Create a Proactive SMS Campaign

Before you start

Before you configure and create a Proactive SMS Campaign, we recommend that you first review the following:

• Review Proactive Conversation use cases.

• Understand the requirements to use Proactive SMS. Remember that you’ll need to create a Messaging Answer to host your SMS message for the Campaign.

• Get to know Proactive Conversation concepts (Campaign, Recipients, Outreach).

• Review the Proactive SMS Campaign Best Practices guide for additional guidance.

Create a Proactive SMS Campaign

Remember to have the Messaging Answer ready before creating the SMS Campaign.

1. Click on the top left corner of the screen.

2. Click Settings.

3. Under the Proactive Conversations category, click Proactive SMS.

4. The Proactive SMS page lists SMS Campaign(s) that have been created.

5. From the Proactive SMS page, click Create Campaign.

6. Enter the following information about the Campaign.
   

   • Campaign Name – Enter a name that helps you identify what the Campaign is for.

   • Description – Provide a brief description of what the Campaign is for.

   • Phone Number – Select the phone number the Campaign will use to send SMSes for the Campaign.

     • Note – You’ll only see SMS-able phone numbers on the list.

     • Note – Replies to an SMS Campaign route to the Inbox linked to the phone number.

   • Language – Select the language the Messaging Answer is created under.

   • Answer – Lists Messaging Answers created based on the language chosen. Select the appropriate Messaging Answer you created for this Campaign.

   • Campaign Schedule – Configure the time frame when SMS Campaign messages are allowed to go out.

     • Note – If the SMS Campaign’s start date/time (configured in the Add Recipients page) falls outside the Campaign’s schedule, then outreach begins on the next SMS send window. Messages are received based on the recipient’s prescribed timezone on the CSV.

       • Closed checkbox – Check the Closed box if you don't want SMSes sent on a particular day. The Closed is checked by default, so uncheck the Closed box to allow SMSes to be sent on a particular day.
         

7. Click Create Campaign.

Once your SMS Campaign is created, next, you'll need to add the recipients that will be contacted as part of the outreach for the Campaign.

Add Recipients

1. To the right of the Campaign you created, click , then select Edit Recipients.
   

2. From the Campaign’s outreach status page, click Add Recipients.
    Enter the following information:      

   1. Campaign Details – This section shows the meta details of the SMS Campaign.

   2. Recipients – Click CSV Template to download a CSV template to upload your recipient list. The template is pre-populated with rows with sample timezones and phone numbers in the correct format.

      • Edit the CSV template:

        • Enter the recipient’s timezone* in column A based on their primary location.

          • For column A/timezones, use the TZ database name found here.

        • Enter the recipient's phone number in column B.

          • You must include the country code (1 for the US).

          • There is no need to include a "+" before the country code, as this is done programmatically in Gladly if it's missing. The phone number format is country code – area code – phone number (e.g., 1-555-123-4567).

        • Enter the recipient's name in column C.

          • For column C/name, the name used here is used to replace the Customer’s First Name variable in the Messaging Answer.

   • Save the CSV as Comma Separated Values.csv or CSV UTF-8 only, and use a name that allows you to identify the recipient list easily.

3. Once your CSV is saved, click Upload CSV to upload your recipient list (CSV).

4. Outreach Date/Time – Select a date/time when you want your Proactive SMS Campaign to begin. For example, If you are setting up your Campaign on the 3rd of the month but want to start the automated SMSes to go out on the 15th of the month, select the 15th as the start date. You can choose a time and any month in the future.

   • Should outreach end on a certain date/time? checkbox – Check this box if you want the SMS Campaign to end on a specific date/time,  then you can specify the end date/time. Without an end date/time, a Campaign will be marked as "Completed" once it goes through the entire recipient list.

     • Note – If the outreach date and time fall outside the SMS Campaign's schedule (on the SMS Campaign’s details page), outreach will begin on the next SMS send window.

     • Note – Some recipients may not be contacted if the outreach end/date time is reached before everyone is contacted. See SMS send limits for more information.

5. Click Save.

The outreach will begin on the outreach date/time you selected.

Specify the correct timezone on the CSV

When entering the timezone on the CSV, use the TZ database name found here. The default timezone used to call Customers is set by your organization's time. Because the Customers you SMS may be in different time zones, you will need to specify a timezone for each recipient on your list. Know where your Customers are to avoid contacting them at odd hours. For example, if your organization's timezone is America/New_York (EST) and your SMS Campaign start time is 9 AM, if you have Customers on your recipient list that lives in Los Angeles (America/Los_Angeles) and you don't enter their timezone as America/Los_Angeles, you'll be SMSing them at 6 AM.

Return to the SMS Campaign list

Click < Proactive SMS on the top left area of the Campaign Status page to return to the SMS Campaign list.

Add multiple recipients

An SMS Campaign can contain one or multiple recipient lists/CSV, and each CSV can contain up to 3,500 contacts. Every recipient list uploaded can have a different outreach date/time.

Click Add Recipients to upload another CSV of SMS contacts you’d like to contact as part of the SMS Campaign.

CSV upload error

If your CSV cannot be uploaded due to an error, you may see an error message with a link to download the error log. Click Download error log to view the CSV log.

Look under column A in the error log to see what caused your upload to fail.

Number of recipients exceeds the maximum number allowed

• Ensure your CSV has 3,500 contacts or less.

• Add a new recipient list if you have more than 3,500 contacts.

Invalid Timezone

• Make sure you are using the correct timezone format using the TZ database.

Wrong Number of Fields

• There should only be two columns in your CSV timezone, and phone_number. Remove any extra columns.

• Save the CSV as Comma Separated Values.csv or CSV UTF-8 only.