# Click-to-WhatsApp Ads: Setup and Follow-up > Set up click-to-WhatsApp ads, use Meta's free entry point window, and track which chats and orders came from an ad with Chirpoo. By Smaran Challapalli. Updated for 2026, 26 Oct 2026. First published 17 Oct 2026. Canonical: https://chirpoo.com/guides/click-to-whatsapp-ads/ Click-to-WhatsApp ads are Meta ads whose button opens a WhatsApp chat with your business instead of a web page. [Chirpoo](https://chirpoo.com/) saves the ad's headline and link on the contact when the first message arrives, starts a flow on the click, and shows which later orders followed the ad. ## What are click-to-WhatsApp ads? A click-to-WhatsApp ad, also written CTWA, runs on Facebook or Instagram. The shopper taps the ad, WhatsApp opens, and a message to your number is ready to send. You pay Meta for the ad as usual. The conversation starts in a chat, where your team can answer questions and take the order. For small Indian businesses this fits how people already buy. A gym, a clinic, a salon or a D2C store gets a lead who is already in the app where they will ask about price, timing or stock. Meta's help article, [How to create ads that click to WhatsApp in Ads Manager](https://www.facebook.com/business/help/447934475640650) (checked 26 Oct 2026), is the place to follow the current steps, because Ads Manager changes its screens often. The ad is Meta's product. What you control is what happens after the tap. A lead who messages at 9 pm and hears back at noon the next day has often moved on. The [reply time and missed leads post](https://chirpoo.com/blog/whatsapp-reply-time-missed-leads/) goes into that. Everything below is about the reply, the tracking and the follow-up. ## How do you set up a click-to-WhatsApp ad? Setup has two halves: the ad in Meta, and the number in Chirpoo. 1. **Connect your WhatsApp number to Chirpoo.** Sign in at app.chirpoo.com with an email code and connect the number. Chirpoo runs on the official WhatsApp Cloud API through the WhaBuzz gateway. If you use more than one number, you can choose which one sends. 2. **Create the ad in Meta Ads Manager.** Follow Meta's article above. Choose WhatsApp as the place people are sent, pick the number, and write the ad. 3. **Write a greeting.** The ad can carry a first message for the shopper to send. Make it specific, such as the product name, so the chat starts with context. 4. **Switch on a flow.** In Chirpoo, set a flow to start on an ad click. More on that below. 5. **Test it yourself.** Open the ad on a phone with the WhatsApp app, send the message, and see it arrive in the inbox. Add a payment method to your Meta account before you spend. That is the account that pays for ads and for WhatsApp messages. Chirpoo does not bill for messages. If you plan to run ads and send follow-ups, read the [WhatsApp pricing guide](https://chirpoo.com/guides/whatsapp-pricing-india/) first, so you know what each message costs. ## When are messages free after an ad click? Some are. Meta's [pricing page](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing) (checked 26 Oct 2026) describes a free entry point, abbreviated FEP, window for ad clicks. > The FEP window may remain open for up to 7 days. > > Source: [Meta WhatsApp Business Platform pricing](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing) Per that page, it applies when a user messages you through an ad that clicks to WhatsApp, on a device running the Android or iOS app, since the desktop and web apps are not supported. You reply inside the 24-hour customer service window, and that opens the FEP window. During it, marketing, utility, authentication and service messages are not charged. Meta Business Agent messages are still charged. Two practical points follow. - **The window is up to 7 days on Meta's page today.** Use Meta's page for the duration, and check it each quarter, because pricing rules change. - **You must reply in time.** The free week starts only if you answer inside the 24-hour window. Speed pays twice: the lead stays warm, and your follow-up templates inside the week are not billed. Outside an FEP window, standard rates apply. In India that is ₹0.8631 for marketing and ₹0.115 for utility, per Meta's rate card as read in WhaBuzz's [India pricing post](https://whabuzz.com/blog/whatsapp-business-api-pricing-india/) (checked 17 Oct 2026). For the timer rules, see the [24-hour window explainer](https://chirpoo.com/blog/whatsapp-24-hour-window-explained/). ## What arrives with the first message from an ad? Meta passes details about the ad to your WhatsApp setup with the first message. Meta's [webhook reference](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/webhooks/reference/messages/text) (checked 26 Oct 2026) lists a referral object that appears only when a message comes from a click-to-WhatsApp ad. Its fields include: | Field | What Meta calls it | |---|---| | headline | Click to WhatsApp ad headline | | body | Click to WhatsApp ad primary text | | source_url | Click to WhatsApp ad URL | | source_id | Click to WhatsApp ad ID | | media_type | Image or video | | ctwa_clid | Click to WhatsApp ad click ID | Chirpoo reads this for you. It saves the ad's headline and link on the contact, so when your team opens the chat they see which ad the person tapped. No developer is needed. If you do want the raw detail, WhaBuzz's developer docs cover the event format. The benefit is context. A person who writes "price?" is a vague lead. A person who writes "price?" after the "Summer batch, 6 spots" ad is a specific one. Your team can answer in one message instead of three. See [click-to-WhatsApp ad attribution](https://chirpoo.com/blog/click-to-whatsapp-ad-attribution/) for how this looks in the inbox. ## Which ad-click flows work for small businesses? Chirpoo flows can start on a new message, a tag, an ad click or a Shopify order. For ads, the ad-click trigger is the one that matters. Here are three flows that suit small businesses. - **Greeting with the right question.** Reply at once with a short message that names the offer and asks one question, such as the preferred time or size. - **Tag and route.** Tag the contact with the campaign name, then assign the chat to the person who handles that offer. - **Out-of-hours reply.** When your team is offline, answer inside the window with an honest note that someone will reply at opening time, and give the time. Run each flow in a test run, then in shadow mode, before it talks to customers. Keep the first message short. Replies get worse when the first message reads like a brochure. The [WhatsApp automation guide](https://chirpoo.com/guides/whatsapp-automation/) covers building flows. A flow is not a substitute for a person. Use it to answer within seconds and to gather one detail, then hand the chat to your team. If you want an AI agent to take the first questions, it is off until you switch it on. See the [AI agent guide](https://chirpoo.com/guides/ai-agent-whatsapp-support/). ## How do you tag leads by campaign? Tags are how you turn ad clicks into a report. Create one tag per campaign or offer, and have the ad-click flow apply it. Use short, consistent names, such as the month and the product, so a filter later is easy. With tags in place you can do four things. 1. **Filter the inbox** to see only chats from one campaign. 2. **Send a follow-up broadcast** to that tag. Broadcasts go only to people who opted in, and can be scheduled. See the [broadcast guide](https://chirpoo.com/guides/whatsapp-broadcast-marketing/). 3. **Retry non-readers.** Chirpoo can follow up automatically with people who did not read. 4. **Compare campaigns** by how many chats each produced and how many became customers. A tag does not equal consent. Someone who messages you from an ad has started a chat, which opens your window to reply. It does not make them a marketing contact. Ask for their agreement before you add them to broadcasts. The [contact tags and segments post](https://chirpoo.com/blog/whatsapp-contact-tags-segments/) shows a simple tag plan. ## How do you see which orders followed an ad in Chirpoo? Chirpoo shows which orders followed a message or an ad. Since the ad's details are saved on the contact, you can open a customer and see the ad that began the chat, then see the order that came after. This answers the question Ads Manager cannot: not just how many clicks, but how many became orders. The honest reading has limits. An order that follows an ad is not proof the ad caused it. Someone may have seen the ad, then asked a friend, then bought. The comparison still helps you rank campaigns against each other. If one campaign produces many chats and no orders, change the offer or the first reply before you change the budget. If your sales close outside the chat, for example a gym trial that turns into a membership at the front desk, add a tag when the sale happens. Then your own tags and Chirpoo's view together give the full picture. ## How much should you spend on these ads? There is no single right rupee figure, because the right amount depends on your margin and on how many chats your team can answer well. Use rules instead. - **Start small and fixed.** Run one ad for a few days before changing anything. - **Match budget to reply capacity.** If your team can handle 20 chats a day, buying 100 leads a day wastes money. Late replies lose the lead and the free window. - **Judge on orders, not chats.** Cost per chat looks cheap. Cost per order is the number that counts. - **Change one thing at a time.** Offer, picture, audience, reply. Never all four. - **Stop what produces chats but no orders.** Look at the first reply before you blame the ad. Add the Meta message charges to your math once the free window ends. For 1,000 follow-up marketing messages outside an FEP window, Meta bills ₹863.10. Chirpoo is ₹999 a month, or ₹1,499 with the Shopify store messages, excluding 18% GST. If you are comparing tools for this, see [Chirpoo vs Interakt](https://chirpoo.com/compare/chirpoo-vs-interakt/). Pick one ad, one number and one flow. [Start free](https://app.chirpoo.com/login), run the ad for a few days, and read the contact record on your first ad chat. ## Frequently asked questions ### Are click-to-WhatsApp ad chats free? Partly. Meta's pricing page says a free entry point window opens when a user messages from an ad and you reply within 24 hours. It may stay open up to 7 days, and messages in it are not charged. It needs the Android or iOS app. ### What does Chirpoo save from a click-to-WhatsApp ad? Chirpoo saves the ad's headline and link on the contact when the first message arrives. Your team sees which ad started the chat, and you can see which orders followed a message or an ad. ### Can a flow start when someone clicks my ad? Yes. Chirpoo flows can start on an ad click, as well as on a new message, a tag or a Shopify order. Use a test run and shadow mode first, so you can check the reply before it reaches customers. ### Does a chat from an ad mean I can send marketing broadcasts? No. A chat from an ad lets you reply, but it is not marketing consent. Chirpoo sends broadcasts only to contacts who opted in. Ask for permission in the chat, then tag the contact so you can find them later. ## Related guides and posts - [Click-to-WhatsApp Ad Attribution for Small Shops](https://chirpoo.com/blog/click-to-whatsapp-ad-attribution/) [Start free](https://app.chirpoo.com/login): 14 days, every feature, no card.