Sending SMS Messages
Send a Message
Whether are you on desktop or using the Lead Connector app, you can send a text message to a particular contacts in Conversations or Contacts.
Click here for more information about Conversations and click here for more information about Contacts.
Bulk Messaging
On desktop, you can bulk send text messages in Contacts as a Bulk Action.
Type out a one-time SMS or select from your templates.
- Select the required contacts and click More > Send SMS.
- Check the information in the pop-up and click on Ok, Proceed.
- In the pop-up window that appears, create your SMS message or choose a pre-existing template from the dropdown. You can use the icons on the right-hand side of the message editor to add custom values/merge fields, attach a file, or insert emojis.
- Choose the scheduling for this action. You can choose 'add all at once' to process the action immediately, 'add all at scheduled time' to process the action at one time in the future, or 'add in drip mode' to process is groups/batches.
- Add an internal reference name in the Action box and click Send SMS. Press OK to close the window.
Automations
You can create sequences of SMS messages (and emails) in Workflows. You can also create automated responses when a customer replies.
Click here for more information about automated responses.
Message Segments
Message Segments
In our phone system, you are not charged per text message, but per message segment (see below). When you send a message, the system shows you both the character count and the number of segments. This is important to keep an eye on, because you are billed per segment, not per visible message.
A single message might look short on screen, but if it is long enough to spill into multiple segments (for example, it includes line breaks, emojis, or is just a few characters over the 160-character limit), it can easily become two, three, or four segments, and the cost increases accordingly.
Messages are sent in 140 byte chunks known as message segments. For messages containing standard text (GSM encoded messages), this is the equivalent to 160 characters per segment. For messages that contain emojis (UCS2 encoded messages), this is the equivalent to 70 characters per segment.
When you send multi segment messages, they need to use data to tell the destination how to reassemble them. This takes up 6 bytes per message, leaving only 67 characters for UCS2 encoded messages or 153 for GSM encoded messages.
Click here for a tool you can use to calculate how many message segments will be sent.