SMS

With SMS turned on, the menu gains the SMS group with Overview, Campaigns, Templates, Messages, Replies and Settings. From there you send text messages to any mobile phone —nobody has to install anything— and each one starts with your brand name, so the person knows who is writing.

First, the sender

The sender is the name or number the recipient sees. Without an approved sender no message goes out, so it is the first step.

1. 1
   Request it

   In Settings › Senders, tap Request sender: choose the type, the sender and the short name, which goes at the start of every message ("YOURBRAND: …").

2. 2
   Wait for the review

   The platform reviews it with the carriers. Meanwhile it shows Under review; if it is not approved you see why and can request another one.

3. 3
   Pick the default

   With more than one approved, Make default decides which one your SMS go out with when you do not pick another.

Send an SMS

1. 1
   Open Send SMS

   From the Send SMS button in Overview or Messages, or from quick search (⌘K).

2. 2
   Choose who

   In Who you’re sending it to, a mobile Number with the country code, or a Contact from your address book.

3. 3
   Choose what it is for

   Transactional or Marketing. It changes when it can go out and to whom (see below).

4. 4
   Write the message

   As you type you see How they’ll see it —the final text, with your brand first—, how many segments it takes and what it costs.

5. 5
   Send

   If something prevents sending, the button tells you why before you tap it. If the platform stops it on the way out, it explains the reason and nothing is charged.

Transactional or marketing

• Transactional — something the person expects: an appointment, a payment, a code, their order. It goes out at any time. Do not use it for promotions: the carrier may block your sender.
• Marketing — promotions and news. It only goes out within the hours of Colombian Law 2300 (Monday to Friday 7 to 19 and Saturdays 8 to 15, no Sundays or holidays), only to contacts who agreed to receive promotions, and never to numbers on the Do-Not-Contact Registry. The opt-out text is added at the end.

The platform applies those rules on every send, in flows and in the copilot too: there is no way around them. A message that cannot go out stays in Messages as Blocked, with its reason, and is not charged.

Segments and accents

An SMS is charged by segment. Plain text fits 160 characters in one segment (153 per segment when there are several). But á, í, ó, ú and emojis turn the message into Unicode, which fits only 70 (67 when there are several): the same text can cost twice as much. é, ñ and ü change nothing.

The meter marks each segment and, if there are characters that make the message Unicode, highlights them in the preview and offers Replace ("á" with "a", for example).

What it costs

Each segment is deducted from your plan balance, just like minutes: there is no separate bundle, and you can spend your balance on whichever channel you like. Your plan rate per segment is in Settings › Your channel, and the cost of each message is shown before you send it. Anything blocked, rejected or cancelled is not charged.

Messages: what happened to each SMS

Messages shows every SMS with its status, where it came from (single, campaign, flow or copilot) and when. Filter by status and source, or search by number; tapping one opens its detail with the text, the reason if it did not go out, and the timeline.

• Sent — the carrier received it and is taking it to the phone. On its way and Delivered appear when your channel receives delivery reports.
• Unconfirmed — the carrier may have received it but did not confirm. We do not resend it, so it is never sent twice.
• Not delivered or Expired — the carrier could not deliver it (phone off, no signal or out of service).
• Blocked — it did not go out: the platform stopped it (no consent, outside hours, suppressed number, no sender…). Not charged.
• Rejected or Failed — the send did not complete. Not charged.

Overview

The Overview counts, for the period you choose (7, 30 or 90 days, or a range), how many SMS went out, how many arrived, how many failed or were blocked and how much you used. Each figure shows what it is calculated on. Why they didn’t go out or arrive lists the reasons: tap one to see those messages.

Campaigns: the same message to many people

In Campaigns › New SMS campaign you build the campaign in four steps. Nothing goes out until you launch it; until then it stays as a draft.

1. 1
   Audience

   Upload an Excel or CSV file —it is read in your browser and the columns are recognized automatically— or pick a Contacts list. You see how many were added, how many were repeated and which rows are not usable, with their row number in the file.

2. 2
   Message

   Pick a template or write the text. File columns work as variables ({{cupo}}) and the preview walks through each real recipient. If accents double the cost, it shows how much Replace saves on the whole campaign.

3. 3
   Review

   How many can be sent, how many are blocked and why —consent first—, the segments, the cost and how much of your plan the campaign uses. If something prevents launching, the button tells you what.

4. 4
   Send

   Now or Scheduled. Marketing respects the hours of Law 2300: if you launch outside them, it starts when the window opens.

While it is sending you can pause, resume or cancel it. Cancelling stops what has not gone out yet; whatever the carrier already accepted goes out anyway. Each campaign detail shows how many went out, arrived and failed (and why), the replies, the opt-outs and the cost.

Templates

In Templates you pick the channel —WhatsApp or SMS— and with New template you write a text you reuse with each person’s data: {{contact.firstName|amigo}}. Every variable has its default value after the bar: that is what reaches anyone missing the data. As you type you see how many segments it takes with sample data and without it.

Contact lists

In Contacts › Lists you group contacts to use them in any channel. A static list is built by hand: pick contacts in the table and tap Add to a list. A dynamic one builds itself from a criterion (for example, “tag vip and has a phone”) and updates when your contacts change.

Replies and keywords

If your channel receives replies, Replies shows what people answered, with their contact, the campaign they are replying to and what the platform did. If it does not receive them yet, the screen says so.

In Settings › Keywords you create rules with New rule: when someone replies with a word (exact, or at the start of the message), the platform can answer automatically, tag the contact, or flag it for your webhooks and for a flow’s SMS received trigger. Platform opt-outs (SALIR, BAJA, STOP, CANCELAR…) are fixed: they always opt the number out and no rule can use them.

In flows, the copilot and your systems

• Flows — the Send SMS block sends an SMS to the person in the flow, and the SMS received trigger starts a flow when someone replies (guides Flow blocks and Flow triggers).
• Copilot — estimates segments and cost, shows you the summary and proposes sending an SMS or drafting a campaign; nothing goes out without your confirmation.
• Webhooks — SMS: sent, SMS: delivered, SMS: not delivered, SMS: reply received and SMS: opt-out (guide Integrations and secrets). Message text never travels.