How do I create an SMS campaign?

SMS Messages character count is capped at 160 characters. By law this has to include an Opt Out option for the recipient. 

Create New SMS Campaign

1. Go to Campaigns > Create Campaign > SMS Campaign - Create SMS
2. This is your campaign creation screen. Enter a Campaign Name and Description or copy details from a previous campaign.
3. Add Message - is where you input the content of the SMS. To view the available tags, click on the "View Tags" icon above the text field. The intouch dashboard has a feature to perform a character count and by default it includes an "OptOut Reply STOP" which will be merged to the end of the message. It has a character count of 18 characters, with a leading space which will be included in your SMS total character count. MobileDigital only supports 7bit encoding. We don't currently support Unicode as we can't guarantee the recipients phone will display as intended. The SMS Character Counter Encoding will highlight any Unicode / special characters used in red that are not supported. Using emoji's or special characters will change the encoding to Unicode which reduces the character count available to 70.
4. Select a time and date range for your SMS campaign to go out - generally allowing a minimum of 45mins from your creation time to ensure QC checks can occur.
5. Expiry date - is pre-populated to 2 weeks in advance of the current date. This can be updated if required manually. 
6. Send in Waves - if you have any concerns about the website handling traffic or the call centre handling calls then you can set up the campaign to go out in waves. You can select to send by Number of Waves or Number of People and then set the delay between each wave.
7. Choose Recipients - you can either use a Target list you have previously created from dropdown or import a fresh CSV file and manually map the fields to the corresponding columns. This is the final step before creating your campaign for review.
8. Send Test SMS you can opt to send a test SMS by selecting the SEND TEST SMS button from this page. It will help you to review and finalise the SMS before you send it out to customers.
9. Import from a CSV file  - choose "From CSV" and then select your file. Once imported ensure that any fields showing 'IGNORE' are correctly mapped above key contact details such as FirstName and Mobile. Any optional fields that you also wish to use need to be mapped here and then saved. Predict Column Mapping helps you match your CSV headings with the predefined tags available in the system. Review columns after using Predict Column Mapping to ensure the tags and headings match.   
10. Save your SMS campaign.
11. To view and test your finalised draft campaign go back to the Campaigns menu and select SMS Campaign Summary - you will see your campaign on the top row of this screen ready to VIEW, EDIT, DUPLICATE, VIEW INFO or DELETE.            
12. To view the text sample as it will be sent (and send a test) click on VIEW.   
13. Input Confirmation & Test for final approval ensure all your details are correct. Your campaign start date, any codes you may have imported will show here as well. A simple checklist you should be looking at is listed below
    • Campaign Dates 
    • Character Count - below 160 in total inclusive of Opt Out Message (If using the default Opt Out Reply Stop your maximum message cannot exceed 142 characters)
    • Your Number of Recipients
    • Any links you have added - test to see they are complete and working
    • Opt out Message displayed.
14. You can send a TEST text which will send a LIVE text to a specified number.
15. The sample message displayed will preview the longest message showing the longest character count. The dashboard will highlight if the character count is over the 160 limit. 
16. You can Edit your campaign here as well if you want to make some changes. 
17. Click on Approve and the campaign will be created.