How to WhatsApp broadcast: A step-by-step guide

What’s the WhatsApp broadcast, how can you set up a broadcast list, and what are the best options for businesses (without being blocked)? We’ll show you how the feature works, and guide you through different methods.

From a business perspective, the WhatsApp broadcast is one of the most interesting communication features. It allows you to send bulk messages to multiple users at once, and — given the popularity of WhatsApp — reach a huge audience. 

It also delivers much better key performance metrics than other broadcasting tools, like social media posts or e-mail newsletters. 

• The open rate for WhatsApp messages is 5%.
• The click-through rate is around 35% (social media reaches 5%, e-mail CTRs typically hover around 3%). 
• You get a user’s full attention with your message being on their lock screen (no spam folders, no distracting algorithms).

Given these metrics, the WhatsApp broadcast is particularly interesting for marketing campaigns. 

The WhatsApp broadcast is a one-to-many messaging feature on WhatsApp. Meaning: With one single message, you can reach many users at once.

Unlike WhatsApp groups, where all members see all the messages and responses in the shared group chat, messages that you send through a broadcast list, end up in the recipients’ private chats. And if they answer you, the conversation stays between the two of you, and isn’t public, like in the group. 

In order to send out a WhatsApp broadcast, you need to set up a broadcast list. This can be done on the WhatsApp Business App and the WhatsApp Business API, as the private WhatsApp is off limits for business use! 

However, the Business App has very limited functionalities, which is why the API is the better option for most businesses. 

Creating broadcast lists on Android devices

• In your WhatsApp Business App, go to the three dots in the menu. 
• Now, choose “more options”. 
• Select the option “new broadcast”.
• Here, you can either search for contacts or add them manually to your broadcast list. 
• Once you selected all contacts, tab on the check mark to finalize your broadcast list. 

Creating broadcast lists on iOS devices

• In the Business App, go to “chats”.
• Go to the “broadcast lists”, and then select “new list”. 
• Now, you can insert contacts through the search feature or manually. 
• Tap “set up” to finalize your list. 

Editing the broadcast list

You can give your broadcast list a name and add an image. There are also some editing options. For example, you can change the name of the list, change the contacts in your list, or delete the list. However, you can’t change the profile image.

In fact, that’s not the only limitation on the Business App. 

If you really want to use WhatsApp to scale marketing campaigns, you’ll soon discover the limitations of the Business App. 

First of all, you can only send messages to people that have your number saved in their contacts. That’s a HUGE limitation for reaching out to new audiences. 

In addition, there’s a maximum of 256 unique recipients per broadcast list. That’s not a lot if you’re serious about scaling your campaigns. And make no mistake, if you try to send out messages to more users, WhatsApp will block your account. For 2025, you should even expect more limitations. WhatsApp has already announced that the number of monthly messages businesses can send through the broadcast tool will be drastically reduced. No official numbers have been released yet, but in an example cited by TechCrunch, WhatsApp had set the limit to 30 broadcast messages per month.

You also don’t have access to WhatsApp templates on the Business App. So you can’t automate or schedule messages, but have to type them from scratch every single time. Chatbots are also not possible on the Business App. That can actually be very helpful when users respond to your broadcast messages. Then, you can have a chatbot automatically take over, and not only give an immediate response, but also collect valuable information. 

Finally, there’s also no way to connect a CRM system, which makes personalizing campaigns on the Business App very complicated. And you won’t be able to get the verified badge (green tick), unless you upgrade to the paid Meta Verified subscription or switch to the WhatsApp Business API. 

That’s why companies that really want to get the most out of the WhatsApp broadcast tool for their marketing end up making the move to the WhatsApp Business API.

The broadcast feature on the WhatsApp Business API (official name: WhatsApp Business Platform) is for companies that have more than five employees and really want to use WhatsApp professionally. That’s why the API offers a lot more options and fewer limitations when it comes to marketing messages. 

On the API, setting up a broadcast list works through the Meta Business Manager. Here, you have to select a template for messaging customers. WhatsApp offers four types of templates: utilities, authentication, service, and marketing.

The marketing template essentially corresponds to the broadcast feature. However, with the API, you can reach users that don’t have your phone numbers saved in their contacts. And you start off with a minimum of 1,000 recipients. Depending on the success of your campaign, you can scale this to 10,000, 100,000, or an unlimited number of recipients. 

The templates can be saved, edited, and scheduled, which allows for a lot more automation and easier planning of your campaigns. You can also add chatbots and integrate CRM systems to automate responses, and more personalized campaigns. 

You also have the option to set up very specific target groups (based on age, previous purchases, etc.), which obviously can optimize your conversions. 

Overall, only the API gives you access to broadcasting features that’ll make your campaigns successful and scalable. 

Important: Sending messages through the API isn’t free of cost. The pricing depends on the type of message and the recipient’s country code. 

Read our guide to WhatsApp’s Business pricing 

In order to use the marketing templates through the WhatsApp Business API, you need to get access to the API. There are three options: 

• Set up your own IT infrastructure internally (essentially, you need to code your own software around the API). If you’re looking at using other messaging apps like Telegram or Facebook Messenger, we recommend a unified API solution. 
• Use the Meta Cloud. You’ll still need IT resources, but are more limited in customizations than setting up your own infrastructure. This solution also doesn’t guarantee data compliance.
• Use a WhatsApp messaging solution from an official Business Solution Provider like Sinch (no special IT resources needed and you get access to the full suite of business features, plus 100% data compliance guaranteed).

Sinch is an official Meta partner and authorized to offer messaging solutions to businesses for WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram Direct Messenger.

In addition, we also developed functionalities that you won’t find on the Meta cloud, like CRM and contact center integrations, chatbots, and omnichannel capabilities.

On Sinch, you manage all your conversations on one interface and through our Dashboard, no matter what messaging app they came from originally. We actually also support messaging apps outside the Meta family, such as Telegram or iMessage. In addition, you manage all of this from your desktop computer, which is in a sense like a convenient WhatsApp Broadcast web version. 

Our comprehensive guide on WhatsApp templates walks you through the process of sending marketing messages on WhatsApp.

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Everything you ever wanted to know about WhatsApp Business templates

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Overall, with Sinch, setting up WhatsApp broadcasts is quick, easy, and you get access to many functionalities that you wouldn’t have with the WhatsApp Business API, which can make your campaigns even more successful. 

Author: Marinela Potor Marinela Potor is a Senior Content Marketing Manager at Sinch. With a background in tech journalism, she specializes in messaging and AI.