Before You Start
Before connecting WhatsApp to Accelevents, make sure your organization already has a WhatsApp Business Account and associated Meta app set up in a Meta Business Portfolio. You can manage these assets in Meta Business Settings.
You'll need the appropriate permissions to access these assets and complete the setup.
To connect WhatsApp to Accelevents, you'll retrieve three credentials from Meta:
Credential | Description |
Access Token | Authorizes Accelevents to send WhatsApp messages through your account |
WhatsApp Business Account ID | Identifies the WhatsApp Business Account used for the integration |
Phone Number ID | Identifies the WhatsApp phone number used to send your messages |
Note: Access to a Meta Business Portfolio does not necessarily provide access to all assets within it. If you don't see the WhatsApp Business Account, Meta app, or other assets referenced in this guide, contact someone with full control of your organization's Business Portfolio to confirm that the appropriate assets have been assigned to you.
Get Your WhatsApp Credentials
Generate an Access Token
For the integration, generate a System User access token in Meta Business Settings.
Go to Meta Business Settings and select the Business Portfolio associated with your WhatsApp Business Account.
Go to Users → System Users.
Click Add to create a System User, or select an existing System User intended for the integration.
Assign the System User access to the following assets:
The WhatsApp Business Account
The associated Meta app
Select the System User and click Generate New Token.
Select the Meta app associated with the WhatsApp Business Account.
Select the following permissions:
whatsapp_business_messagingwhatsapp_business_management
Click Generate Token.
Copy and securely save the generated Access Token.
Get Your WhatsApp Business Account ID
Go to Meta Business Settings and select the appropriate Business Portfolio.
Go to Accounts → WhatsApp accounts.
Select the WhatsApp Business Account you want to connect.
Under the account name, locate the ID.
Copy the ID. You'll enter this value in the WhatsApp Business Account ID field when setting up the integration in Accelevents.
Get Your Phone Number ID
In Meta Business Settings, go to Accounts → WhatsApp accounts.
Select the WhatsApp Business Account you want to connect.
Click the Phone numbers tab.
Select the phone number you want to use to send WhatsApp messages.
In the Phone Profile panel, copy the ID displayed at the top.
You'll enter this value in the Phone Number ID field when setting up the WhatsApp integration in Accelevents.
Note: The Phone Number ID is different from the actual phone number associated with your WhatsApp Business Account.
Create Your WhatsApp Message Templates
WhatsApp broadcast messages require a message template created and approved in Meta.
To create a message template:
In Meta Business Settings, go to Accounts → WhatsApp accounts.
Select the WhatsApp Business Account you connected to Accelevents.
In the Summary tab, click WhatsApp Manager.
Go to Message templates → Manage templates.
Create a new template and configure the template name, language, and message content.
Click Submit for review.
Notes: Meta advises that template reviews can take up to 24 hours. Approval is managed by Meta and is outside of Accelevents' control. Only approved templates can be used for WhatsApp broadcasts.
Accelevents supports WhatsApp templates with text formatting, template variables, static text headers and footers, and buttons such as quick replies, phone numbers, and fixed URLs.
Media headers, including images, videos, and documents, dynamic text headers, and dynamic URL buttons are not currently supported. Even if a template is approved by Meta, it will not appear for selection in Accelevents if it contains unsupported components.
Connect WhatsApp to Accelevents
Now that you have your Access Token, WhatsApp Business Account ID, and Phone Number ID, you can connect your WhatsApp Business Account to your event.
In your event admin console, go to Settings → Integrations.
Locate WhatsApp under the available integrations and enable the integration.
Click Configure.
Enter the following credentials:
Access Token — Enter the System User access token generated in Meta.
WhatsApp Business Account ID — Enter the ID of the WhatsApp Business Account you want to connect.
Phone Number ID — Enter the ID of the phone number that will be used to send WhatsApp messages.
Click Save.
Make Sure Recipients Have Cell Phone Numbers
WhatsApp broadcasts can only be delivered to recipients with a valid cell phone number and country code.
The phone number Accelevents uses depends on the recipient segment selected:
Attendees/Buyers, By Ticket Type, and Checked In — uses the Cell Phone number collected through registration.
Speakers and Exhibitors — uses the phone number saved in the recipient’s Accelevents profile.
Contact Lists — uses the phone number saved on the contact record.
Fundraising segments — such as Auction Participants, Auction Winners, Raffle Participants, Raffle Winners, Fund-A-Need Pledgers, and Text-to-Give Donors — use the phone number saved in the recipient’s Accelevents profile.
For attendee and ticket-based segments, make sure your event’s order form is configured to collect cell phone numbers:
Go to Registration → Order Form.
Add or enable the Cell Phone field for the applicable ticket types.
Important: WhatsApp broadcasts can only be delivered to recipients whose available cell phone number is associated with an active WhatsApp account and includes the correct country code.
Recipients without an available cell phone number, or whose number is not registered with WhatsApp, will not receive the broadcast.
If multiple recipients share the same cell phone number, the broadcast will be sent only once to that number.
Create WhatsApp Broadcast Messages
Once your WhatsApp Business Account is connected, you can create and send WhatsApp broadcast messages from the Engage module.
In your event admin console, go to Engage → WhatsApp.
Click Create New.
This opens the broadcast message setup.
On the New WhatsApp Broadcast page:
Enter a Title for the broadcast. This is an internal field and will not be included in the broadcast registrants receive.
Under To, select the recipients for the message. Currently, you can send a WhatsApp broadcast to:
All Attendees/Buyers
All Speakers
All Exhibitors
Checked In
By Ticket Type — select attendees based on their registered ticket type.
Contact Lists
Fundraising segments, such as auction participants, auction winners, raffle participants, raffle winners, and Fund A Need pledgers
Under WhatsApp Template, select the approved WhatsApp message template you want to send. A preview of the selected template will appear on the right.
Under When, choose whether to Send Now or Send Later.
You can also select Save as Draft if you're not ready to send the broadcast.
What Recipients See
When the broadcast is sent, recipients receive the message from the WhatsApp Business Account connected to your event, including its business name and profile.
The message will display the approved template content selected for the broadcast. Any template variables are replaced with the values entered when creating it, and supported elements such as text formatting and static URL buttons will also appear.
Note: WhatsApp broadcasts sent from Accelevents are one-way from the Accelevents admin's perspective. While recipients may be able to reply to the message in WhatsApp, those replies are not available to the admin within Accelevents.