.
Important: Sending limits and number quality ratings are managed through WhatsApp Manager, not iPresso. This is something you need to keep an eye on.
Warming up the number
Each new number goes through a warm-up period. This involves gradually increasing the daily sending limits. A new number won’t immediately send several hundred thousand messages, and this is imposed by WhatsApp.
Message templates
Every WhatsApp campaign must begin with a template message. A template is a message pre-approved by Meta, with specific content, possible variables, and categories.
Templates are created and managed by the marketer directly in WhatsApp Manager. Validation can take anywhere from a few seconds to several days (usually sooner rather than longer). Once approved, the template automatically appears in iPresso.
Important: Changing an active template risks errors in already running campaigns. It’s better to create new versions.
Creating a WhatsApp campaign in iPresso – step by step
Step 1: Conversation
This is where the entire conversation tree is built. It always begins with an initial message—this must be a template approved in WhatsApp Manager.
If the template includes quick reply buttons, they become branches of the conversation tree. Each response can trigger a different response: another message, a change to consent, adding to the script, or sending via a different channel.
The tree can be simple (one message, two buttons) or complex – several levels of nesting, different paths for different responses.
At each level of the tree, there is also the “Free Reply” (FreeSpeech) option – triggered when a contact clicks “reply” to a specific message and writes some text.
Personalization
Each text field allows for personalization through contact attributes and global variables. This works in the same way as in other iPresso channels. Custom variables—values passed when a contact is added to a campaign via the API—can also be used. This is useful in abandonment scenarios, where, for example, specific products from a shopping cart are included in the message.
All variables passed when triggering a sending are available in the entire conversation tree – in all messages of a given campaign.
Message preview
The wizard displays a preview similar to how the message will appear to the recipient. The preview includes personalization for the selected test contact and is interactive – clicking buttons opens subsequent messages in the tree. It updates each time you save configuration changes.
Step 2: Settings
Here we decide everything except the content of the conversation.
Shipping type – This is the key choice: sending to a segment (classic broadcast) or triggered sending. With triggered sending, contacts are added to the campaign externally – via a script, an abandoned process, or directly via the API.
Segment – When sending to a segment, we select the target group. Only those with an assigned phone number and appropriate consent are included in the final recipient list.
End date – When sending to a segment, this determines how long the campaign takes to respond to contact responses. After this time, all interactions are ignored.
Consents – filter recipients. Contact must have at least one of the selected consents.
WhatsApp account number – from which number the campaign will be sent.
Step 3: Summary
Final verification before sending. The system checks the conversation configuration, settings, and campaign data. For segmented sending, it displays the number of contacts.
Additional Actions – More than Just a Message
At each node in the tree, you can define up to five additional actions that will be performed in addition to (or instead of) sending the message. Available options:
Sending another campaign – Email, SMS, web push, mobile push, or even another WhatsApp campaign. Must be configured as triggered.
Adding to the scenario – The scenario must accept contacts via API. Useful for extensive automation paths.
Withdrawal from consent – especially useful for templates containing a “Marketing Opt-Out” button. Clicking it automatically unsubscribes the contact from the selected consent.
Adding consent – e.g. after the contact clicks on the button expressing the wish to receive communications.
Actions related to WhatsApp consents and campaigns are performed outside of the queue, ensuring responsiveness visible in the conversation.
Reactions to incoming messages
iPresso also handles the situation when someone writes to your WhatsApp number first – without any connection to any campaign.
In the default messaging settings (FreeSpeech) you can configure:
Default reaction – what should happen if the message content does not match any of the defined phrases.
Reactions to specific phrases – if the message matches the given phrase, the system performs defined actions: sending the campaign, adding it to the scenario, giving or receiving consent.
This is a mechanism that allows for basic automation of incoming conversations – for example, when someone writes “STOP”, the system automatically unsubscribes them from communication.
How WhatsApp Connects to the Rest of iPresso
WhatsApp triggered campaigns are a natural part of the marketing automation ecosystem. They can be triggered:
From the scenarios – A dedicated block in the scenario builder, similar to other channels. It allows you to incorporate WhatsApp into any customer journey.
From abandoned processes – parameters of the starting activity (e.g. product data from an abandoned cart) are sent as custom variables to the message content.
Via API – if you have external systems that should trigger WhatsApp communications, you can do it directly via the iPresso API.
WhatsApp-generated activities (sending, reading, replying) are visible in the contact history and available as criteria in segments and scenarios. This means you can, for example, build segments of “contacts who responded to a WhatsApp campaign in the last 30 days” and use them for further communication.
More on how to combine channels within the platform: Marketing Automation Scenarios in iPresso
WhatsApp Campaign Reporting
WhatsApp Campaign Report includes:
Summary statistics – contacts (unique), sent, delivered, read, replied, canceled.
Statistics over time graph – daily, weekly, monthly.
Preview with statistics on the tree – Conversation view with statistics for each node. Lets you see which paths were taken most frequently.
List of sent messages – each message with ID, status, dates and – in case of cancellation – reason.
Version selection – if the campaign has been edited, each edit creates a new version with a separate report.
Summary
Some marketers view WhatsApp as something exotic—cool, but only for now. That’s a mistake.
A channel with a 98% open rate and a CTR above 45% isn’t a novelty. It’s a tool that transforms a brand’s accessibility to customers. And we’re not talking about a chatbot handling queries. We’re talking about personalized marketing communications—segmented campaigns, reactivations, transactional notifications, and multi-step conversations.
iPresso handles all of this within a single platform—including email, SMS, push, and automation scenarios. WhatsApp isn’t an add-on; it’s a fully-fledged channel in the ecosystem.
If you want to see how it works in practice with your company data – fill out the brief and arrange a demo.
FAQ
Can I send WhatsApp to my entire contact database?
You can send to a segment that contains your entire database. However, keep in mind that contacts without phone numbers, without the required consents, and with the “WhatsApp unavailable” flag are excluded from sending. The final number of recipients is visible in the “Pre-Send Summary” step.
What is WABA and do I have to configure it myself?
WABA (WhatsApp Business Account) is a business account required to use the WhatsApp Business API. Configuration is handled by the iPresso team. The WhatsApp channel is available with the Enterprise plan.
Does iPresso support WhatsApp chatbots?
Not in the traditional sense of a reactive chatbot. WhatsApp in iPresso is an outbound channel with the ability to conduct conversations based on a pre-planned response tree. You can react to user choices and free-form responses, but the system doesn’t analyze the content of the text entered.
Can I use WhatsApp in automation scenarios?
Yes. WhatsApp triggered campaigns have a dedicated block in the scenario builder, similar to email or SMS. Activity parameters from a scenario or abandoned process can be passed as variables to the message body.
What happens if a contact doesn’t respond to a message?
Nothing. The campaign simply doesn’t proceed along this path. However, you can plan follow-up activities through other channels—for example, triggering a scenario in response to a lack of response.
Does WhatsApp in iPresso require contact consent?
Yes. You can select required consents in your campaign settings. Contacts without appropriate consent are excluded from sending. This is important for both compliance and mailing quality.
How quickly does data appear in the report?
With a delay of approximately 1-2 minutes, the data is updated live, so you can see statistics in near real time during an active campaign.
