Messenger Ref URL Trigger

In the fast-paced world of digital communication, every interaction matters—especially when it comes to connecting with your audience in meaningful and measurable ways. That’s where Messenger Ref URL trigger steps in to revolutionize how you engage with users.

Imagine this: A potential customer clicks a personalized link in your ad, email, or social media post and is instantly guided into a tailored Messenger experience. No barriers, no distractions — just direct, intentional engagement designed to drive results.

The Messenger Ref URL trigger helps you guide users into specific chatbot flows based on the links they click. It’s perfect for generating leads, boosting sales, or delivering fast and personalized customer support.

In this guide, we’ll break down how the Messenger Ref URL trigger works, how to set it up, and tips for using it to create seamless, engaging experiences. 

How to set up the Messenger Ref URL trigger

1. Open your Manychat workspace and click the Automation tab in the sidebar.
2. Click the + New Automation button.
3. Click + Start From Scratch. 
4. Select the Start with a blank option.
5. Once the Flow Builder opens, click the +New Trigger button.
6. Select the User clicks a referral link trigger from the Facebook tab.
7. Clicking on the added trigger opens a panel on the left, where you can configure its settings.
8. First, by clicking the editing icon next to the trigger's name, you can rename it to make it more specific.                                                   
9. The next block shows the ready-to-use Messenger Ref URL, which you can easily copy and use however you like by clicking the Copy URL to clipboard button.
10. In the Custom Ref Parameter field, you can replace the characters following ref= in the link with your own choice of text or symbols to make the URL more user-friendly.
11. Click Save after you edit this field to see the changes.
12. In the Save payload to a Custom User Field section, you can configure the trigger to store custom information — such as names or affiliate IDs — in a Custom User Field whenever someone clicks the link.                                                
13. Once you have successfully set up everything, click Save to activate the trigger.

After copying the Ref URL, add the data you want to store in a Custom Field to the end of the link using --, as shown in the example below.

https://m.me/100222936162934?ref=smg-checklist--data

Set up an automated message in Messenger

The Ref URL trigger is just the starting point. To turn engagement into a real conversation, you need to send a message.

That’s why the next step is to add at least one Facebook message to your flow — this is what brings the automation to life and allows you to publish and run it successfully.

To add a message to your automation:

1. Go back to the automation containing your Instagram Ref URL trigger.
2. Add a next step: select Messenger to add a Send Message node to your automation.
3. Make sure that the Send within 24 hours option is selected. Since the user already opted in to receive messages from you, you have to communicate with them within the allowed 24-hour period. 
4. You can select to simply reply with a text message, or add a button, Quick Reply, link, or any other available content block.
5. After configuring the first reply, you can continue building the rest of your automation as needed.
6. To see how it works, you can click the Preview button at the top of the Flow Builder. 
7. You can choose to preview the automation either in Manychat or directly on Messenger. 
8. The second option lets you see everything exactly as your audience will experience it. Click the arrow icon next to the Preview button to select the preview mode. 
9. Once you’ve finished setting up the automation, click the Set Live button.

If you choose to send messages outside the 24-hour window, you’ll only be able to use Utility Message Templates.

Tips and best practises

If you delete a Messenger Ref URL trigger, it can’t be restored, as the links are generated automatically — you’ll need to create a new one. However, if you were using a Custom Ref parameter, you can recreate the link using the same parameter. This way, even though you’ve created a new trigger in Manychat, the URL will remain the same, and you won’t need to update it anywhere it’s already used.

If the Get Started button doesn’t appear in Messenger

New contacts need to click the Get Started button in Messenger before the automation connected to the Ref URL can be triggered.

If the Get Started button doesn’t appear, try refreshing your connection with Facebook:

1. Refresh your Manychat permissions using the Help button.
2. Go to the automation with the Messenger Ref URL trigger, turn it off, and then turn it back on.

⚠️ Note: These steps must be completed by the Account Owner or an Admin with full control of the connected Facebook page.

This will restore the connection between Manychat and Facebook, and the Get Started button should appear.

Automation not triggering from a Messenger Ref URL

If the automation connected to your Messenger Ref URL isn’t triggering, start by refreshing your Manychat permissions using the Help button, and make sure all requirements mentioned earlier are met.

Next, check that the automation is published. If you see a small yellow dot next to the automation name, it means there are unpublished changes — be sure to update it.

If everything looks correct, review your Conversation Routing setup. A common reason automations don’t send is that Manychat doesn’t have control of the conversation on Facebook. To ensure messages are delivered properly, make sure Conversation Routing is configured as described in this article.

With everything set up correctly, your automation should run smoothly and provide a better experience for your audience.