Setting up SMS for the Studio soon

This feature is available with:

Don't know which module you're using? Find out here.

  • Align - Employee Communications
The features described in this article are Coming Soon, meaning they might not yet be available on your platform.

SMS messages sent from Haiilo can currently be delivered through Twilio. Before you can create and send SMS messages in Haiilo's Studio, you need to connect a Twilio account and enable SMS on your platform. You need the"Multichannel administration" permission to configure SMS in Haiilo.

For an introduction to SMS messaging on Haiilo, including prerequisites and limitations, read Understanding SMS messaging on Haiilo.

Prerequisites

Before setting up SMS in Haiilo, ensure that:

  • You have permission to create and manage a Twilio account for your organization.
  • Your organization has reviewed any consent, regulatory, and sender-registration requirements that apply to its intended recipients.

Twilio is a third-party service. Using SMS can generate additional charges based on factors such as the destination country, message length, character encoding, and number of message segments. These charges are managed directly through your Twilio account, not by Haiilo.

Set up a Twilio account

You need a Twilio account with an active phone number that supports SMS. This phone number is used as the sender for SMS messages created in Haiilo.

1. Create and verify your account

First, create a Twilio account and complete Twilio's account verification.

  1. In Twilio, select Start for Free.
  2. Enter your name, email address, and a strong password, and select Continue. Twilio sends a verification link to your email address.
  3. Open the email from Twilio and select the verification link. You're redirected to the Twilio Console.
  4. In the Twilio Console, select Verify Phone Number.
  5. Select your country and enter your personal phone number.
  6. Choose to receive the verification code by SMS or phone call.
  7. Enter the code and select Verify.
  8. Store the provided recovery code in a secure location and select Continue.

2. Specify how you'll use Twilio

During the initial account setup, Twilio asks for information about your organization and how you intend to use the service.

  1. Enter the requested account details.
  2. When asked what the account will be used for, select Twilio with SMS.
  3. Enter your billing country, review the information, and create the account.
  4. For how you want to get started, select Trial.
  5. For Which best describes you?, select Business.
  6. For What kind of business?, select Direct brand.
  7. For How would you describe your role?, select the option that best matches your role.
  8. For How do you want to build with Twilio?, select With no code at all.
  9. For What do you want to build with Twilio?, select the last option and then Internal Ops/Communications from the dropdown menu.
  10. For Which channel are you interested in?, select SMS.
  11. Continue to the Twilio Console Dashboard.

These selections configure the account for an organization using Twilio to send its own internal SMS communications.

3. Get an SMS sender number

Next, purchase the Twilio phone number that will be used to send SMS messages from Haiilo.

  1. In the Twilio Console, go to Phone Numbers > Manage > Buy a Number.
  2. Select the country and, if required, the area code for your desired phone number.
  3. Under the available capabilities, ensure that SMS is selected.
  4. Add any other criteria that are relevant for your organization.
  5. Choose a suitable phone number from the results and select Buy.

Recipients will see this number as the sender of SMS messages sent from Haiilo.

If you intend to send SMS messages to users in the United States, you must first register and obtain approval under the Application-to-Person (A2P) 10-digit long code (10DLC) standard. This is mandatory. Learn more in Registering for SMS messaging to US numbers.

4. Verify caller IDs for a trial account

With a Twilio trial account, you can only send SMS messages to phone numbers that have been verified in your Twilio account. To add a number for testing:

  1. In the Twilio Console, go to Phone Numbers > Manage > Verified Caller IDs.
  2. Select Add a new caller ID.
  3. Select the country code and enter the phone number that should receive your test SMS messages.
  4. Choose how you want to receive the verification code.
  5. Enter the verification code and select Verify number.

Repeat these steps for any additional phone numbers you want to use while testing with your trial account. Before using SMS more broadly, upgrade your Twilio account.

5. Upgrade your Twilio account

Upgrade your Twilio trial account before using it to send SMS messages to your intended audiences.

  1. In the Twilio Console, select Trial Upgrade.
  2. Under Main Address, select your organization's country and enter its main address. Then, select Save and Continue.
  3. On the Tax Information page, enter your organization's tax information and select Save and Continue.
  4. On the Fund Your Account page, add the desired amount to your account.
  5. On the Payment Method page, enter your payment details and confirm the upgrade.

Your Twilio account handles the costs associated with sending SMS messages. The actual costs can vary based on factors such as message segments and destination country. Learn more in Twilio's documentation.

Configure SMS in Haiilo

After preparing your Twilio account, gather the following information from the Twilio Console: Account SID, Auth Token, and SMS sender phone number.

Then configure SMS in Haiilo:

  1. Go to Administration > Multichannel.
  2. Enable SMS as a communication channel.
  3. Enter the Account SID from your Twilio account.
  4. Enter the Identification Token from your Twilio account.
  5. Enter the Twilio phone number that should be used as the SMS sender.
  6. Select Save changes for SMS.

Next step

SMS has been set up for your platform. You can create and send SMS messages. Learn more in Creating and sending SMS messages.

Users won't receive SMS messages unless they have a valid phone number in their Mobile profile field and they've activated SMS notifications in their personal notification settings.

If you intend to send SMS messages to users in the United States, you must first register and obtain approval under the Application-to-Person (A2P) 10-digit long code (10DLC) standard. This is mandatory. Learn more in Registering for SMS messaging to US numbers.

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