An SMS message is composed of at least those 2 elements:
- Message Name: for your own records
- Message content: write the content of the text message here
SMS editor
To create a new SMS design, go to DESIGNER > SMS, then click on "New SMS design".
Input your message in the SMS editor. A live character counter shows you how many characters your message has. Because the SMS options described below may affect the total number of characters you may send per message, the character counter will adapt accordingly.
SMS options
Unicode
A regular SMS is 160 character. If you write in languages that have special characters, such as Polish (e.g.: wiadomość), your characters might not appear properly on the recipients phone.
You activate the unicode option, but it will reduce your SMS to 70 characters.
Longs messages
By default, SMS messages are truncated after 160 characters (or 70 when using unicode). This is to limit the number of messages billed if you insert variables that generate long words out of your control, such as first or last names.
If you wish to send a message that exceeds the number of characters allowed for one message, you can activate the "Long message" option.
This option will send longer messages in multiple SMS. Note that a long message is 153 characters per SMS, and 67 if unicode is activated. The extra characters are reserved for meta data, such as message parts (1 of 3, 2 of 3, etc.).
Each additional message sent will be billed.
Link tracking
If you enter an URL and wish to track the clicks, activate the link tracking. When the SMS is sent within a campaign, the URL will be converted to a spl.io short URL (e.g.: www.spl.io/0dSuaX). This URL is about 20 characters, the number will vary depending on the domain, or if your URL is http or https.
The statistics on the clicks will be available until the campaign has been archived.
If you have multiple URLs, you may choose which of them are tracked and enable tracking by clicking the button "track" :
The length of the link will be longer if it is generated by the SMTP relay or with a personalized domain name: about 25 characters.
Sender name
You may want to display a Sender name (limited to 10 characters) instead of the short-code number. You may do so, but with caution:
- Some phones display the sender name and do not keep the short-code number. This will prevent the recipient from unsubscribing.
- Because it might prevent the recipient from unsubscribing, it is not supported in all countries. Verify the legislation that applies in your recipients' countries.
Common filter examples
Contacts who have the phone number field filled in
Contacts who have a landline number in France
Mobile Wallets
If you own a licence to activate the Mobile Wallets on your Splio universe, how about sending a SMS to the users who have not added the Pass yet and are not opt-in to the email channel? You can do it easily by selecting the variable $MobileWalletsUrl$ from the Functions button when creating your SMS design.
Testing your message
You may send yourself or your colleagues a test SMS, without having to create a campaign.
To do so, open an SMS design, and click on the "Test" button.
You may enter one phone number per line, preferably including the country code (e.g.: +336...).
Each test is deducted from your SMS credits.
Why can't I create a sequence in a campaign using SMS message?
There are two possible reasons for your message not being send:
1 - The selected target has more contacts than SMS credits available in the universe (Top menu, ADMIN > Consumption);
2 - There is no cellphone in the selected population.