Lead Generation · 18 June 2024 · 2 min read

Click-to-WhatsApp Ads: The Lead Channel Pakistani Businesses Underuse

Pakistani customers already prefer to ask questions on WhatsApp. Click-to-WhatsApp ads turn that habit into a measurable lead channel. Here's how to set them up properly.

In short:

Click-to-WhatsApp ads open a chat with your business instead of a website or form.
At Meta’s Conversations conference on 6 June 2024, Meta announced AI tools in WhatsApp Business to help create these ads and reply to common questions.
They work best when someone replies fast and you track which chats become sales.

Ask any Pakistani business owner where their customers prefer to talk, and the answer is WhatsApp. People want to ask about price, size, delivery time and COD before they buy. Forms feel slow. Websites feel cold. A chat feels like a shop.

Click-to-WhatsApp ads on Facebook and Instagram use exactly that habit. Instead of sending people to a landing page, the ad’s button opens a WhatsApp chat with your business, with a pre-filled message.

What Meta announced this month

At its Conversations conference on 6 June 2024, Meta announced AI features for the WhatsApp Business app, including help creating click-to-WhatsApp ads and suggested replies to frequent customer questions. It also talked about Meta Verified for businesses and calling features coming to the WhatsApp Business Platform. Some features are limited to certain countries at first, but the direction is clear: Meta wants more business to happen inside chats.

When click-to-WhatsApp ads work best

Considered purchases: furniture, clinics, courses, real estate, high-value fashion and electronics, where people have questions before buying.
Businesses without a strong website: you can start generating leads before your site is perfect.
Local services: salons, restaurants, gyms and repair services where people want to book quickly.

How to set them up properly

Use the WhatsApp Business app or API connected to your Facebook Page, not a personal number.
Write a clear pre-filled message, for example “Hi, I’d like the price list for bridal packages”. It tells you which ad they came from.
Set up quick replies and a greeting with prices, delivery details and your catalog, so people get an answer even before a person replies.
Reply fast. A chat answered in 5 minutes converts far better than one answered the next day. Assign someone to the inbox during ad hours.
Track outcomes. Label chats in WhatsApp Business (new lead, quoted, ordered) and count sales from each campaign weekly. Optimising only for “conversations started” will bring lots of chats and few sales.

Common mistakes

Running ads when nobody is available to reply.
Not showing price ranges in the ad, which fills the inbox with “price?” messages from people who won’t buy.
Judging success by the number of chats instead of orders or booked appointments.

Done well, WhatsApp can be the most efficient lead channel a Pakistani business has. The ads are the easy part. The follow-up is where the money is.