How to Set Up SMS Marketing: A Complete Beginner’s Guide

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of setting up SMS marketing for your business using BotSailor. SMS campaigns can be an excellent way to engage with your customers in real time, whether you want to send updates, promotional offers, or reminders.

Step 1: Access the SMS Integration Settings

To begin, you need to navigate to the Settings section in BotSailor. Follow these steps:

1. Go to Integrations on the left-hand sidebar.
   
2. Under the Integration section, click on the SMS API option.

This will bring you to the SMS integration page, where you can configure your SMS profiles.

Step 2: Create an SMS Profile 

Before starting your SMS campaigns, you'll need to set up an SMS Profile. Here’s how you can do it:

1. On the SMS settings page, click on the New button.
   
2. Fill in the Profile Name (choose a name that helps you identify it later).
   
3. Choose the API Name for the SMS service you are using (like Twilio, Nexmo, etc.).
   
4. Enter your Auth ID, Auth Token, and Sender/From details. These are required to authenticate and send messages via your selected SMS provider. That you can find from SMS providers website.

Once everything is filled out, click Save to store your SMS profile.

Step 3: Create Your SMS Broadcasting Campaign

Next, you’ll create a new SMS broadcasting campaign.

1. Navigate to the Broadcasting section in the sidebar.
   
2. Click on the Create button to start a new campaign.
   
3. Choose the Bot account from which the subscribers will be added for broadcasting.
   
4. Enter your Campaign Name to identify this broadcast.
   
5. Select the SMS API that you created in Step 2 from the dropdown.
   
6. Choose the WhatsApp Bot that you want to use for the campaign.

You can also set a Message Delay (in seconds) after sending each message to avoid any issues with rate limits.

Once you’ve configured everything, click Create Campaign.

Step 4: Finalize the Campaign Details 

After setting up the campaign, you can configure additional settings like:

• Targeted Reach: Select the audience you want to send the message to.
  
• Sending Time: Choose when to send the campaign (either immediately or scheduled).
  
• Country Code: Make sure the country code for phone numbers is correct (e.g., +88 for Bangladesh).
  
  

When you are ready, click Create Campaign again to launch your SMS campaign.

Step 6: Monitor and Analyze Campaign Results

Once your SMS marketing campaign is live, it’s important to track its progress and evaluate its performance. BotSailor offers an intuitive campaign reporting feature that provides detailed insights into how your campaign is performing. Here’s how you can monitor and analyze your SMS campaigns:

Access Campaign Reports

• In the SMS Broadcasting section, you’ll see a list of your ongoing and completed campaigns.
  
• Each campaign has an Actions column where you can either view the campaign report or delete the campaign (as shown in the image). Click on the eye icon to open the campaign report.

1. Campaign Status Overview
   
   
• The campaign report screen will show you a Status bar, which will indicate whether your campaign is Completed or still in progress. This allows you to quickly assess the health of your campaign (as shown in the image).
  
  
2. Targeted Reach
   
   
• You’ll also see the number of targeted users for the campaign. This number represents how many subscribers or users were part of your broadcast.
  
  
3. Detailed Campaign Results
   
   
   • Chat ID: This is a unique identifier for each message sent out during the campaign.
     
   • Name: This column represents the name of the subscriber who received the SMS (if available).
     
   • Sent At: The time when the SMS message was sent.
     
   • Response: Here, you will see the response data (if any) for the sent SMS. It could show whether the message was successfully delivered or if there were any issues (though in the provided screenshot, no data is available).
     
• Under the Campaign Report section, BotSailor provides detailed insights such as:
  
  
4. Campaign Metrics
   
   
• You will see a Sent count showing how many messages were successfully sent during the campaign, with a percentage representation of the completion rate. For example, in the image, it shows that 1 message was sent successfully, with a 100% delivery rate.
  
  
5. Monitor Delivery and Engagement
   
   
• While the exact response data wasn’t available in the example shown, in most cases, you would be able to track things like delivery rates, response rates, and even interaction history. This will help you determine the effectiveness of your SMS content and overall strategy.

By regularly monitoring your campaign reports, you can make data-driven decisions, optimize your messaging strategy, and refine your approach for future campaigns. 

📌 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the initial steps to configure SMS marketing in BotSailor?

To begin setting up SMS marketing in BotSailor, navigate to the Administration section on the left sidebar, then click on Settings. Under the Integration section, select the SMS option. This will take you to the SMS integration page where you can start configuring your SMS profiles.

How do I create an SMS Profile in BotSailor for sending campaigns?

To create an SMS Profile in BotSailor, go to the SMS settings page and click the New button. You will need to fill in a recognizable Profile Name, choose the API Name of your SMS service provider (e.g., Twilio, Nexmo), and enter your Auth ID, Auth Token, and Sender/From details obtained from your SMS provider's website. Finally, click Save to store your profile.

What are the steps to create an SMS broadcasting campaign in BotSailor?

To create an SMS broadcasting campaign, navigate to the Broadcasting section in the sidebar and click Create. Choose the relevant Bot account, enter a Campaign Name, select your created SMS API, and choose the desired WhatsApp Bot (even though it's an SMS campaign, this step is mentioned in the guide). You can also set a Message Delay before clicking Create Campaign.

What options do I have for finalizing and launching my SMS campaign in BotSailor?

After creating the initial campaign setup, you can finalize details such as Targeted Reach (selecting your audience), Sending Time (immediate or scheduled), and ensuring the correct Country Code for phone numbers (e.g., +88 for Bangladesh). Once these settings are configured, click Create Campaign again to launch your SMS broadcast. 

How can I monitor and analyze the performance of my SMS marketing campaigns in BotSailor?

BotSailor allows you to monitor and analyze your SMS campaign performance through the Campaign Reports in the SMS Broadcasting section. By clicking the eye icon in the Actions column of a specific campaign, you can access detailed insights, including the Campaign Status, Targeted Reach, individual message Chat ID, recipient Name, Sent At time, Response data (if available), and overall campaign metrics like the number of messages Sent and the delivery rate. Regularly reviewing these reports helps optimize your future SMS marketing strategies.