Despite the rise of messenger apps, SMS is still a thing. For good reason: It’s platform-independent and runs on every mobile phone. Also, it doesn’t rely on an internet connection, giving your customer communication a global reach. With our integration, you can send and receive SMS and MMS right in your Message Center.
The SMS channel supports image transfer and multipart messages up to 1,600 characters, depending on your contact’s device and provider. While our integration is free to use, each SMS you send and receive is operated and charged by Twilio.
To get started with SMS, first sign up for a Twilio account and set up a new number with them. Then create a new SMS channel in the Channel settings.
Channel setup
Each mobile phone number you want to connect to Userlike requires a dedicated SMS channel. Register a mobile number in your Twilio dashboard. Then add it to an existing SMS channel or create a new one.
- Account SID: Your Twilio API key
- Authentication token: Twilio API secret
- Phone number: The registered Twilio phone number you connect with the channel.
- Widget: Widget that will handle messages sent to the associated phone number via SMS. The Widget’s settings apply to assign the right operator, display the correct language and use the right privacy settings.
Fill out the form and click Create channel.
Twilio Messaging Service setup
Once you have created a channel, you will find its callback URL for incoming SMS in the channel‘s settings.Click here to create a new SMS Messaging Service in the Twilio dashboard using the callback URL.
- Give your service a name, e.g. the name of your associated SMS channel
- Assign the service the mobile phone number you connected to the SMS channel
- Select Person to Person as use case
- Select Send an incoming_message webhook
- Paste the SMS channel’s callback URL into the Request URL field
Conversations on your SMS channel
Now, if an operator is online that’s connected to
your SMS channel’s Widget, she will immediately receive messages in the
Message Center from anyone contacting you via SMS.
Communicate the mobile number of your SMS channel to your customers, so they can reach out to you via SMS.