SMS Workflow in Mapp Engage
Basic information & workflow
SMS is a key feature in the Mapp Engage multi-channel marketing tool. It allows you to use personalization, segmentation, and whiteboards to contact your customers with messages that will be visible almost instantly. SMS messaging generally achieves much higher open and response rates than other types of messaging. Get started by watching this short introductory video.
Prerequisites
SMS messaging is an extra feature of Mapp Engage. Before you can send SMS messages, you need to activate the feature in your Engage system. Contact your customer success or account manager for more information.
Before you start
Before you start, you need to consider, how SMS should be set up in your Engage system. There are a number of possibilities.
- What method of communication are you going to use?
- Shared short code with a keyword?
- Dedicated short code?
- Dedicated long number?
For more information, see SMS Code Types.
- How can contacts subscribe?
- By sending an SMS message?
- By signing up on a website or in-store?
- How can contacts unsubscribe?
- By sending an SMS message?
- By changing preferences on a website?
- Are subscribers allowed to reply to your SMS messages using Inbound Messages?
Work with your account manager to help you set-up of the SMS channel successfully. For more information, see SMS Providers & Setup Steps.
Procedure
A) Audience
Create a Group
A group is a list of addresses to which you send messages. Groups allow you to organize your contacts in Mapp Engage. You can create as many groups as you want. A common and recommended use of Groups is per channel: Email, SMS, Mobile Push, Direct Mail, etc. But you can create other groups depending on the size of your contact list, sendout frequency, subscription/unsubscription setup, and other factors relevant to your business.Documentation Description SMS Best Practice This article gives you best practice recommendations for setting up SMS groups. Typically, it is recommended to create separate groups for SMS and Email to allow for differences in the way contacts are handled. How many SMS groups need to be created depends on the answers to the questions in the "Before you start" section above. Create a New Group This article describes the basic procedure to create a group and a high-level description of available group settings. In each SMS group, you must define the following parameters:
- Outbound Mobile Id: This is the equivalent of a From Address in Email. The value entered must be different for each group and depends on the method of communication that is used – shared short code, dedicated short code or long number.
- Inbound Mobile Id: Indicates how the recipients' replies, if enabled, are to be directed. As in the case of the Outbound Mobile Id, the value entered here must be different for each group and depends on the method of communication that is used. Thanks to this setting, the incoming SMS messages can be routed to the correct Mapp Engage group.
Incoming Mobile Messages: Indicates how recipient replies will be handled. There are several possible options that depend on the methods of subscription/unsubscription that are used. For more information see SMS Code Types and SMS Reply Handling.
Import Contacts
Before you start building your audiences, you need to get their contact data into Mapp Engage. Contact data are imported into groups.
Documentation
Description
Import Mobile Numbers for SMS This document describes the import procedure for contacts who are identified with a mobile number in the import file.
These pages also describe all the different ways of importing contacts into Mapp Engage:
Build your Audience
Defining your target audiences is key to success in digital marketing. Mapp's Segmentation Builder is a tool that picks exactly those contacts from within your groups that you want to target with a specific message or campaign. Those contacts are put into segments which can be used across the platform.Documentation Description How-Tos for Segmentation Builder Here, you will find basic procedures, for example:
Segmentation Builder Basics Read this article if you are not yet familiar with Segmentation Builder. It clarifies the basic concept behind segmenting your contacts and explains the user interface of the tool. Here, you will also find a description of the available segmentation criteria:
Use Cases for Segmentation Builder This sections shows you practical examples of segments with detailed configuration. The use cases are available in 5 different categories:
B) Message Setup & Sendout
Create an SMS Message
Create the content of your SMS message, including personalization and links. Make sure you understand the limitations associated with SMS, especially with regards to encoding.Documentation Description This article explains how to create your SMS message using the supported features:
SMS Format and Encoding Here, you will find more details relating to the implications of using different encoding in your SMS message. Preview & test Message
It is good practice to preview the SMS message before the live sendout is executed, and make sure it is rendered correctly.Documentation Description SMS Message Preview (window) This page describes ways to preview your SMS before sendout. You can simulate the effects of personalization, send the SMS to a test recipient and more. This way you can ensure that your SMS message displays correctly.
C) Sendout
Before sending out the message, Mapp Engage processes it according to all the parameters defined by you in previous steps. The relevant recipients are selected, and individual SMS messages are created for sendouts that include personalization.
Documentation | Description |
|---|---|
| Prepare SMS Sendout | This article describes how to schedule your SMS sendout. In this step, you can also limit the sendout to a specific segment. For a broader overview of sendout possibilities in Mapp Engage, see:
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D) Performance & Reporting
Just as with email, it is important to view the results of an SMS sendout to check deliverability.
| Description | |
|---|---|
| View SMS Statistics | Here you will find information about the statistics visible for SMS messages:
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