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BRD 2.5 Create SMS Campaign, stage 2 of 4, Audience

Stage 2 does two jobs on one page: it picks the recipients and it composes the message.

Select the contact list​

  1. Open the Select Contact List dropdown, placeholder Select a contact list.
  2. Choose a list. Every option shows its size in the form Test_1 (6 contacts), so you can confirm the audience before you commit to it. Helper text reads "Choose which contact list to target".

Selecting a contact list is what unlocks the rest of the stage. Until a list is chosen, the whole Compose Message block below, both of its tabs and every control inside it, is dimmed and will not respond to a click. There is no on-screen message explaining this. If the composer appears frozen, you have not selected a contact list yet.

Check the contact count before you go further. Several lists on a typical tenant show (0 contacts). A campaign built on an empty list completes the wizard and sends it to nobody.

Compose the message​

The composer has two tabs, Compose Message and Choose Template. Compose Message is active by default.

On the Compose Message tab:

ControlWhat it does
Message ContentThe message body. Text area, placeholder Enter your SMS message.
Insert PlaceholderOpens a Placeholders panel offering four merge fields. See the table below.
UnicodeOn/off switch that changes the character budget per message fragment. See the note below.
Character counterLive, below the message body. Reads Fragments, Total characters, and characters remaining, for example 160 characters left (GSM).

Placeholders - Selecting Insert Placeholder opens a panel headed Placeholders with four entries. Selecting one inserts its token into the message body.

EntryToken inserted
First Name{First Name}
Last Name{Last Name}
Email{Email}
Phone Number{Phone Number}

On the Choose Template tab:

  1. Select Choose Template.
  2. Use Search by name to find a template.
  3. Select a template to load it into the message body. The tab's own instruction reads "Select a template to use for your message. You can customize it after selection."

Preview the message​

The right of the page holds a Preview panel.

  1. Choose the handset to preview on from the device dropdown. The options are Iphone and Android.
  2. Select Generate Preview.

The preview renders the message as it will appear in a conversation, with a sender number, a date heading and the message body.

Generate Preview also validates your placeholders. If a placeholder in your message cannot be resolved against the selected contact list, the preview reports "These fields are missing" and lists the offending tokens, for example {First Name}, with a Close control. Treat this as a blocking warning: those recipients will receive the raw token instead of a value. Either populate the field on the contact list or remove the placeholder.

  1. Select Next Step to move to Schedule, or Back to return to Campaign Details.

Figure key, Create SMS Campaign, stage 2​

  1. Stage indicator with Audience active.
  2. Select Contact List dropdown, each option showing its contact count.
  3. Compose Message tab, active by default.
  4. Choose Template tab.
  5. Message Content body field.
  6. Insert Placeholder control.
  7. Unicode switch.
  8. Character counter, showing Fragments, Total characters and characters remaining with the (GSM) or (Unicode) label.
  9. Preview panel.
  10. Device dropdown, Iphone or Android.
  11. Generate Preview button.
  12. Back and Next Step buttons.