Configure an SMS Text Campaign: Message

The Message section allows you to define the content of the SMS Text message that will be sent to your recipients.

1. Optionally, in the "Expiration Date" field, enter an end-date for sending Keyword-driven automated responses sent out by this Campaign.

2. From the "Message Encoding" drop-down menu, select the encoding method for your Campaign:

• Latin 9 (ISO) -- Messages can be up to 160 characters in length, as long as all characters in the message conform to the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) encoding standard. If you included a non-GSM character, the platform will automatically convert your message to Unicode.

• Unicode -- Messages can be 70 characters in length.

3. For SMS Text Campaigns, you must select the Content Source for your message. Click an option below for more information on using a content source:

Provide ContentProvide Content

Dynamic BlockDynamic Block

Content BlockContent Block

Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) extends the functionality of core SMS text messages, by allowing you to include an image, video, or audio clip in the message, along with the text component. The total file size of the entire message, including the text component and multimedia file, can't exceed the maximum size allowed by your country's mobile carriers. Size limits typically range from 300 kilobytes to 500 kilobytes per message. Please confirm with your Client Services Representative what the limit will be for your Campaigns.

Note: The use of MMS is an optional feature that must be enabled with your account, and within the Sender Profile utilized by your Campaign. Please speak with your Client Services Representative for more details on enabling MMS. MMS is available only to recipients in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.

Before you can define the MMS content of your Campaign message, you must first select a Sender Profile that has been configured to support MMS.

To define the MMS content of your Campaign message:

1. In the Tool Ribbon, click Options > Add MMS Options. The system adds a new "MMS Options" section to the screen. Also, the "character counter" beneath the Content section changes to a "file size counter." An MMS message is constrained by the total file size of the entire message, rather than by the character count, as with an SMS message.

2. Messaging allows you to either upload the multimedia file that you want to include in the message, or you can link to an externally-hosted file. If you upload the file, the platform will store the file with the rest of your Hosted Items. Click an option below for more information:

Upload a New Hosted ItemUpload a New Hosted Item

Use an Existing Hosted ItemUse an Existing Hosted Item

Reference an External AssetReference an External Asset

Personalization fields are used to populate a portion of your message with values pulled from your database. For example, instead of "Dear Customer" as a greeting, you could replace the word "Customer" with the customer's actual first name.

The available personalization fields are displayed within the Personalization Pane on the right-hand side of the screen. This pane appears only if you've placed the cursor in a text field that supports personalization.

To add personalization to your marketing message:

1. Place your cursor in the field where you want to add personalization. The Personalization Pane appears on the right-hand side of the screen. Within this panel, the available fields are organized into different expandable / collapsible groups. For example, you'll see a section for your Campaign source table. You may see another section called "Joins" if your source table is joined to another table, or a section called "System Fields" that contains system-generated fields, or a section called "Metadata Fields" that contains the Metadata fields defined in your account.

2. Within the Personalization Pane, expand the desired group.

3. Double-click on the personalization field name (or, optionally, you can drag the desired personalization field from the Personalization Pane, and drop it into the text field). An "Insert Field Value" dialog box is displayed.

4. Optionally, enter a default value for this personalization field in the "Default" text box. The default value is used if a record doesn't have a valid value in the field being used to personalize the message.

5. Optionally select a formatting mask from the "Formatter" drop-down menu. The formatting mask is used to control the appearance of the text in the personalization field. For example, you can format date fields as "mm/dd/yyyy." The system includes formatting masks for dollar amounts, dates, numbers, and URLs. You can also use a formatting mask to truncate or encode the personalization field.

6. Click ok. The system creates a new Merge Symbol for this personalization field within the Clipboard section of the Personalization Pane. A Merge Symbol is a textual representation of the personalization field, consisting of the field name enclosed in double-brackets. For example: {(first_name)}. If you defined a default value, this value is also displayed within the Merge Symbol. For example: {(first_name|Customer)}

7. Within the message field, place your cursor where you want to insert the personalization field, then click the Merge Symbol for that field in the Clipboard. The system inserts the corresponding Merge Symbol into the message at the indicated position.

A Personalized URL (or "PURL") is a website address that contains one or more personalized elements, such as the consumer's first name and last name, for example.

Before you can use a PURL in your Campaign, you must complete the following setup steps:

• Create a PURL Field

• Bind that PURL Field to a PURL Domain

• Assign the PURL Domain to a Web Form

After you've completed all those steps, you can bind the Web Form to your Campaign. When you bind the Web Form to the Campaign, the platform will automatically generate the values for the PURL Field.

To bind the Web Form to your Campaign:

1. In the Tool Ribbon, click Options > Add PURL Options. Within the "Message" section of the Campaign screen, the system adds a new "PURL Setup" section.

2. The "PURL" field is used to select the Web Form. Either begin typing in the form name, or click the search button (magnifying glass icon) to search for it.

3. From the "URL Type" drop-down menu, select either "Prefix" or "Suffix" to control where you want the personalization fields inserted into the URL.

For more information on setting up Personalized URLs, see the PURL Domains topic.

To see a preview of your Campaign message content:

1. In the  "Message" sub-section, click preview. The system displays a simulated version of your message.

Note: Depending on the channel, you can also optionally access the Preview feature from within the Content Editor by clicking Edit Content > Preview in the Tool Ribbon.

2. If your message contains multiple format versions (such as an HTML version and a Plain Text version), you can view previews of each version. In the Tool Ribbon, click Preview Content > Message Type. This drop-down menu lists all of the versions defined for your message. Select the desired version; the preview is refreshed to show that format version

3. When finished, click Preview Content > Close Preview to return to the Campaign screen. 

To test the personalization fields in your message content:

1. In the  "Message" sub-section, click preview. The system displays a simulated version of your message.

2. The pane on the right-hand side of the screen lists all of the personalization fields within the message content. In one of these fields, type in a test value; the system refreshes the preview with this value inserted into the message. 

To test the dynamic content in your message content:

1. In the  "Message" sub-section, click preview. The system displays a simulated version of your message.

2. If your message contains dynamic content (such as Dynamic Blocks), the different content variations are displayed in the pane on the right-hand side of the screen. Click the left-right arrow icon to expand this pane in order to see a list of all the dynamic content variations.

3. Select a content variation. The preview is refreshed to show that variation of the content.