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      Using SMS in Campaigns

      We're really excited to introduce this new feature on For-Sight! We believe it will make your communication efforts and campaign initiatives even more effective and enjoyable.

      There are 3 steps we will need to make sure you have set up before you can utilise using SMS in Campaigns. These steps are:

      1. For-Sight account activated for SMS action

      2. Dotdigital account activated for SMS
      3. Phone number setup in Dotdigital to send from

      Please let us know if this is something you would wish to utilise and we can set it up on your account for you. Once we are sure these seps have been followed we can begin to use SMS within campaigns, follow these steps below to do this:

      1. Create a campaign as normal
      2. At the action step, select SMS



      3. Select the sending identity (the from number)
      4. Select the SMS campaign name to send
      5. Complete the campaign setup as normal

      Can I segment an SMS campaign?

      Yes, SMS is an action within a campaign. A campaign supports sending different SMS as actions to different segments. You setup the segments the same way as normal.

      Can I send SMS and email from the same campaign?

      Yes, provided you use 2 or more segments in the campaign each segment can have its own action. Email or SMS are supported actions.

      Can I send an SMS and an email to the same contact from the same campaign?

      No, each contact will be in only one segment and each segment only supports one action. You must choose to send an email or an SMS. If you want to have a contact receive both an SMS and an email at the same time, create two campaigns with the same audiences and segments and setup one with email actions and the other with SMS actions.

      What countries can I send SMS from?

      For the pilot we are accepting only customers who wish to send from a UK phone number.

      Can I personalise the SMS message?

      The SMS message saved in Dotdigital must be static text. No personalisation or dynamic content can be replaced at send time.

      How do I create my SMS templates?

      In Dotdigital:

      1. Create SMS campaign

      2. Enter a message (static)
      3. Save – ensure it is saved as broadcast not triggered

      Ignore all other settings as they are not relevant to sending from a For-Sight campaign

      What is meant by transactional SMS?

      Transactional SMS refers to the nature of sending the SMS. Our campaigns feature is based on transactions that a guest has with a hotel. Campaigns allow users to send messages before during and shortly after a visit to the property. By default, we consider the messages being sent to be transactional in nature and on the legal basis of legitimate interest. If you have concerns with this, you can setup your campaign with segmentation and ensure your segments all opt-in for marketing consent over email and ensure that the “all other contacts” segment is disabled. This would ensure the campaign only sends to contacts with marketing consent.

      How do I restrict my campaign to only send SMS to specific countries?

      If you’d like to ensure that SMS are only sent to specific countries, you can use campaign segmentation with segments based on the country of the contact to set the action per country.



      You could also use this to potentially consider sending a unique message in a different language. Ensure to disable the “all other contacts” audience so that any contacts not in the country segments are not included.

      Where do replies to SMS messages go?

      We recommend setting an auto responder attached to the number which explains to contacts that the number is not monitored and provide relevant contact details should they wish to get in touch with the hotel. Replies are stored inside Dotdigital, but cannot be forwarded on.

      Where can I find reports on SMS sent?

      For sent messages you can find the log in Dotidigital > Analytics >Reports > More reports dropdown> SMS > Outbound messages.

      For replies you can find the log in Dotidigital > Analytics >Reports > More reports dropdown> SMS > Inbound messages

      For autoresponders you can find them in Dotidigital > Analytics >Reports > More reports dropdown> SMS > Auto responder reports



      Can I find out if my SMS was delivered?

      Depending on country the reports section in Dotdigital will display either delivered to network or delivered to handset. Each country varies as to which level of support is available.

       

      If you have any questions or would like a training session, please reach out to your Customer Success Champion and they will be happy to assist you.