đ©âđ» At a Glance
SMS touchpoints let you add short, timely and personalised text messages directly into your supporter journeys.
Combine SMS with Triggers, Delays, Conditions and other channels to send messages based on supporter behaviour, fundraising progress and key campaign moments.
Use Merge Fields and personalised links to make each message relevant, while Social Sync helps you understand the estimated number of SMS credits each message will use before you send.
Your organisation must have SMS set up and sufficient SMS credit available before messages can be sent.
Adding an SMS Touchpoint
Open the relevant Pathway in Journey Builder and add an SMS touchpoint wherever you want the message to be sent.
Choose the phone number you want the message to be sent from, then create your content in the SMS composer.
SMS can be used anywhere in your journey and combined with the same Triggers, Delays, Conditions and other Journey Builder functionality used across your other touchpoints.
Building Your Message
Use the SMS composer to write your message and preview how it will appear to supporters.
You can include Merge Fields to automatically personalise content with supporter, campaign and fundraising information, as well as emojis where appropriate.
For example, you could include the supporterâs name, fundraising total, event information or a personalised link to their fundraising page.
Understanding SMS Character Limits
SMS messages are divided into segments, with each segment using one Social Sync SMS credit.
A standard SMS segment can contain up to 160 characters.
Messages containing emojis or certain other characters use a different SMS encoding, which reduces the available length to approximately 70 characters per segment.
Longer messages are automatically split into additional segments, increasing the number of credits used for each supporter.
The SMS builder shows an estimated credit usage per send as you create your message, helping you understand the likely impact before publishing.
Using Dynamic Content
Merge Fields are replaced with real supporter information when the SMS is sent, which means the final message length can vary from person to person.
Social Sync estimates the likely character length of dynamic text using typical values. For example, a First Name field is estimated using the average length of supporter first names.
This keeps the estimate as accurate as possible, although unusually long names or other dynamic values may occasionally push an individual message into an additional SMS segment.
Using Personalised Links
When you use Social Sync Merge Field links, the platform automatically shortens the URL to help keep the message as concise and cost-efficient as possible.
Social Sync links can also track click-throughs, helping you understand when supporters engage with the calls to action in your SMS messages.
We recommend using Social Syncâs own personalised links rather than external link-shortening services.
Adding an Opt-Out Message
You can automatically add opt-out wording to the end of your SMS.
For example:
To opt out, reply STOP.
The opt-out text forms part of the SMS itself and therefore counts towards the message character and segment limits.
When a supporter opts out, their SMS preference is updated so they no longer receive future SMS journey messages where that preference applies.
Previewing Your SMS
Use the preview to check how your message will appear before publishing.
Review the content, Merge Fields, links, emojis, opt-out wording and estimated credit usage.
Because dynamic information can vary between supporters, the final character count and number of credits used may occasionally differ from the estimate.
SMS Credits and Sending
SMS messages can only be sent while your organisation has sufficient SMS credit available.
If your balance runs out, scheduled or journey-based SMS messages cannot be sent until additional credit is added. Auto top-up can be enabled in your SMS integration settings to help prevent interruptions.
Using SMS Across Your Journey
SMS works alongside Email, WhatsApp, Tasks and the wider Journey Builder functionality.
Use it for short, timely communications such as registration confirmations, reminders, fundraising prompts, event updates and milestone encouragement.
Where two-way SMS is enabled, supporter replies can also be managed through the Social Sync Inbox alongside other supported channels.
Use SMS to deliver timely, personalised messages that are easy to read, quick to act on and connected to the wider supporter journey.