> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.coralmessaging.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Broadcast Messaging

> How to send broadcasts using WhatsApp templates

Sending one message into many different chats at once (a “broadcast message”) can only be done over WhatsApp using what WhatsApp calls a “template”.  A template is a WhatsApp-approved, pre-written message that will be sent by your Coral API phone number (when sending into a group chat) or from your employees phone number (when sending into a direct chat) into a single chat or many chats at one time.  Note that WhatsApp will restrict deliverability of templates created for marketing purposes to ensure that some WhatsApp users don't receive too many marketing messages.  You can read more about WhatsApp policies and templates [here](/en/whatsapp/sending-messages-from-the-api).  Coral has built a proprietary feature that automatically maximizes deliverability and minimizes cost of each template send for your benefit.

Templates are shared across your organization, so other users of your organization’s account can see the templates that you make and vice versa.  Templates can have dynamic variables which can be populated with a unique piece of content for each time you send a broadcast, so that you can reuse a well-structured template for recurring uses of the same use case.  Common uses of variables are to insert a new image and event date and time details into an event invite template, or insert a new survey link into a customer feedback template.  

Some explanations of the required fields when creating a template:

* **Category**: You will need to choose your template category; most templates you will create on the fly will be considered a Marketing template by WhatsApp.
* **Template Type**: the “Standard (text only)” template type is straightforward, but the “Media & Interactive” template type deserves more explanation.  Once you’ve selected this type, more options will display to the right.  
  * Header: Adding a header to your template is where you can attach an image, video, or other document.  
  * Buttons: Adding buttons can make it easier for your contacts to interact with your template message, and it usually has a bot or automations behind it to collect replies or take an action at scale when your contact responds by tapping a button in the template.  The maximum buttons that can be added to a template is 10.  The “Enter text” field is where you input what the button will say.  In the nearby dropdown, you can choose what you want the button to do when clicked: 
    * Quick Reply means the contact will simply reply to the bot’s question with that response, 
    * URL sends the contact to that URL when clicked, 
    * Phone Number opens up a WhatsApp chat with the phone number specified.  

Create your first template that you can use to test broadcast messaging.  The simplest template to create is a “Standard (text only)” template type, of the Marketing category, with simple text like “Hello, and welcome to our service!” in the content section.  Once you hit submit, it will be approved by WhatsApp automatically, usually within seconds.   Contact your Coral rep to discuss creating templates for your account, and we can guide you.