Instant Messaging in iOS
WhatsApp is the world's most widely used instant messaging (IM) platform, with nearly three billion users. By integrating WhatsApp with Bigin users can send and receive messages, use pre-approved templates, and apply quick replies to respond efficiently, thus helping small businesses capture, manage, and nurture customer conversations directly within their CRM, help them to respond faster, track interactions, and maintain complete customer context through their customers' preferred communication channel.
Bigin can be integrated with WhatsApp only through the web. Learn more about integrating WhatsApp with Bigin. Users can only see, initiate and reply to their chats through the mobile app.
Accessing messages in iOS
- Open the Bigin app.
- Tap Messages in the Homepage.
Accessing chat views
Users can switch between All Chats and My Chats to view all accessible conversations or conversations assigned to them by tapping the Views drop-down.
Initiating a new WhatsApp conversation
Users can start a new WhatsApp conversation with a contact directly from the contact detail page or by tapping the add icon in the message page.
To initiate a new conversation from the contact detail page
- Open the Bigin app.
- Tap the Contacts module in the homepage.
- In the Contact detail page, go to the Messages tab and tap on New Message.
- Select the WhatsApp number to use.
- Choose an approved template and tap Send.
Once the template is sent, the conversation opens and the customer can respond. After their response, the 24-hour active window begins, allowing free-form messaging.
While initiating a message users can also tap the WhatsApp icon in the info tab of the Contact detail page, they will be redirected to the messages tab.
To initiate a new conversation from the messages tab
- Tap the Add icon in the Messages module.
- Select a contact from the contact list and tap Send Template.
- Choose an approved template and tap Send.
Sending messages in active conversations
An active conversation is one where the customer has sent a message within the last 24 hours. During this 24-hour window, users can send free-form text messages without requiring template approval.
To send a message in an active conversation
- Open a WhatsApp conversation from the Messages section.
- Type the message in the text field.
- Tap Send.
Users can swipe right or long press a message bubble and select Reply to reply to a specific message in a chat. They can also
- add attachments, apply basic formatting, and use emojis in messages
- record and send voice messages (up to two minutes long) as replies
- play the audio messages and other audio/video attachments directly within the conversation page
- convert messages that exceed the character limit as PDFs and send them to their customers
- translate messages (if Bigin supports the languages in question) by tapping them. They can tap View Original to switch back to the initial language.
Using Templates
Templates are pre-approved message formats used to initiate conversations or respond outside the 24-hour window. It supports rich content including images, videos, interactive buttons, and also merges fields such as contact names which automatically populate based on the recipient's information.
Templates shown in the mobile app are only those that have been approved by Meta. Pending templates cannot be sent.
To send a template message
- Open a WhatsApp conversation or initiate a new conversation.
- Tap the More icon in the text input field and select Templates.
- Select a template from the list of approved templates.
- Preview the template with merged fields populated.
- Tap Send.
WhatsApp's template messages feature rich media header text, images, videos, and documents which will make the customer interaction more effective. It also supports interactive footer elements, like call-to-action buttons and instant replies, so that customers can take actions directly from the messages—like visiting the user's website or inquiring about deals.
Using Quick Replies
Quick replies are pre-written messages that can be sent instantly during active conversations. They support merge fields that automatically populate with contact-specific information.
- Quick replies can only be used in active conversations within the 24-hour window.
- Quick replies must be created in the web application before they can be accessed in the mobile app.
To use quick replies
- Open an active WhatsApp conversation.
- Tap the More icon in the text input field and select Quick replies.
- Select a quick reply from the list.
- Preview the message with merged fields.
- Tap Send to send directly, or tap Edit and Send to modify before sending.
Opening Conversations in External WhatsApp
Users can also open the conversation in the external WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business app based on their needs.
To open a conversation in external WhatsApp
- Open a WhatsApp conversation in Bigin.
- Tap the More icon in the top right corner.
- Select Open in WhatsApp.
This redirects the user to the WhatsApp/WhatsApp Business app with full messaging capabilities.
Messages sent via the external WhatsApp app will sync back to Bigin if the integration supports co-existence mode.
User can also open the same from Contact details page and clicking the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business icon. The icon will be grayed out if the app is not installed on their phone.
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