Activating and managing a WhatsApp Business account are crucial steps to ensure effective communication with your customers. In this article, we guide you through the essential steps to obtain Meta certification, fill out the verification form, activate your numbers, and manage your conversations.
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1. Obtaining Meta Certification
To activate your WhatsApp Business account, it’s essential to obtain Meta certification. This verification process ensures that your business is recognized by the platform and can operate without restrictions. The validation takes about a week, so make sure to include it in your planning to avoid delays in your communications. Once certified, your business will have access to all WhatsApp Business features.
Verification Process
Your business verification on Facebook is part of the WhatsApp integration. Facebook verifies two main elements:
- Authenticity: Is the business legally registered?
- Association: Does the person requesting verification work for the business?
💡 You'll find the steps to follow and the list of accepted documents.
Additional Resources
Check out these articles for more details:
- Resolving Business Verification Issues on Facebook
- How to Confirm Your Business Verification with Facebook
2. WhatsApp Business Account Activation
Go to your Ringover Dashboard > Store > Integrations, search for and select WhatsApp. You will be redirected to a Meta X Vonage page, where you will begin the process of verifying your account and number.
The language of this page will automatically adjust to your default language in Meta.
Access Embedded Sign-Up: Go to the "External Accounts" section in the Vonage dashboard and click on "Set up my WhatsApp Business Account."
Proceed to Facebook-Hosted Setup: Read the essential information about embedded sign-up before continuing.
Log in with Facebook: An active Facebook account is required for registration. If you don’t have one, create it.
Confirm WABA Sharing with Vonage: Authorize Vonage to manage billing and payments with Facebook.
Select or Create a Facebook Business Manager: Choose an existing Business Manager account or create a new one by entering your business details.
Select or Create a WhatsApp Business Account (WABA): Link a number to an existing WABA or create a new one by defining its name and time zone.
Make sure to use a Ringover number for the association, as only a Ringover number can be linked to your WhatsApp Business account through Ringover.
Create the WhatsApp Profile: Set a display name following Facebook’s guidelines, choose a business category, and add a description.
Submit and Verify the WhatsApp Number: Enter the number you will use and follow the verification instructions. If purchasing a number via Vonage, use SMS logs to retrieve the verification code.
Note:
- Meta generally allows the activation of 2 to 4 numbers for a newly certified account, but this number depends on various criteria (account tenure, Meta Score Rating, usage history)
- You can register multiple numbers initially. Keep in mind that Meta imposes restrictions on the number of numbers that can be registered (this depends on the account's age, Meta Score Rating, and usage history).
- Use the numbers regularly and in compliance with WhatsApp’s policies to avoid restrictions or blocks
- If a number has already been used with another WhatsApp Business account, that account must be deleted before the number can be reused. However, this will result in the loss of all associated data, including messages and contacts. Proceed with caution
- To avoid any kind of blocking from Meta, we recommend using our "Omnichannel Communication" add-on
Quality Evaluation
The quality of your messages is assessed based on user feedback from the last seven days (blocks, reports, etc.).
💡 Tips for Maintaining High Quality:
- Comply with WhatsApp Business policies
- Send messages only to users who have consented
- Personalize your messages and ensure they’re useful
3. Account Customization
Although WhatsApp Business allows partial customization, certain changes like the profile photo or description require assistance from Ringover Support.
4. Using Shared Numbers
Shared numbers make it easy to distribute communications within your team. Whether for one user, multiple users, or a group, billing is per interaction, not per user.
- To do this, go to your Dashboard > Integration > WhatsApp.
- Then click on WhatsApp.
In the first row, use the dropdown list to select the desired number. Just below, you will see the collaborator(s) assigned to this number.
By clicking on the management icon (red arrow), you can add collaborators, or even groups of collaborators.