WhatsApp (Twilio)

Owned by Aleksandra Yakutovich
Last updated: Dec 04, 2024 by Anastasia Birulina
9 min read

Ready to connect to the powerful WhatsApp channel? First, you'll need a Twilio account to get started.

If you don't have an account yet, no problem! Creating one is easy. Just follow the instructions below to set up your account and start testing the channel.

If you already have a paid Twilio account, you can skip these instructions and go to "How to add WhatsApp channel to Creatio using Upgraded Twilio account" section.

Instructions:

How to Create a Sandbox Twilio account

1. Go to https://www.twilio.com/try-twilio

2. Fill in all required fields

3. Verify your email and phone number

4. Fill in fields as you see in the screenshot:

5. Click Get started with Twilio

After creating your test Twilio account, follow these step-by-step instructions below to proceed

How to add WhatsApp channel to Creatio using Twilio Sandbox

1. Log in to Creatio by the user with the Beesender Chat Master license.

2. Go to the System Designer and open the Beesender Chat Configuration section.

3. On the Channels tab, click + and select WhatsApp.

4. Enter a name for the channel (e.g., WhatsApp) in the Channel name field

5. Copy the Webhook from the Webhook field.

6. Go to your Twilio account and log in.

7. In the left panel of the Twilio page, click on Messaging, then select Try it out and click on Send a WhatsApp message.

8. On the Sandbox settings tab, paste the webhook from Creatio into the When a message comes in field.

9. Click Save.

10. Copy the Status Webhook in the last field.

11. Paste the Status Webhook from Creatio into the Status callback URL field.

12. Click Save.

13. Copy the My Twilio phone number value from the Twilio page and paste it into the Phone Number field in Creatio in the format: "14155238886".

14. Click on My first Twilio account. On the Account Info tab you'll see three fields:

  • Account SID

  • Auth Token

15. Copy the Account SID value from this page and paste it into the Twilio AccountSid field in Creatio.

16. Copy the Auth Token value from the Twilio page and paste it into the Twilio AuthToken field in Creatio.

17. Enter the chat weight.

18. Click Add.

Copy the code generated by Twilio via WhatsApp from your number to your test account number. If the message is delivered successfully, you will receive a notification in Twilio. As a result, your number will be added to the Sandbox Participants.

That's it! You have successfully added the WhatsApp channel to Creatio using an Sandbox Twilio.

How to add WhatsApp channel to Creatio using Upgraded Twilio account

Setting up an Upgraded Twilio account is similar to setting up a Sandbox, with just a few small differences.

Follow the simple steps and you'll be up and running in no time! Plus, we've highlighted the differences you need to be aware of, so you can easily navigate the setup process.

1. Log in to Creatio by the user with the Beesender Chat Master license.

2. Go to the System Designer and open the Beesender Chat Configuration section.

3. On the Channels tab, click + and select WhatsApp.

4. Enter a name for the channel (e.g., WhatsApp) in the Channel name field

5. Copy the Webhook in the last field.

6. Go to your Twilio account and log in.

7. In the left panel of the Twilio page, click on Messaging, then select Senders and click on WhatsApp Senders.

8. In the WhatsApp Senders section, find the table with your WhatsApp number, copy the phone number value from the Twilio page and paste it into the Phone Number field in Creatio in the format: "3700000000".

9. Click on your WhatsApp number.

10. In the Endpoint configuration window, paste the webhook from Creatio into the Webhook URL for the incoming messages field.

11. Scroll down and click Update WhatsApp Sender.

12. Click on My first Twilio account. On the Account Info tab you’ll see fields:

  • Account SID

  • Auth Token

13. Copy the Account SID value from this page and paste it into the Twilio AccountSid field in Creatio.

14. Copy the Auth Token value from the Twilio page and paste it into the Twilio AuthToken field in Creatio.

15. Enter the chat weight.

16. Click Add.

That's it! You have successfully added the WhatsApp channel to Creatio using an Upgraded Twilio account.

How to Register HSM Messages for WhatsApp in Twilio

To register HSM (Highly Structured Messages) messages for WhatsApp in Twilio, follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to your Twilio account and navigate to the Senders page.

  2. Go to the Content Template Builder page.

  3. Click "Create new".

  4. Fill in the following fields:

    • Template name

    • Message language – select a language from the list

    • Select Content Type - Text

 

 

  1. Click "Create".

  2. Fill in the "Body" field.

If you want to include parameters in the template, simply write them in the Body field (Step 6) as text in the format {{1}}, {{2}}, and so on. For example, you could have: Hi, {{1}}. Call me, please, on this {{2}} number.
Later, the agent can replace {{1}} and {{2}} with their own values.

  1. Click “Save and submit for WhatsApp approval"

 

 

  1. In the "Submit for WhatsApp review" window, select Marketing.

  2. Click “Submit”

 

Once you've registered your HSM templates, you can use them in your WhatsApp messages by referring to the template name and providing the necessary parameter values. Twilio will automatically replace the parameters with the correct values when sending the message to your WhatsApp recipient.

How to Register HSM Messages for WhatsApp in Сreatio

  1. Go to the workplace Studio and open the section Lookups or go to the section Lookups from the System Designer

  2. Сlick Add lookup and select Template Whatsapp. Set lookup name, for example - WhatsApp templates

  1. Open the contents of the added lookup and click Add

  2. Specify a Name of the template, for example, Greeting

  3. In the Description field, provide the exact message text that corresponds to the template registered in Twilio. This text will automatically populate the Text input field when this specific template is chosen from the communication panel. At the end of the text, make sure to add [#HSM#]SID. Replace SID with the value of the Content Template SID from the card of your approved template.

 

 

  1. In the SID field, also enter your Content Template SID from the template.

As a result, on the Creatio side, your template will look something like this:

 

 

How to add WhatsApp Interactive Message

To create an interactive menu message for WhatsApp in Twilio follow next steps:

Create messaging service

  1. Sign in to your Twilio account and navigate to the Services page.

  2. Go to the Messaging Services page.

  3. Click "Create Messaging Service".

  4. Fill in the following fields:

    • Messaging Service friendly name

    • Select what you want to use Messaging for

  1. Click "Create Messaging Service"
    a) Click “Add Senders” and in the "Add Senders" window, fill the "Sender Type" field with the value "WhatsApp Number"
    b) Click "Continue"

    c) Activate the checkbox next to the required number
    d) Click "Add WhatsApp Number"

  1. Click “Step 3: Set up integration”
    a) Activate the "Send a webhook" checkbox in Integration
    b) Fill in the "Request URL" field with the value from the WhatsApp channel addition card in CRM (from the Webhook field)
    c) Fill in the "Callback URL" field with the value from the WhatsApp channel addition card in CRM (from the Status Webhook field)

  2. Click “Step 4: Add compliance info”

  3. Click “Complete Messaging Service Setup”

  4. Add the channel to CRM (read: 'How to add WhatsApp channel to Creatio using Upgraded Twilio account')

Interactive Message

To ensure that the buttons in your chatbot are displayed as an interactive menu, you need to do the following:

  1. In the "Beesender: Ask a question" element of the chatbot business process, fill in the “Message” field as follows: [*MENU*]What would you like to do today?[Main menu].
    The text "What would you like to do today" and "Main menu" can be replaced with any text you choose.

  2. Fill in the Button fields.

As a result, the interactive menu in your channel will look like this:

Troubleshooting

Agent Messages Not Reaching WhatsApp in Beesender

If agent messages are not reaching WhatsApp, and you are receiving messages from clients after connecting the channel, it is likely that an incorrect phone number was provided when adding the WhatsApp channel.

To resolve this issue, navigate to Beesender Chat Configuration, delete the WhatsApp channel, and then add it again.

Make sure that the phone number is specified in the format {number}.

Also, verify that whatsapp is spelled correctly and that there is a colon, a plus sign, and no spaces in the phone number.

If you added the channel using "Messaging Services" but messages are not arriving in the system, try going to the settings of your service, navigating to the "Sender Pool" tab, and removing and re-adding your WhatsApp phone number.