Creating and sending SMS messages 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.

You can create SMS messages in the Studio and send them immediately or schedule them for later. You can send SMS to individual users or to entire user groups. You need the "Access Studio" and "Create and send SMS" permissions to create and send SMS messages.

Prerequisites

Before creating and sending an SMS message, ensure that:

  • You understand the prerequisites and limitations of SMS messaging in Haiilo. Learn more in Understanding SMS messaging on Haiilo.
  • The intended recipients have enabled SMS in their notification settings and have a valid phone number in the Mobile profile field.
  • You have the SMS service fully set up in Twilio, and SMS is enabled and configured for your platform. Learn more in Setting up SMS for the Studio.
  • If you intend to send SMS messages to recipients in the United States using a US 10-digit long code number, your organization has completed and received approval for A2P 10DLC registration. Learn more in Registering for SMS messaging to US numbers.
  • You understand that SMS messages are delivered through Twilio, and any resulting costs are billed through your Twilio account. Costs can vary depending on factors such as the number of messages, message length, and destination country. 

1. Create an SMS message

  1. Go to the Studio from the main navigation bar.
  2. Select Create > SMS.
  3. Enter a Title for the SMS message. The title helps you identify the message in the Studio and is not visible to recipients.
  4. Enter the message you want to send in the SMS editor. An SMS message is always available only in one language. You can include links and emojis. Links are not shortened.
  5. Review the character and segment counters shown below the message. An SMS message can contain up to 160 characters in a single segment. If it includes special characters, such as emojis, a segment can contain up to 70 characters. Messages exceeding these limits use additional segments, each billed separately. Costs are charged to your Twilio account.
  6. Move on to adjust the message settings before sending.

Your draft SMS messages can be found in the Studio from the Dashboard or Calendar tab.

2. Adjust the SMS settings

Before sending or scheduling the SMS message, configure its settings on the right-hand side of the editor.

Schedule for later

 You can set a scheduled date and time for your SMS before sending it. The SMS is scheduled automatically for the set date and time.

Audience

You target your SMS to ensure it reaches the right users.

  • Send to everyone: The SMS is sent to everyone on the platform.
  • Users: The post is sent to selected individual users.
  • Pages: The SMS is sent to selected page subscribers.
  • Communities: The SMS is sent to selected community members.
  • Groups: The SMS is sent to selected user groups.

Haiilo validates the selected audience before sending. A user is included in the recipient count only if the user is active, has enabled SMS in their notification settings, and has a valid phone number in E.164 format in the Mobile profile field. Users who do not meet these requirements are excluded and do not receive the message.

The counter shows the number of users with a missing or invalid mobile number, letting you know how many users in your selected audience won't receive your message.

3. Send the SMS message

We recommend sending a test SMS to yourself before sending it more broadly. Use the Send test SMS button at the top to send a test message to yourself.

Once you're ready to send the SMS to your selected audience:

  1. Review the message, segment count, audience, and validated recipient count.
  2. Select Send / Schedule.
  3. In the confirmation dialog, review the number of recipients.
  4. Select Send / Schedule to confirm.

The SMS message is sent to the selected recipients from the sender phone number configured for your platform. Recipients receive it as a standard text message on their mobile devices.

Once an SMS message has been sent, it cannot be recalled from recipients' devices.

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