1.2 — How it works

blink i connects to your Meta Business Account using the WhatsApp Business API. Once connected, three things become possible:

1.3 — Checking connection status

Navigate to Settings › WhatsApp & Comms to see the current connection state:

The settings page also shows the connected phone number, the linked Meta Business Account name, and the current message tier (how many unique contacts can be messaged per 24-hour rolling window).

2.2 — Template types

Utility templates have higher delivery reliability and lower cost than Marketing templates. Use Utility for event-driven messages (booking confirmed, payment due) and Marketing only for outbound campaigns.

2.3 — Variables

Templates contain fixed text with variable placeholders that blink i fills in at send time. Variables are written as {{1}}, {{2}}, etc. in the template body:

blink i maps each variable slot to a data field from the record that triggered the message. The mapping is configured per template in Settings › WhatsApp & Comms › Templates.

Available variable sources depend on the trigger:

2.4 — Mapping templates in blink i

To use a WhatsApp template with an automation or campaign, it must first be mapped. Navigate to Settings › WhatsApp & Comms › Templates and click + Add Template:

1. Enter the template name — the exact name as it appears in your Meta Business Manager. Names are case-sensitive and use underscores, e.g. lead_welcome_v1.
2. Select the category — Marketing or Utility. Must match the category approved by Meta.
3. Map each variable — for each {{N}} slot in the template, select the blink i field it should be filled from. The preview on the right shows how the message will look with sample data.
4. Save — the template is now available to select in automation rules and campaign creation.

2.5 — Meta template approval

Before a template can be used, Meta must review and approve it. The review typically takes a few minutes for Utility templates and up to 24 hours for Marketing templates. Status shows in Meta Business Manager under WhatsApp Manager › Message Templates.

If a template is rejected, revise the content to comply with Meta's Business Policy and resubmit. Utility templates that contain promotional language are the most common rejection reason.

3.1 — Automation triggers

Navigate to Settings › WhatsApp & Comms › Automations to see and configure all available triggers. Each trigger can be toggled on/off independently and assigned a template.

3.2 — Lead capture auto-reply

The New lead captured trigger is the most important automation — it is the first contact a prospect receives. Best practices:

• Send within seconds of lead capture. The template should acknowledge their inquiry and set expectations ("Our team will call within 2 hours").
• Personalise with the lead's first name ({{1}}) and the project they enquired about ({{2}}).
• Include a clear next step — a reply keyword ("Reply VISIT to schedule a site visit") or a direct agent contact number.
• Keep it under 160 characters so it displays without a "Read more" collapse on most devices.

3.3 — Follow-up reminders

The Follow-up due trigger sends a message to the lead on the day their follow-up is scheduled. This reminder keeps the conversation warm without the agent needing to manually message every lead on their list.

The message is sent at 9 AM on the due date. If the follow-up is marked complete before 9 AM, the message is suppressed — no duplicate contact. Leads without a phone number, or those in Lost or Booked stage, are skipped.

3.4 — Booking & payment automations

Booking confirmation and payment messages are Utility templates — they carry transactional information the customer needs and are exempt from opt-in requirements.

• Booking confirmed — sent when a booking is approved. Include the booking reference, project, unit/plot, and a brief next-steps note.
• Payment due — sent on the instalment due date. Include the amount, due date, and preferred payment modes. Linking to a payment reference (UTR guide) is helpful.
• Payment overdue — a softer reminder that the instalment is past due. Avoid aggressive language — Meta's policy flags threatening or pressuring content.
• Payment recorded — an acknowledgement when a payment is logged. Builds trust and reduces inbound "did you receive my payment?" calls.

4.1 — Campaign overview

Navigate to WhatsApp › Campaigns. The list shows all campaigns with their status, audience size, and delivery metrics.

4.2 — Creating a campaign

1. Go to WhatsApp › Campaigns › + New Campaign.
2. Name the campaign — for internal reference only (not visible to recipients). Use a descriptive name: "Phase 2 Launch — July 2026".
3. Select a template — choose from your mapped approved templates. The template preview is shown. Only Marketing and Utility templates that are approved by Meta and mapped in Settings are available here.
4. Configure the audience — apply filters to define who receives the message (see 4.3).
5. Review the audience count — blink i shows how many leads match the current filters and how many have a valid WhatsApp number. Recipients without a phone number are automatically excluded.
6. Schedule or send — choose to send immediately or schedule for a specific date and time (see 4.4).
7. Confirm — review the summary (template, audience count, send time) and click Launch Campaign. A confirmation prompt appears; campaigns cannot be edited once launched.

4.3 — Audience filters

Filters narrow the campaign to the right leads. Multiple filters combine with AND logic — a lead must match all applied filters to be included.

4.4 — Scheduling

Timing matters for WhatsApp campaigns. Guidance:

• Best windows: 10 AM–12 PM and 5 PM–7 PM local time. Avoid early morning (before 9 AM) and late evening (after 9 PM) — Meta's quality system penalises high block rates, which spike outside business hours.
• Day of week: Tuesday through Thursday typically see the highest open rates for real estate messaging. Avoid Sunday mornings.
• Volume pacing: If your audience is large (1,000+), schedule across two sessions rather than one burst — this reduces the risk of triggering Meta's rate limiter.
• To schedule, select Schedule for later and pick a date and time. The campaign status moves to Scheduled and can be cancelled or rescheduled until the send time minus 5 minutes.

4.5 — Results & delivery

After a campaign completes, open it to see the delivery report:

Failed numbers are marked on the lead record. If the failure rate exceeds 20%, review the audience quality — old or manual-entry numbers often have higher failure rates than Meta-captured numbers which are verified at the point of lead form submission.

5.1 — Connecting lead forms

Navigate to Settings › WhatsApp & Comms › Meta Lead Forms. The page lists all Facebook Pages and Instagram accounts connected to your Meta Business Account.

1. Connect your Meta account — click Connect Meta. You will be redirected to Meta's OAuth flow. Log in with an account that has admin access to the Meta Business Account. Grant the requested permissions (pages_read_engagement, leads_retrieval, whatsapp_business_management).
2. Select Pages — after authorisation, blink i lists all Pages your account manages. Toggle on each Page whose lead ads you want to sync.
3. Select lead forms — for each connected Page, select which lead forms to pull from. Multiple forms per Page are supported. Forms are listed by name as configured in Meta Ads Manager.
4. Set the default project — leads from this form will be tagged with this project in blink i. If a single form covers multiple projects, use a custom question on the form (see field mapping).
5. Save — blink i immediately tests the connection and fetches the last 24 hours of submissions to backfill any missed leads.

5.2 — Field mapping

Meta lead forms can have standard fields (full name, phone, email) and custom questions. blink i maps form fields to lead record fields. Configure this per-form under Settings › Meta Lead Forms › [Form name] › Field Mapping.

Unmapped fields are saved in the lead's Notes field verbatim so no data is lost. Review unmapped fields regularly and map them if they carry useful information.

5.3 — Auto-capture flow

When a prospect submits a Meta lead form:

1. Meta sends a webhook to blink i within seconds of form submission.
2. blink i creates a lead record — Stage: New, Source: Meta (Facebook) or Meta (Instagram) depending on the placement, assigned to the default agent configured for that form (or unassigned if none).
3. Duplicate check — blink i checks if a lead with the same phone number already exists. If yes, it updates the existing lead's record with any new information rather than creating a duplicate, and logs a note: "Re-submitted via Meta lead form on [date]."
4. New lead automation fires — the WhatsApp auto-reply is sent to the lead's phone number. If the number is not on WhatsApp, the message is marked Failed and no further retry occurs.
5. Agent is notified — the assigned agent receives an in-app notification. If unassigned, the notification goes to the workspace manager.

6.1 — Conversation inbox

Navigate to WhatsApp › Inbox to see all inbound messages. Conversations are grouped by contact — each thread shows the full message history between the business number and that phone number.

• Unread badge — new replies are shown with an unread count. Assign the thread to an agent to indicate ownership.
• Linked lead — if the sender's number matches a lead in blink i, the lead card is shown alongside the conversation. Click through to open the full lead record.
• Reply window — WhatsApp allows free-form (session) replies within 24 hours of the last inbound message. After 24 hours, only approved templates can be sent.
• Template reply — to contact a lead whose 24-hour window has closed, click Send Template, select a template, and confirm. The conversation is re-opened only if the customer replies.
• Internal notes — agents can add internal notes visible only to the team (not sent to the customer) to keep context on the thread.

6.2 — Opt-outs & compliance

If a recipient replies STOP, blocks the business number, or reports the message as spam, blink i registers an opt-out on that contact. Opted-out contacts are excluded from all future campaign sends and automated messages.

To re-enable messaging for an opted-out contact, the customer must send any message to the business number — this re-opens the 24-hour window and implicitly opts them back in. Manual overrides of opt-out status are not permitted by Meta's policy.