Reaching large audiences is important for any growing business, whether you're running a marketing campaign, notifying customers of event changes, or promoting your brand. There are a few ways to do this in the CRM, and for one-off or sporadic messages, the Bulk SMS option in your Contacts section is the most efficient. Here's how to use it.
Sending A Bulk SMS
Start by navigating to the Smart Lists tab inside the Contacts section and selecting your desired contacts.
Open the More dropdown menu and select the Send SMS option.
Provide a description for the action, which will be displayed in the tracking report.
Select the phone number from which you wish to send the messages. If none is selected, the last used number for each contact will be used; if this is the first message for that contact, the default number will be used.
Creating Your Message
You can compose a message from scratch (1) or use a pre-saved template (2). This gives you the flexibility to write something new or quickly send something you've already prepared.
For a personalised touch, you can add custom fields such as first names, email addresses, or phone numbers directly into your text. You can also include attachments or emojis for added emphasis.
Selecting A Sending Mode
Send All at Once
Select the "Send All at Once" option to send your message to all selected contacts immediately. This is the quickest option, useful when timing is important.
Send at a Scheduled Time
Choose the "Send at a Scheduled Time" option to plan your message for a specific date and time. This lets you time your communications for maximum impact, ensuring your message reaches its audience at the right moment.
Send in Drip Mode
The "Send in Drip Mode" option lets you send messages to your contact list gradually, in smaller batches over a set period. This helps manage responses more effectively and avoids overwhelming your audience.
You can control the batch size, set intervals between batches, and schedule specific days and times for sending using these parameters:
- Start On: Select the exact date and time for message delivery to your contacts to begin.
- Batch Quantity: Specify the number of contacts to receive messages in each batch.
- Repeat After: Choose the interval between each batch, ranging from seconds to days.
- Send On: Select the specific days of the week to send each batch.
- Process Between Hours (Optional): Define the time frame during which the batches should be sent.
Send
Review your selected contacts and proceed once you have confirmed your choices.
Queue the bulk action for sending according to your selected preferences.
Click the Check Progress option to monitor your action's progress.
You can also track real-time progress and delivery stats by clicking the statistics icon.
This gives you flexibility and control, so your messaging strategy works exactly the way you need it to.