SMS Campaigns Module
Bloomreach Engagement enables you to quickly run personalized SMS campaigns that allow for one-to-one communication with your customers. This article will walk you through the steps of how to set up such a campaign in the SMS campaigns module.
Refer to our main SMS Campaigns documentation which will guide you through the needed prerequisites, elaborate on the message's size, show you how to customize SMS, elaborate on the consent policies, illustrate how to include links in your messages, and present an example of where SMS messages can be used to your advantage.
Setup in a Nutshell
1. Create an SMS Campaign
Go to Campaigns > SMS campaigns and click on + New SMS Campaign.
2. Choose Your Template
You can either build your SMS campaign from scratch or use our Predefined templates or Project templates.
- Predefined templates are part of the built-in library of templates that can be easily reused during the campaign creation process.
- Project templates are templates you build within the Asset Manager. These templates can be re-used during the campaign creation process.
Access to a list of predefined or project templates is visible when you click on the + New SMS Campaign button.
SMS template settings are disabled by default. If you enable its settings, it includes:
- Link shortener
- Transfer identity to URL links
- Link transformation
- Custom campaign tracking
When you create a new SMS campaign using a template, the campaign settings will be prefilled if the template Settings are enabled.
Therefore, you do not have to configure the settings every time for the same template. When you change a template in an existing campaign, you will have the option to apply the settings from the template or to not apply them, and keep the existing campaign settings unchanged.
3. Customize Your SMS
Once you choose your template, you can adapt the message to your needs and personalize it. Choose the sender and customize.
The message and media to be sent can be typed within a user-friendly editor with an option to include Jinja personalization. The editor also displays a ‘characters counter’ and automatic highlighting of special characters, as well as the option to define fallback SMS with limited automatic message splitting.
4. Configure the Settings
You can access SMS campaign settings through theSMS campaigns module in Settings. In this tab, you can configure various SMS parameters:
| Function | Description |
|---|---|
| Schedule | Options: - Right after launching the campaign. - Every time a specified event is tracked for each customer. - On a specified day and time. - At the predicted optimal time when the customer is most likely to click on the link in the SMS. |
| Frequency Policy | It defines the number of SMS messages that a customer can receive within a specified timeframe. |
| Consent category | Choose which consent is required for a customer to have to receive this campaign. |
| Link shortener | When enabled, it automatically shortens all hyperlinks in SMS/MMS. |
| Transfer identity to URL links | - It can be managed only if the Link shortener is enabled. - Using URL links for customer identification. - Options: 1. Disabled 2. Enabled - first click only (recommended) 3. Enabled - all clicks |
| Link transformation | Auto: default UTM settings Manual: modify the UTM tags utm_campaign, utm_medium, and utm_source |
| Custom campaign tracking | It allows you to add custom event attributes to be tracked in the campaign events for all statuses of the campaigns. |
| Audience | It is used to define the custom audience that will receive the SMS campaign using customer filters. |
| Silent hours | Temporarily pause campaign sending during designated quiet periods, such as at night or on Sundays. If activated during silent hours, the scenario will wait until they end before sending the campaign. Silent hours can be set for a specific daily time, entire selected days, or both options combined. You can also choose a specific timezone for evaluating silent hours. Learn more about this setting here. |
Silent Hours Best Practices
- Try to avoid disrupting your subscribers' quiet time, like late in the evening or early in the morning.
- It is best to avoid sending texts after 9 pm and before 8 am in the recipients' local time zone.
- Not adhering to the silent hours may result in higher unsubcribe rates and spam reports.
Consent Policy
Keep in mind to always set the right Consent category to comply with the applicable regulations. Read more about how to manage consents here.
5. Test the Message
You can preview your final SMS message before you actually send it or test it for the selected group of your customers.
You can test your SMS message through the editor when you click on the Send test SMS button. Here, you have two options:
- You can send it to a specific provided phone number (e.g., you can send it to yourself).
- You can send it to the previewed customer.
6. Run the Campaign
Once you created your SMS campaign and made all the adaptations needed, you are ready to run the campaign.
SMS Campaigns Version History
You can restore accidentally deleted versions and continue your work where you ended. SMS Campaigns history offers also a view of changes, showing specific versions that have been changed.
You can access the version history when you:
- Open your SMS Campaign.
- Click on the three-dots menu.
- Navigate to "SMS Campaign history."
You will be able to preview the historical changes if you click on each version. It allows you to revert to it or make a copy of it. Moreover, in the SMS Campaigns list view, you can restore a deleted SMS campaign.
Campaign Evaluation
The SMS campaign module provides an evaluation dashboard that displays multiple metrics that indicate the performance of your SMS campaign. You can analyze data for SMS performance, audience engagement, conversion funnel, and failed sends and deliveries. Refer to our documentation to lear more.
Updated 12 months ago