Follow-up messages

Follow-up messages send a series of WhatsApp templates to everyone who joins a group, over the days after they join. For example: a welcome right away, service times on day 2, and an invitation to a newcomers' lunch on day 7.

Setting it up

1. 1Open the group (Groups, then the group).
2. 2In Follow-up messages, click Add a message.
3. 3Choose an approved template, and when it goes: 0 days means right away; otherwise the number of days after they join and the time of day (your organization's time zone).
4. 4Fill in the template's blanks. {{name}} is each person's first name; anything else you type once and everyone gets the same.
5. 5Add more messages (up to 10), switch it on and click Save follow-up messages. Use the arrows to change the order.

Asking a question

Click Ask a question instead of Add a message. Pick a template that asks it (for example "Which service will you come to? Reply 1 for 9 AM or 2 for 11 AM"), then:

• Save the answer as: the name the answer is kept under on the contact, such as *Service time* or *Guests*.
• The answer is: *one of a few choices* (one per line; people can reply with the words or the number), *a number* ("4", "four", "just me"), or *any text*.
• Wait for an answer: 1 to 14 days. If nobody answers by then, the series carries on without the answer.
• Reply after they answer (optional): a short thank-you sent straight away, for example "Thanks {{name}}! See you at the {{answer}}." It's free, because they've just written to you.

If a reply can't be read (a picture, or not one of the choices), MsgOrb asks once more, listing the choices. A second reply is saved as written, so nobody gets stuck.

The messages after a question wait for the answer and are timed from it: 0 days means right after they answer.

Sending different messages by answer

Under any message, click Send only if… and choose an earlier question's answer (or the person's language), then *is*, *is not*, *contains*, *is at least* or *is at most* (numbers), *was answered* or *wasn't answered*. The message is skipped for anyone it doesn't match. Two messages with opposite conditions make an "if/otherwise": one *only if Service time is 9 AM service*, the next *only if Service time is 11 AM service*.

Seeing the answers

The Answers list under the card shows each person's answers, with Download CSV. Answers are kept on the contact, so a later question with the same name replaces the earlier answer.

Who gets it

• Everyone added to the group from the moment it's on, however they join: the join link, Text JOIN, an RSVP, an import, or adding them yourself. Each person gets the series once.
• People already in the group don't. To message them, send a campaign.
• Anyone who replies STOP, leaves the group or whose contact is deleted is taken off it.
• Switching it off takes everyone off it. Switching it back on applies to people who join after that.

Good to know

• Messages and questions are templates, because most of them arrive after WhatsApp's 24-hour window. Templates with a picture header or a per-guest button can't be used here. The thank-you and the "please reply with" message are free replies.
• A reply is taken as an answer only while the person is waiting on a question. Words like STOP, GIVE or JOIN, an event's invite word and YES/NO to an event follow-up still do what they always do.
• Meta charges for each message, the same as a campaign, to your own WhatsApp Business Account.
• Marketing templates don't reach US numbers; use Utility wording for factual information.
• If MsgOrb couldn't send a message for more than 2 days (for example, a template was removed), that message is skipped rather than sent late.
• The card shows how many people are going through it now and how many have finished.