Click-to-WhatsApp ads
in Malta.

A click-to-WhatsApp ad looks like any other ad in the Facebook or Instagram feed, in Stories or in Reels. The difference is the button. Instead of opening a website or a form, “Send WhatsApp message” opens WhatsApp on the person’s phone, already in a chat with your business, with a first message such as “Hi, I’d like a quote for a new kitchen” ready to send. One tap, and the conversation has started.

For many Malta businesses this is the most natural ad there is. People here message a plumber, a salon, a restaurant or a car hire company on WhatsApp without thinking twice, and many would rather do that than fill in a form or call during working hours. The ad simply removes the step of finding your number.

The ad does not close the sale for you. It starts conversations, and you or your team still need to answer them well. A click-to-WhatsApp campaign is only as good as the person, or the system, holding the phone.

You need three things in place first: a WhatsApp Business number, either in the free WhatsApp Business app or on the WhatsApp Business Platform, a Facebook Page for your business, and, if you want the ads on Instagram too, your Instagram account connected to the same business. Link the WhatsApp number to your Facebook Page in the Page’s linked accounts settings, where WhatsApp sends a code to confirm the number is yours.

In Ads Manager, choose the goal that matches what you want from the chats, usually Engagement for conversations, Leads when the chat is an enquiry or Sales when people buy in the chat. Then set the conversion location to a messaging app and pick WhatsApp. You can also start a simple ad from the WhatsApp Business app itself, under its business tools, which suits a sole trader who wants something quick. Ads Manager gives you far more control over audiences, creative and measurement.

Last, write the first message and test it. In the ad’s message settings you can set the pre-filled text people send and, in some setups, a greeting and a few ready-made questions they can tap. Then preview the ad on your own phone, tap the button and check that the chat opens with the right number and the right text.

The main cost is the ad itself. Meta charges for the ads you run, based on your budget and on how many people see them, and there is no extra charge from Meta for each chat the ad starts. In Malta, a small local business can test click-to-WhatsApp ads with a modest daily budget; what matters is running them long enough to see how many chats turn into customers.

The messages themselves are free in the WhatsApp Business app. Larger businesses that use the WhatsApp Business Platform, usually through a provider or a custom system so several people can answer one number, pay Meta per message for some message types. Chats that start from a click-to-WhatsApp ad get a special deal: if the person messages you from the WhatsApp app on their phone and you reply within 24 hours, your reply opens a free entry point window. Since late September 2026 that window can stay open for up to 7 days, and during it Meta does not charge for your marketing, utility, authentication or service messages. Replies written by Meta’s own AI business agent are still charged.

After the window closes, the normal platform rules apply again, including the rule that you can only send a free-form reply within 24 hours of the customer’s last message; after that you need an approved template. Check Meta’s current pricing page before you plan a large campaign, because the details change from time to time.

This is a lead generation campaign we ran on Facebook and Instagram from 1 May to 25 July 2026. It brought 478 form leads from €4,625.31 of ad spend, which is €9.68 per lead, on a €6.00 daily ad set budget. The screenshot is straight from Meta Ads Manager, with the ad set name blurred.

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Ads Manager reports “messaging conversations started”, which is useful but is not a result. A hundred conversations that end with “too expensive, thanks” are worth less than twenty that end in bookings. The number that matters is the cost of each customer, so you need to know which chats bought.

With the free app, use labels: mark each chat from the ads as new, quoted, booked or paid, and count them each week. It takes a few minutes and tells you more than any report. With the WhatsApp Business Platform, a CRM or booking system can record the outcome automatically and send it back to Meta through the Conversions API, so Meta can learn which kinds of people actually buy and find more of them.

Compare like with like. Judge a click-to-WhatsApp campaign against a lead form or website campaign on cost per customer, not on cost per chat or per lead, and over a few weeks rather than a few days.

Running the ads when nobody can reply. Using a personal WhatsApp number that only one person can see. A vague pre-filled message. Replies that ask five questions before giving any answer. No price, not even a range, so every chat starts with a negotiation. Ads that promote everything at once, so the chat has no focus. And judging the campaign on the number of chats instead of the number of customers.

The costliest mistake is forgetting the people who did not book straight away. Someone who asked for a price and went quiet is still interested. A polite follow-up a day or two later, within WhatsApp’s rules, often wins back a share of them at no extra ad cost.