With 2 billion active users, it would come as no surprise that WhatsApp is the most popular communication app. 

WhatsApp is an app that not only allows people to chat but also sends multimedia content. Besides that, WhatsApp now also allows users to share locations and even money.

Businesses soon realised the marketing potential of this app. They quickly adapted to platforms like the WhatsApp Business app and WhatsApp API. 

Even if you’re not a business owner, wouldn’t it be great if you could remind people of events and send birthday messages at the right time?

Well, WhatsApp has got you covered. You can even schedule messages in WhatsApp! 

A scheduled WhatsApp message; doesn’t that sound too good to be true? Moreover, you can do this quite easily. In this article, we will explore how to schedule messages on WhatsApp.

How To Schedule Messages In Whatsapp On Your Android

Here you will get to learn the steps on how to schedule messages in WhatsApp on your Android smartphone.

1. First, you need to download the WhatsApp message scheduler app on your phone from the Google Play Store. Then, you need to grant permissions and accessibility to this app to ahead with scheduled messages in WhatsApp.
2. Go to Settings-> Accessibility->Services and enable the toggle for this app. This is the first step you need to follow for scheduled WhatsApp message
3. Then, you need to open the app and tap on an icon shaped like “+”
4. After this step, you will have to pick a contact or group to whom you want to send a scheduled WhatsApp message. You will have to select the date and time for the scheduled WhatsApp message.
5. Now you need to type the message that needs to schedule
6. Lastly, tap the button marked “Create” and you will have successfully created a Scheduled WhatsApp message.

How to Schedule Messages in WhatsApp On Your iPhone

Apple claims to be extremely cautious about users’ privacy. However, Siri does allow some shortcuts for you to schedule messages in WhatsApp. 

Here’s how to create a Scheduled WhatsApp message from an iPhone:

First, you need to search the App store and install the Shortcuts app from there.

1. Choose Automation as soon as you open the app.
2. You will find a “+” sign in the top right corner after you open the app. There, you have to tap on “create personal automation”
3. To Schedule messages in WhatsApp, you need to pick a date and time. Then you need to tap on “next”
4. After you do this, you will find an “Add option” tab. Later, you have to search ‘Text’ on the search bar and select ‘Text’ when the search results show up.
5. Type a Scheduled WhatsApp message and tap the icon shaped like “+”. Type “WhatsApp” when a pop-up search bar appears.
6. When you see the dropdown menu appear, select the option saying “Send Message Through WhatsApp”. Lastly, select the contact for whom you scheduled messages in WhatsApp. Then, move to ‘Next’ and finally click ‘Done’.

How to Schedule Messages in WhatsApp on the WhatsApp Web

It’s quite simple to schedule WhatsApp messages on the WhatsApp web. If you mostly operate from your desktop, you’ll need to learn how to schedule messages in WhatsApp. 

Let’s examine how to create a scheduled WhatsApp message using the Bluetick Chrome extension.

1. From the Chrome Web Store, install Blueticks.
2. Now you need to open WhatsApp Web from your Google Chrome browser
3. Select and open a contact, group chat or normal chat to whom to send scheduled WhatsApp messages
4. Next to the message box, you will find an icon which will lead you to the WhatsApp Scheduler window
5. Type the scheduled WhatsApp message that you want to send. Then, select the date and time. 
6. Lastly, select “Schedule send”.

Android, iPhone and WhatsApp Web are generally the ways through which normal users schedule messages in WhatsApp. If you’re a business owner, we have listed the way you can send Scheduled WhatsApp messages too.

How to Schedule Messages in WhatsApp on the Business App

If you’re a business owner who’s handling a large customer base, you might not be available all the time. 

As such, you need to let people know that you will attend to them soon. This is the reason it’s important that you schedule messages on WhatsApp. 

Here’s how to schedule messages in WhatsApp on the Business App:

1. Open the WhatsApp business app on your phone.
2. Go to ‘Settings’ in the app and select ‘Business Tools’.
3. Choose ‘Select Away Message’ and turn the toggle on ‘Send Away Message’.
4. To schedule messages in WhatsApp, you have to type in the text in the given field.
5. Turn the toggle on for ‘Send Away Message on WhatsApp Business’. Choose ‘Only Send to’ and select the contacts to whom you want to send scheduled WhatsApp messages.
6. Finally, tap on ‘Schedule’.

On the Business App, you can pick a customised schedule tailored to the working hours of your business. According to the given time slot, you can then send scheduled WhatsApp messages.

How to Schedule Messages in WhatsApp using WhatsApp API

The WhatsApp Business App does not allow you to schedule messages in WhatsApp that are reminders or updates. 

To solve this problem, WhatsApp launched the WhatsApp Business API. This allowed SMEs to send scheduled WhatsApp messages on a large scale. They could do this by integrating WhatsApp with their system and then communicating with customers directly.

WhatsApp API is a great solution that allows businesses to send scheduled WhatsApp messages to a vast audience. Additionally, it allows for WhatsApp CRM integration so you can send messages to customers directly from your CRM. 

You can also schedule messages in WhatsApp using WhatsApp API after getting access to it. 

There are two ways that you can get access to WhatsApp API: 

1. You can either sign up for WhatsApp Cloud API and get access for free. 
2. You could opt for a BSP to access the features available in WhatsApp Business API. 

Note: You will need a development team to set up WhatsApp Cloud API for you as it does not have an interface.

Also, read Everything you need to know about WhatsApp Marketing Software.

Conclusion

In summary, it’s possible to schedule messages in WhatsApp from various different platforms. Moreover, scheduled WhatsApp messages can and do act as blessings for all businesses, especially SMEs. 

With a growing customer base, managing and updating customer requests and orders can sometimes be challenging. As such, scheduling messages in WhatsApp allows you to do your job while also keeping your customers informed.

Scheduled WhatsApp messages are especially easy when you have access to WhatsApp Business API or WhatsApp Cloud API. You can directly integrate it with your CRM and broadcast messages in bulk. 

Overall, WhatsApp automation is an important part of your WhatsApp marketing strategy and essential for your business to function smoothly.