WhatsApp forms (Meta Flows)
Build a short form, publish it to Meta as a WhatsApp Flow, and send it from the inbox. The person fills it inside WhatsApp; the answers fill the contact, go into a lead list and tags, and can start a sequence.
PLANSFrom Growth
Connects once Meta approves SmartMy's Meta app (App Review); tested with you before go-live. Built and tried on our test systems, not yet with a customer's Meta account.
The problem it solves
- You send a website link in chat, and most people never open it or never come back.
- Details typed in a chat have to be copied into the contact by hand.
- Leads who filled their details wait for someone to remember to follow up.
How it works
- A Marketing Manager opens Marketing > Audience > Forms and Visits > WhatsApp Forms > New, for example "Free site visit". They pick the WhatsApp Number and Category.
- On the Questions tab, add up to a screen of questions: short text, long text, email, phone, number, date or a choice.
- Under Where Answers Go, choose a lead list, tags and a sequence or journey to start, and the reply after sending.
- Publish to Meta makes the form a one-screen Flow on the number's WhatsApp Business Account. The Meta Flow Id fills in.
- In the inbox, on a chat where the person wrote in the last 24 hours, press Send a Form. They tap the button, fill it in WhatsApp and send.
- The answers come back into the chat as a note, the contact and lead list are filled, and your thanks goes out.
Everything it does
The form
- WhatsApp Number, Category: Lead, Sign Up, Appointment, Contact Us, Support, Survey or Other
- Form Title ("Your details"), Text Above and Message With the Button ("Please fill this short form."). Also Button ("Fill the form", at most 20 letters) and Send Button ("Send")
- Questions: label (at most 20 letters on WhatsApp), kind, Required (on), Choices one a line, and Column (the name the answer is kept under)
- States: Draft, Published on Meta, Problem with Meta's answer
Where answers go
- An Email answer fills the contact's email when it has none; a name answer replaces a contact named only by the number
- Other answers are kept as the contact's columns for this Entity, usable as merge fields
- Into Lead List, Tags, and Start Sequence / Journey (a running one)
- Every filled form is a line in Audience > Forms and Visits > WhatsApp Form Answers, and a note in the chat
- Reply After Sending goes back while the window is open
Rules
- A form can be sent only inside the 24-hour window ("a form can be sent only after they write")
- Publish to Meta first; the number needs its WhatsApp Business Account id
- Filling a form does not record WhatsApp marketing consent by itself
Who uses it
Marketing ManagerBuilds and publishes forms.
Marketing UserSends forms from the inbox and works the answers.
Your customerFills the form inside WhatsApp without leaving the chat.
Where you use it
- Web: Marketing > Audience > Forms and Visits > WhatsApp Forms and WhatsApp Form Answers
- Web: Inbox > Send a Form on a WhatsApp chat
- WhatsApp: the form opens inside the chat
- Not in the phone app: this is done on the web. The SmartMy Marketing app covers chats, contacts, posts, leads and campaigns
What you control
Settings
- Form texts and buttons as above; Required: on for new questions
- Where answers go: none until you choose
Notifications
- None; the answers appear in the chat and the form's answer list
Questions
Can I send a form to someone who has not written to us?
No. WhatsApp allows it only inside the 24-hour window after their last message. Send an approved template first and the form when they answer.Do the answers create a CRM lead?
They fill the contact, the lead list and tags and can start a sequence. A lead in CRM is made from the chat or by a reply rule.Can a form have several pages?
No. Each form is published as a single screen.Can I change a published form?
Yes. Change it and publish the changes to Meta.Related features
AUDIENCEForms with their own page or an embed scriptBuild a sign-up or enquiry form in Marketing, share its own page or paste one script line into any website. Each entry becomes a contact with its consent and proof, joins your list and journey, and gives someone a follow-up task.AUDIENCELead lists from Excel or CSV, every column a merge fieldImport a lead list from Excel or CSV. Name, company, phone and city fill the contact. Every other column, such as industry or pain point, is kept per person to use in your emails and messages.OUTREACHWhatsApp sequences: free text in the 24-hour window, over several numbersPut WhatsApp steps in the same sequence as your emails. Each step sends its approved template, or your own free text when the person wrote in the last 24 hours. New chats can be spread over several numbers within Meta's daily limits.CHANNELS AND INBOXOne inbox for every channelWhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, web chat and replies to your outreach emails come into one inbox. Your team assigns, tags, notes and answers every chat in one screen, with the 24-hour reply window shown on each chat.OUTREACHWhatsApp opt-in word, link and QR codeGive each WhatsApp number an opt-in word. Whoever sends it from your QR code, wa.me link or ad is opted in to WhatsApp marketing. Their message is kept as proof, and they get your reply.
See your inbox and campaigns on it.
Tell us which channels your customers use, how leads reach you and how many people answer them. We will connect a channel with you and run your first journey.