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Composing Mobile Messages

Learn how to composer RCS, MMS, or SMS messages at Listrak.

⚠️ This article outlines how to compose mobile messages for clients who have RCS enabled at Listrak. If you do not have RCS enabled, follow these guidelines.

Step 1: Select Your Primary Message Type

To begin creating a mobile message, follow these steps.

  1. If you are utilizing the NextGen platform, confirm you have selected the correct organization in the navigation.

  2. Navigate to Messages > SMS Broadcast.

  3. Click New Campaign in the top right and select SMS Broadcast from the popup.

  4. Select the Sender Code associated with the message, if necessary (for multi-domain organizations).

  5. Now, you can can select a card for the desired message type.

    1. Send a Text: Send a standard SMS message from the selected sender code. Text messages have a maximum of 160 characters and will encode non-standard characters (e.g. emojis). SMS messages can be used to collect contact info using data acquisition.

    2. Send an Image or Video: Send a standard MMS message from the selected sender code. MMS messages have a maximum of 1000 characters and can include a title and a single attachment.

    3. Send a Branded Text: Send a 160-character RCS message from the provisioned Verified Sender Agent. Messages will be branded by the agent and can include features such as a button. These messages can be used to collect contact info using data acquisition.

    4. Send a rich Visual Message: Send an RCS message from the Verified Sender Agent that includes visual elements such as an image or video. Rich visual messages can include up to 2000 characters, a title, attachment, and button.

  6. Click Next: Create or the step at the top of the creation experience.

Step 2: Create Your Message Content

In this step you can customize the message received by your contacts.

  1. Type or paste content into the Message box.

    1. Include your brand name.

    2. When pasting content, keep an eye on the character count to ensure that you are not including encoded characters.

  2. Add additional context to your message using the compose buttons.

    1. Generate: Use Listrak Intelligence to generate suggested copy based on what is included in your message text.

    2. Emoji: Add an emoji to your text.

    3. Personalize: Add a tag to your message that displays a value attached to a contact's profile (e.g. first name).

    4. Coupon: Add a tag to display a coupon from a Listrak coupon pool.

    5. Add Compliance: Insert the help and stop language set in your Sender Code Settings.

  3. For MMS messages, you can add the following elements:

    1. Click Add Title: Add a subject line for your message. This will only appear if a contact has this enabled on their messaging app.

    2. Click Add Media: Add an image, vcf card, or video file to the MMS message up to 500KB.

  4. For RCS Branded Texts:

    1. Click Add Button: Add the text and URL for a button that will appear under the text of the message.

      💡 The text of the button does not count toward the 160 character count.

  5. For RCS rich Visual Messages:

    1. Click Add Title: Add a subject line for your message. This will only appear if a contact has this enabled on their messaging app.

    2. Click Add Media: Add an image or video file. You can upload a file up to 10MB.

    3. Click Add Button: Add the text and URL for a button that will appear under the text of the message.

      💡 The text of the button does not count toward the 160 character count.

  6. For SMS or RCS Branded Text messages, you have the option to set up data acquisition to save information to a contact's profile and use it in your segmentation strategy.

    1. Click Set Up on the Data Acquisition card.

    2. Information to Collect: Select the profile field associated with the information you want to collect (e.g. State).

    3. How long should we wait for a reply: Select a value between 1-3 days during which Listrak will monitor the inbound messages from a contact and save information to a profile field if the contact responds.

    4. Follow-Up Message: Compose the message a contact will receive if they respond during the selected timeframe. You can add emojis, coupons, and personalize the response using the buttons below the compose section.

      ⚠️ The follow-up message has the same limitations (e.g. encoding of emojis) as the initial message.

  7. Once you have configured the message, click Next: Select Audience.

SMS Composition

RCS Branded Text Composition

MMS Composition

RCS Rich Visual Message Composition

Step 3: Apply Audiences and Analytics

Next, you can choose who will receive the message and the analytics that will be applied to a message.

  1. Select the list associated with the short code (if needed).

  2. Next, select the contacts who are subscribed to the list who should receive the message.

    1. In the NextGen Platform:

      1. Click Build Audience

      2. Drag NextGen segments into the Include or Exclude button.

      3. Click Apply.

    2. In the Classic Platform:

      1. Click Add Filter

      2. Select the criteria you wish to use.

      3. Click Apply.

    3. If no Audience or Filter is applied, all contacts opted in to the list will receive the message.

  3. Configure the Advanced Options, if desired.

    1. Configure the Listrak Analytics

      1. Campaign Type: This per-configured drop-down determines if a message is categorized as a broadcast or automated message. Most times this is set as Marketing/Other.

      2. Campaign Name: The top-level categorization of the message. Often the Campaign Name is the overall theme of a message (e.g. New Products, Sale).

      3. Campaign Version: A second level of categorization that can provide additional details about the campaign theme (e.g. Memorial Day Sale, Black Friday Sale etc.)

    2. Configure the Google Analytics

      1. Campaign Name: A value attached to any link or button in the message that appends a utm_campaign value that is exposed in Google Analytics.

      2. Campaign Version: A value attached to any link or button in the message that appends a utm_content value that is exposed in Google Analytics.

      3. Track Compliance: Enable this toggle to record a date in the Listrak database to indicate when they last received a message that contained compliance language.

        ⚠️ You must use the Add Compliance button for this feature to record correctly.

  4. Once you have set these values, click Next: Review and Test.

Step 4: Final Review & Test

On the next screen, review the settings of your message including:

  • Selected Sender Code

  • Selected List

  • Total Recipients

  • Included or Excluded Audiences

If you would like to confirm the appearance of a message prior to sending to your audience, you can Send a Test to your test list.

  • Select the Test List from the drop-down.

  • Click Send Test.

    💡 Test sends count toward your total send bucket and will not include a test indicator.

If everything looks set to send, click Schedule Message to finalize the send.

You have two options when sending a message:

  • Schedule a Day and Time: Choose a day or time in the future

    • Click on the clock and calendar icon to select a day and time

    • Select the time zone

    • Select the Make Recurring checkbox to send the message every X days, weeks, or months

    • Enable the Time Zone Optimization toggle (if desired)

      💡 TZO is based on the area code of a contact's phone number

  • Send Immediately

Click Set Schedule or Send Immediately to complete the send.

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