Sending outgoing SMS in Simply Stakeholders is an excellent way to communicate quickly and effectively with your key Stakeholders. Using Contact Groups, you can quickly send an SMS Blast to your near neighbours, impacted residents, consultation participants, and more.
* Please note that to send outgoing SMS you must have your account configured with one of two integrated providers - Twillio or Whispir - and will incur account costs with the provider and SMS credit fees. See Account Configuration details at the bottom of this Help Note.
Create outgoing SMS Message
To send an outgoing SMS, follow these step by step instructions, including some useful tips on SMS Functionality:
Click on + Create > Interaction
Add the required field details:
Subject
Communication Methods > Select the SMS message type:
Screenshot of the SMS message icon
Date and Time
Confidentiality (if required)
Contact Group/s
Stakeholders (if you wish to add individually)
Message > Enter SMS Message - please note: there is character limit of 1600 characters for Twillio and 1400 characters for Whispir:
Click on Save & Continue to finalise the SMS interaction and to add scheduling details - this step is required before you can send the SMS.
When the SMS Interaction record opens it will open to the SMS Details tab in the Centre Panel. If you wish to edit the SMS scheduling time navigate to the Left Side Panel and click on the Edit link; alternatively if you are ready to send your message click on the green Send button in the top right:
Screenshot shows the SMS Interaction record, with the SMS scheduling section outlined on the left side panel, and an arrow pointing to the send button which is outlined
To add or edit your recipients of the SMS, navigate to the Relationships tab in the centre panel and click the button in the top right to Add Stakeholders:
Screenshot shows the SMS Interaction record opened to the Relationships tab with the Add Stakeholder button outlined
Once you have confirmed all the details are correct, click on the green Send button to send your SMS.
You will receive a confirmation pop-up notification in the centre of the screen "Successfully sent."
Screenshot showing "Successfully sent." popup notification
You can check the Interaction record to review the sending status of your Stakeholders (recipients).
Screenshot shows the SMS Interaction record opened to the Relationships tab with the SMS Status locations in the left Side Panel and in the Relationships table SMS Status Column outlined and circled
You will receive an email notification confirming the total of Scheduled, Sent, Failed, and Total Processed:
Screenshot of a notification email with the Summary table detailing the SMS send status.
Troubleshooting and further details
You may have a Failed status if:
Your stakeholder does not have a valid mobile phone number
Your account is not set up correctly, e.g. to send from the correct Country Code. See help article on setting up Twilio / setting up Whispir
You do not have enough credits to send your SMS
You have exceeded the 1600/1400 character limit
SMS Messaging Character limits
Maximum Length: Twilio supports messages up to 1600 characters and Whispir 1400 characters for all messaging channels, including SMS, MMS, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger.
Recommended Length for SMS: it is recommended to keep SMS messages to 320 characters or less to ensure the best deliverability and user experience.
Segmentation:
GSM-7 Encoding: Messages are segmented into 153 characters per segment.
UCS-2 Encoding: Messages are segmented into 67 characters per segment.
Error Handling: Outgoing message requests that exceed 1600/1400 characters will fail with Error 21617. Incoming messages (only available to Twillio accounts) that exceed 1600 characters will be truncated and marked as failed with Error 21617.
Configuring outgoing SMS
Configuring SMS is an Admin only function. If you are not an Administrator in Simply Stakeholders, please ask you Account Admin to follow these steps.
To send SMS as an outgoing communication method in Simply Stakeholders you will need to set up an account (external to Simply Stakeholders) with one of two integrated providers - Twillio or Whispir, follow these links to find out more about setting up an account. Please note that sending SMS via Whispir is only available with a BYO account.
Once you have set up your account, please navigate to Admin > Account Configuration > SMS and configure your account settings:
Screenshot shows the highlighted location of the Admin Menu - Manage SMS Configurations Interface, with Main Sending Methods outlined
Complete the required fields to configure your SMS sending method
Please refer to the linked help notes for the SMS integration providers for additional configuration details.
For further support
If you have difficulty with any of these steps, your Customer Success Account Executive can assist you to troubleshoot, or contact us on [email protected].