CTWA vs Traditional Broadcast — Which Should You Use?
Click-to-WhatsApp Ads (CTWA) bring new customers to you and open a free 72-hour window; broadcasts re-engage contacts you already have. Here's when to use each, what you need to set up, and how the costs compare.
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Both bring customers into WhatsApp — but they solve opposite problems. CTWA finds people who don't know you yet. Broadcasts re-engage people who already messaged you.
Quick comparison
| Click-to-WhatsApp Ads (CTWA) | Traditional Broadcast | |
|---|---|---|
| Audience | New people who've never contacted you | Contacts already in your CRM |
| Who starts the chat | The customer (taps your ad) | You |
| Opt-in needed | No — tapping the ad is the opt-in | Yes — contact must have opted in |
| Template approval | Not needed | Required for marketing templates |
| Messaging window | Free 72-hour window opens | 24-hour window, or a paid template |
| Main cost | Facebook ad spend | Per-conversation template fee |
| Best for | Lead generation, new customers | Promotions, reminders, re-engagement |
When to use CTWA
- You want new leads — your contact list is small or cold
- You're running paid campaigns on Facebook/Instagram and want conversations, not clicks to a website
- You want to skip template approval — the customer messages first, so you can reply free-form
The big advantage: a customer arriving from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad opens a free 72-hour service window (longer than the standard 24 hours), and Meta doesn't charge for that conversation.
When to use a broadcast
- You need to reach existing customers — a sale, a reminder, an update
- You have opted-in contacts and an approved marketing template
- The goal is re-engagement, not acquisition
See Getting Ready for WhatsApp Promotional Messaging for the opt-in, template and quality requirements before you send.
Pre-setup requirements for CTWA
Before you can run a Click-to-WhatsApp ad, you need all four:
- Facebook Business Manager set up and verified
- Facebook Ads account set up with a payment method and balance
- WhatsApp Business API connected to ChatDaddy — see How to Connect WABA to ChatDaddy
- Facebook Page connected to your WhatsApp number
If Business Verification isn't complete, the ad objective won't be available in Ads Manager. See How to Verify Your Business on Meta.
Using both together
The strongest setup runs them in sequence:
- CTWA brings the lead in — they tap the ad and message you
- ChatDaddy captures and tags them automatically — see Using the New Contact Trigger
- A message flow qualifies them during the free 72-hour window
- Later, broadcasts re-engage them with offers once they're an opted-in contact
That turns ad spend into a contact list you can market to for free afterwards.