Sending messages from a Google sheet to a WhatsApp group can be very useful for automating notifications and reminders. With the right setup, you can configure a Google sheet to send automated WhatsApp messages to groups at specified times or when certain conditions are met in the sheet. This allows you to easily broadcast updates, alerts, and other information to multiple recipients without having to manually send each message individually.
What You’ll Need
To send WhatsApp messages from a Google sheet, you’ll need the following:
– A Google account – This is required to access Google Sheets.
– Google Sheets – This is where you’ll create the spreadsheet to manage the messages.
– WhatsApp account – You’ll need a WhatsApp account added to a group in order to send messages to that group.
– Twilio account – Twilio provides the API bridge between Google Sheets and WhatsApp to send the automated messages.
– Bitly account (optional) – Bitly can be used to shorten long URL links in your WhatsApp messages.
Step 1: Set up a Google Sheet
The first step is to set up a Google Sheet that will contain the WhatsApp messages you want to send. Here are the key steps:
1. Sign in to Google Drive and create a new spreadsheet.
2. Add column headers for key details like recipient phone number, message text, date/time to send etc. The recipient number should be in international format e.g. +14255550123.
3. In separate columns, enter the phone numbers you want to message and the text content for each message. You can add as many rows/recipients as needed.
4. Optional: Create a column to specify the date/time to send each message if you want them scheduled for delivery later. The format can be a date, datetime, or even a named time like “Tomorrow 9 AM”.
5. Give the worksheet a relevant name like “WhatsApp Messages”.
Example Google Sheet Setup
| Recipient Number | Message Text | Send Date/Time |
| +1234567890 | Hello, this is an automated WhatsApp message! | Today 5 PM |
| +0987654321 | Hi there, this is a scheduled WhatsApp message. | Tomorrow 9 AM |
This gives you a template to automate your WhatsApp messages from the Google Sheet.
Step 2: Get a Twilio Number
Since Google Sheets can’t directly interface with WhatsApp, you need to use Twilio as a bridge to connect them. Twilio provides an API that allows sending WhatsApp messages from the Google Sheet.
Here are the steps to get set up with Twilio:
1. Go to www.twilio.com and sign up for a free Twilio account.
2. Once signed up, visit the Twilio console and click Phone Numbers in the sidebar.
3. Search for and purchase a Twilio phone number with WhatsApp messaging enabled. Make sure you get a number with the country code matching your recipients.
4. Copy down the Twilio phone number – you’ll need this later.
Step 3: Set up the Twilio API
Next, you need to configure the Twilio API to connect with your Google Sheet:
1. In the Twilio console, go to the Settings page and copy down your Account SID and Auth Token – you’ll need these for the API credentials.
2. Open your Google Sheet and click Tools > Script Editor to open a script file.
3. Delete any default code in the script editor and paste the following code (filling in your credentials):
“`
function sendWhatsAppMessage(recipient,message) {
// Set your Account SID and Auth Token
var accountSid = ‘YOUR_ACCOUNT_SID’;
var authToken = ‘YOUR_AUTH_TOKEN’
// Initialize the Twilio client
var client = Twilio(accountSid, authToken);
// Send the message
return client.messages.create({
body: message,
from: ‘whatsapp:+YOUR_TWILIO_NUMBER’,
to: ‘whatsapp:’ + recipient
})
.then(message => console.log(message.sid));
}
“`
4. Save the project and give it a name like “WhatsApp Messenger”.
You now have a Twilio API script connected to your sheet that’s ready to send WhatsApp messages!
Step 4: Connect the Sheet to the API
The final step is connecting your Google Sheet data to the API script to trigger sending the WhatsApp messages:
1. Open the Google Sheet with your message data.
2. Create a new sheet/tab called “Logs”. This will capture each message Sid after it’s sent.
3. Insert two columns in your data sheet titled “Status” and “Message Sid”.
4. In cell A2, use the formula `=sendWhatsAppMessage(B2,C2)` filling in your number and message text columns.
5. Drag the formula down for every row of message data.
6. In the Sid column, use this formula to retrieve the Sid value from the API response:
`=IF(A2=”error”,,”Message Sid: “&A2)`
7. The messages will automatically be sent when their scheduled date/time is reached, using the Twilio API.
8. The Sids will be logged in column E, and any errors logged in column D.
You now have an automated system to send WhatsApp messages directly from Google Sheets!
Additional Tips
Here are some additional tips when setting up automated WhatsApp messages from Google Sheets:
– Add logic to check for blanks, invalid numbers, etc. before sending messages.
– Use IMPORTRANGE to pull data from multiple sheets.
– Integrate with a Form to collect responses that automatically generate messages.
– Use Apps Script triggers like onEdit() or time-driven triggers to automate sending.
– hyperlink your text with Bitly shortened urls so your messages are not truncated by the 160 character limit.
– Test carefully – make sure all messages are going to the right recipients before automating at scale.
– Check sent logs and error handling to monitor for issues.
– Ensure your Twilio number provides enough messaging throughput for your needs.
– Follow WhatsApp guidelines and get consent before sending automated communications.
Conclusion
Connecting Google Sheets and WhatsApp through Twilio’s API provides a simple and powerful way to automate your WhatsApp messaging. With some spreadsheet and scripting skills, you can build custom solutions tailored to your specific use case and audience. Automating notifications, reminders, alerts, and other broadcasts to your WhatsApp groups saves huge time and effort compared to manual messaging. Just be sure to test thoroughly and design responsibly before rolling out automated messaging at scale. Reach out to your recipients and get consent where appropriate. With the right approach, automating your WhatsApp communications from Google Sheets can take your efficiency and productivity to the next level.
Here is an example of a WhatsApp message automation script in Google Apps Script that sends scheduled WhatsApp messages from a Google Sheet using the Twilio API:
“`js
// Set your Twilio credentials
var ACCOUNT_SID = ‘xxx’;
var AUTH_TOKEN = ‘xxx’;
// Create Twilio REST client
var client = Twilio(ACCOUNT_SID, AUTH_TOKEN);
// Spreadsheet App Script triggers this function onEdit
function sendScheduledMessages() {
// Get active spreadsheet
var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
// Get number of rows
var rows = sheet.getDataRange().getValues().length;
// Fetch data from row 2 to last row
for (var i = 2; i <= rows; i++) {
// Get phone number and message text
var phoneNumber = sheet.getRange(i, 1).getValue();
var message = sheet.getRange(i, 2).getValue();
// Get scheduled date/time
var schedule = sheet.getRange(i,3).getValue();
// Convert schedule text to Date object
var scheduledTime = new Date(schedule);
// Get current date/time
var now = new Date();
// Check if current time >= scheduled time
if (now >= scheduledTime) {
// Send WhatsApp message using Twilio
client.messages.create({
body: message,
from: ‘whatsapp:+14155551234’,
to: ‘whatsapp:’ + phoneNumber
})
.then(message => {
// Log message Sid on sheet
sheet.getRange(i, 4).setValue(message.sid);
});
}
}
}
“`
This provides a template to build upon for your own WhatsApp automation from Google Sheets using Twilio and Apps Script.