In this article, you will learn how to create an SMS, manage its deliverability, integrate content and personalize it to different audiences. You will finish with testing your SMS.
Requirements
- Activate the SMS channel
- Create a communication type (for an SMS)
Step 1: Create an SMS
Go to Communications -> SMS and click Create an SMS.
Then, give a name to the SMS and select a communication type. When you are done, click on Create:
Communication types available are those you authorized for SMS messages when you activated the module.
| Warning! If you have a CDP structure, make sure to create the SMS in the right project. Generally, it's in the unified project that you will create the SMS since it's the project that contains unified contact profiles and the data you need for targeting. In some cases, you could create an SMS in a secondary project. For example, for a transaction confirmation, you could create the SMS in the secondary project that contains transaction data. |
Step 2: Insert Opt-out Instructions
Some countries require to insert opt-out instructions into an SMS. To be compliant, you can check the Show opt-out instructions option:
Note: In some countries, legislation requires including unsubscribe instructions in SMS content. During the setting up of the SMS channel, keywords like "Stop" have been added to the opt-out mechanism. The unsubscribe instruction text will be visible in the "Test" and "Send" sections when previewing the SMS.
Step 3: Add a sender ID (optional)
If you want the recipient to see your business name instead of your phone number, you can enter a name in the From field:
If you enter a sender ID, the recipient will not see your phone number and will not be able to respond to your SMS.
Sender ID restrictions
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Step 4: Write the Content
Styles and Formats
It's not possible to add HTML content. That means no style can be applied. Bold, italic, underscore, colors are ignored by the SMS.
Links
For regular links, you can simply add them directly in the body of the SMS. However, for DI links (landing pages, tracking links, forms, surveys), you have to add them inside the following function:
[[=Message.LinkToUrl("https://www.mywebsite.com");]]The link will be shortened automatically. You can also add regular links using this function, which helps reduce the number of characters in the SMS.
If you do not integrate a link this way, the click statistics won't compile in the SMS results.
You could also add a DI link using the Link library:
Maximum number of characters and number of fragments
When writing your SMS, pay attention to the number of characters in your message, which is displayed in the SMS analysis section (on the right in Test). Ideally, your message should have a maximum of 140 characters to count as only one fragment. If you use special characters, you could activate the non-GSM characters converter.
→ Check the Number of Fragments in Your Message
Personalization and Dynamic Content
To learn more about this subject, read the article:
→ Insert Personalization and Dynamic Content
Step 5: Test the SMS
Before sending your SMS, it is strongly recommended to test it.
→ Preview and Test the SMS
→ Supported Number Formats for Sending SMS
Step 6: Send the SMS
When your content is satisfying and you have finished the tests, it is time to send your SMS! :)