Send SMS – How to send an SMS message

Sending SMS campaigns to one or more contacts is an easy 4 step process. To start sending an SMS message, first click the ‘Send SMS’ button on your home screen, this will take you to the page where you can create and send an SMS messages. From here there are 4 areas to take note of when sending an SMS message.

Numbers – Add individual contacts, groups, or numbers ready for the message to be sent to.

Message – Create the text message, add custom fields, and include an opt out code.

Sender ID – Set who you want the message to come from.

Send – Send the message immediately, schedule it, or spread the messages over a certain period of time.

Numbers

The first step to sending an SMS message is to include all the contacts you want to send the message to. This can be done by selecting groups or entering contacts manually.

To send a text message to contacts that are already in the system, click the ‘To’ button. This will open a new box where you can select individual contacts by clicking the tick box next to their details or select a whole a group using the ‘Select Contact Group’ drop-down box. Once a group is selected, click the blue ‘Add Group’ button which will add the group and will be displayed in the ‘Numbers’ box.

You can also manually add contacts by searching for them in the search box or adding the number manually using this box. When searching for contacts using this box, it will search for the contacts by their number, name, or surname.

Message

The ‘Message’ section is where you can create your SMS message, include custom fields, add an opt out code, and check how many credits it will take to send your message.

Message text box – This section is where you will create your text messages. Simply type the message you want to send to customers in this text box. Credits per message and message length will be shown below the box. For more information see ‘Message info’ section below.

Saved – In the ‘Saved’ drop-down box you will be able to save the message you are currently writing, along with viewing all your saved messages.

Fields – If you would like to customise your message with your contacts information, use the ‘Fields’ drop-down box and select which field you would like to personalise the message with. Including custom fields will mean your message length may vary depending on the information within the selected field.

Stop – On all SMS marketing messages you are required to include an opt out code, to include your dedicated opt out code click the ‘Stop’ button and your automatic opt out code and text will be added to your message.

Message info – Just below the message text box you can see how many credits the message will need, the maximum length of the message, and the number of characters the message is using. Please note when using custom fields, the exact message length may vary depending on the information within the select field.

Sender ID

The ‘Sender ID’ box gives you the option to set who you want the message to come from, along with tracking the campaign using your own code.

Sender ID – Your ‘Sender ID’ is who the message is coming from and what will be displayed on the customers mobile as the message header. A maximum of 11 letters can be used including spaces, with a maximum of 16 numbers allowed. Customers will only be able to reply to the text if you are using a number. Type in your prefered sender ID and click ‘Save’ to set this as default.

Custom Tag – The ‘Custom Tag’ field is purely for your own usage and will not be seen by your contacts. This is used if you would like to keep track of different campaigns which can be viewed in the ‘Message Control’ section of your account.

Send

There are 3 ways to send your message; you can either send it immediately and your contacts will receive it within a few seconds, schedule your message for a future date and time, or spread your message over a few hours.

Send Now – The ‘Send Now’ button will send your message immediately, meaning your contacts will receive it within a matter of seconds.

Schedule Send – If you would like to send your message at a specific time in the future, then click the ‘Schedule Send’ button. This will open a new box where you can select a date and time for your message to go out. You can also spread your message using this box as well.

Spread Send – To spread your message over a few hours, click the ‘Spread Send’ button. This will open a new box where you can select how long you want your message to spread for. Clicking the blue ‘OK’ button will send your message immediately and will spread it over your selected time frame.

Note: When scheduling your message, the system will take the time set on your device. Meaning you will have to think about what time your customers will receive it if they are in a different time zone than you.