To send a WhatsApp business broadcast, open the WhatsApp Business app, go to Tools, select business broadcasts, choose the contacts, create the message and any call-to-action buttons, then send or schedule it. Use this route where the feature is available in your account. Before selecting recipients, establish that they have agreed to receive the messages you intend to send.
This guide covers the current business broadcasts feature described by WhatsApp, rather than assuming that every older broadcast-list tutorial describes the same product. The official page presents private one-to-one messages to multiple recipients, with audience selection, scheduling and engagement insights. It does not establish availability for every Zambian account. WhatsApp business broadcasts.
How do you create a business broadcast?
Start with the account that actually represents the business. Prepare the intended recipient list before opening the composer. Check that those people are relevant to this particular message, rather than selecting everyone simply because their details are stored on the phone.
In WhatsApp Business, tap Tools, then business broadcasts. Select the contacts you want to message. Write the message and add appropriate call-to-action buttons. The documented choices then let you send immediately or schedule for later. After sending, review the performance insights available for that broadcast.
If the feature is missing, stop at that account boundary. This article does not establish that a different account country, unofficial extension or imported list will unlock it. Record the app and account you checked and consult the official help route. A missing interface should not become a reason to misrepresent the business.
Write the action before polishing the wording. A booking reminder should lead to the relevant booking action; a product update should explain what changed and what the recipient can do next. Inspect the final button destination as well as the message. A convincing message with an unrelated destination is still a poor customer experience.
Who may receive your messages?
WhatsApp’s Business Messaging Policy says people must have given you their mobile phone number or username and you must have received opt-in permission confirming that they want subsequent messages or calls from you. Possessing contact details alone does not satisfy both conditions. WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy.
For example, a person giving a number to resolve an order problem has provided a contact route. That does not, by itself, demonstrate permission for an unrelated promotion. Record what communication they agreed to receive and use that scope when selecting the audience. Do not turn a service conversation into a marketing subscription by assumption.
The policy makes the business responsible for its opt-in method and applicable legal notices and permissions. These platform requirements are not a complete statement of Zambian privacy or marketing law. Where a proposed campaign raises a separate legal question, obtain the applicable primary legal evidence before describing the process as compliant.
How should you segment a broadcast audience?
Use a small decision table before opening the recipient selector. These are editorial operating examples, not automatic WhatsApp audience categories.
| Proposed message | Useful audience basis | Reason to exclude someone |
|---|---|---|
| Requested service update | Their request and permission for that update | Request resolved or no longer relevant |
| Appointment information | Applicable booking and agreed contact purpose | No matching booking |
| Product promotion | Recorded permission for relevant promotions | Permission absent or withdrawn |
| Event reminder | Relevant registration and contact permission | Registration cancelled |
The audience should follow the purpose, not the other way around. If you cannot explain why somebody belongs in the selected group, investigate before sending. A smaller relevant audience is more defensible than adding contacts to improve an apparent reach figure.
WhatsApp’s current business-broadcast page says this feature can reach customers who have not saved your contact number. That is a product distinction from traditional broadcasts, not permission to contact strangers. Keep delivery conditions and consent conditions separate. Neither replaces the other. Current feature description.
What happens when someone opts out?
The policy requires you to respect requests made on or off WhatsApp to block, discontinue or otherwise opt out, including removing that person from your contacts list. An email request therefore matters even if the next broadcast is composed inside the app. Do not require the person to repeat a clear request through another channel.
Make the withdrawal visible to whoever prepares the next send. If one colleague maintains the contact list and another schedules messages, the handover needs to reach both. Review an already selected or scheduled audience when permission changes; removing a name from a separate spreadsheet is not evidence that every pending send has changed.
Use straightforward message wording so a recipient understands the sender and purpose. The policy prohibits confusing, misleading, spamming or surprising people. Avoid disguising a promotion as a necessary account notice merely to make it seem more urgent.
An original permission-to-send record
Create one record for each proposed broadcast. Keep personal details in the business’s authorised system rather than copying the audience into a public project brief.
Purpose: What does the recipient need to know, and what action is appropriate?
Audience rule: Which recorded interest, request or booking makes this relevant?
Permission evidence: Where is the opt-in recorded, what did it cover, and has it changed?
Exclusions: Which withdrawn, irrelevant or uncertain contacts were removed?
Message and destination: What exact text and button destination will the recipient see?
Send decision: Which account, immediate or scheduled sending, and who will handle replies?
Outcome: What did the available insights show, and what permission changes or replies require action?
This record is an original working artefact, not a platform certification or a completed campaign report. Its value is making an uncertain permission or mismatched audience visible before a message leaves the business.
Are app broadcasts the same as Business Platform campaigns?
No. The instructions above concern the WhatsApp Business app feature. The Business Messaging Policy separately identifies Business Platform terms, including approved templates for initiating conversations and its customer service window. Do not transfer an app screenshot into an API campaign specification and assume the same controls apply.
For the app feature, use the actual broadcast insights to learn which messages received engagement. Read rate or replied rate does not establish a purchase, consent for a new purpose or a promise that future messages will reach everyone. Interpret the available measure according to what it records.
If the business needs a different messaging workflow, describe the intended audience, permission record and reply handling before selecting software. Spout’s WhatsApp Business service and web development service provide relevant enquiry routes. Get started with the account features you can actually see and the communication you want to support.
By Spout Team. Prepared with AI-assisted drafting using the linked primary sources.