How to Setup WhatsApp on Spoke Phone

Overview

This article is intended for BYO Twilio customers only, and Spoke Phone System Integration Partners that have the necessary technical resources and access to configure and troubleshoot Twilio accounts.

In this article:

Prerequisites

Before you begin

Obtaining and registering WhatsApp Phone numbers

Creating WhatsApp messages templates

Supported variables

Final activities

Custom WhatsApp Message Routing

Prerequisites

A Facebook page for your company
Administrator Access to your company Facebook page/account
A WhatsApp Business Account for your company

Before you begin

We suggest you read about WhatsApp limitations, especially as it applies to the amount of phone numbers you are able to provision for WhatsApp use. We suggest you read these articles before you begin:

Obtaining and registering WhatsApp Phone numbers

Purchase a new phone number in the Twilio Console
Register the number as a WhatsApp sender in Twilio
Activate the number on Spoke Phone following these instructions. BYO Twilio: How to Manage Twilio Phone Numbers

Creating WhatsApp messages templates

WhatsApp templates must be created via Twilio’s Content Template API or in the online Content Editor in the Twilio Console. Note: We do not support templates created via Twilio's WhatsApp templates section in the Twilio console.

Supported WhatsApp template variables / merge fields

Spoke Phone supports WhatsApp Template variables so that message may be personalized when sent from the Spoke Phone app or API.

Contact variables:

con.fname - first name
con.lname - last name
con.cname - company name
con.name - full name
con.jobtitle
con.number - 1st phone number
con.email - 1st email

User variables

usr.id
usr.fname - first name
usr.lname - last name
usr.name - full name
usr.jobtitle
usr.mobile
usr.email
usr.location

If any of the translated values are missing (e.g. using con.jobtitle when the contact does not have a jobTitle field set), then the sample values defined in the content template itself (see example below) will be used instead.

Example

Hi, {{con.fname}}. This is {{usr.name}} from Spoke Phone. Please confirm your email is still {{usr.email}}.

Final activities

When you have everything setup and ready to go on Twilio, there are these final actions to consider:

You will need Spoke Phone to activate the WhatsApp number in Spoke Phone so it shows as usable for WhatsApp, and appears in the various number selector pop-ups
For a user to be able to send a WhatsApp message, they must have a WhatsApp approved DDI number or be assigned to an ANI list that contains a WhatsApp approved messaging number
For WhatsApp messages to be routed to a Team, the WhatsApp number needs to be assigned to the Team Inbox.

It is important to note that every employee is able to send and receive WhatsApp messages without having a WhatsApp DID. Simply share the WhatsApp number via the ANI lists. How to create allowable CallerID / SenderID (ANI) Lists for employees making outbound calls or sending SMS and WhatsApp messages

Custom WhatsApp Message Routing

For advance WhatsApp routing use-case, such as brands, store locations, etc. please read Overview: Business WhatsApp on Spoke Phone.

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