Quick answer
Click-to-WhatsApp ads open a chat with your business. Meta sends the ad details with the first message, so a platform such as Ten Digit can create a lead automatically and tag it Facebook CTA or Instagram CTA. For platforms that send no data, a keyword in the message identifies the source.
Ads and posts increasingly send people to WhatsApp instead of a form. The risk is that the lead arrives as an anonymous chat. You want to know which platform and which ad brought each person.
Two kinds of entry point
There are two ways a person reaches your WhatsApp.
- Meta click-to-WhatsApp ads and post buttons on Facebook and Instagram. Meta passes the ad or post details along with the first message.
- Plain links and QR codes, such as a wa.me link on Threads, X, YouTube or a poster. WhatsApp passes no information about where the person came from.
Meta ads: automatic
When a chat starts from a Meta ad or post, Ten Digit creates the contact and, on plans with the CRM, a lead. The lead is tagged Facebook CTA or Instagram CTA from the ad link and the ad headline is saved on the lead. No bot is required. If the platform cannot be determined, the lead is tagged WhatsApp Ad.
Other platforms: keyword rules
For links without data, put a distinct word in the pre-filled message for each platform and add a lead source rule. A rule says that when a message contains a word, the contact is tagged and added to the CRM in a stage you choose.
- Pick one keyword per platform, such as threads or xad.
- Build the link: https://wa.me/YOURNUMBER?text=Hi%20THREADS.
- In CRM, open Lead sources and add the keyword and the tag, for example Threads CTA.
- Test from a different phone and confirm the tag and the lead.
Matching ignores capital letters and punctuation and allows extra words, so Hi, THREADS please still matches threads. Choose distinctive words and avoid common ones such as hi.
Add a bot for the first reply
Leads are created without a bot. If you also want an instant reply, create a bot that starts on any first message, greets the person, asks a question and passes the chat to your team.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a bot to create leads from ads?
No. Leads from Meta click-to-WhatsApp ads are created automatically on plans that include the CRM.
What if people edit the pre-filled text?
A keyword rule still matches as long as your keyword remains in the message.
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