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Overview

Enrich your omnichannel marketing strategy with text messages or run standalone text message campaigns with Zaius’ SMS solution. 

Using SMS in Your Campaigns

Step 1: Add SMS Touchpoint

After opening a new one-time, behavioral, or transactional campaign, click on the pencil icon to add a new touchpoint, then select SMS. 

If you’re adding SMS as a new channel to an existing campaign, click into a touchpoint, then click on Add Channel, and select SMS in the modal.  

Step 2: Select Sender Profile

Under SMS Settings, select the phone number, Promotional or Transactional, from which you will send your text message. Note that only customers who subscribed to Transactional campaigns will have the option to select Transactional here. 

Step 3: Compose Your Text Message

Add the copy of your SMS into the Message field. By default, the character limit for SMS messages containing latin characters only is 160. If an SMS message contains non-latin characters (e.g. Cyrillic, Hiragana), non-ascii characters (e.g. smart quotes), and emojis, the character limit is reduced to 70. This is a carrier limitation that is not due to Zaius architecture.

Note that some tools, including MS Word, automatically update characters to smart quotes, which will lower your character count. So, if you are copying your text message from another tool, make sure to update your characters to "dumb quotes."

If a text message contains over 160 / 70 characters, it will still be delivered; however, it will be billed as an additional text message sent. The recipients will likely see a single, long message, as carriers often stitch together long messages that get split up. 

If you subscribed to MMS, you will have additional options for your message. If you'd like to add a visual element, toggle the MMS option on and add a URL link for your image.

Step 4: Personalize Your SMS

Using Liquid, you can add dynamic content to your SMS to personalize its content. Any data you have on your customer is available to use for personalization. Keep in mind that dynamic content populated into your message might exceed the 160 / 70 character limit and count as multiple messages. 

Step 5: Use the URL Shortener

Zaius' URL shortener is automatically enabled for links included in your text messages. While you can toggle it off, we highly recommend you use it for two main reasons:

1. The URL shortener gives you access to additional tracking: It will help you understand what content generated engagement by indicating clicks in the Engagement Report for SMS touchpoints
2. It will lower you character count and save cost for total messages sent

Note that the shortened URL will only appear in the Preview. In the message editor, you will see your original link. 

Step 6: Preview Your SMS

Click Preview to see what your SMS or MMS would look like to your target segment. If you click on the preview screen, it will display the full message in the phone’s messaging app. 

The character counter below the preview will display the number of characters your message contains and show the estimated number of messages that will be sent per user. The character counter is blue when you are within the 160 / 70 character limit and it turns orange when you are over the character limit. 

Step 7: Launch 

When you’re happy with your text message, click Go Live on the campaign page.