How to send an RCS campaign

In this article, you'll learn how to create and send RCS campaigns.

Setting up the Campaign

1. In the side menu click on Messaging > SMS Messaging > New Message
2. The campaign experience will be loaded. By default, the sender will be set to your RCS agent. If you prefer to send the campaign via SMS or MMS instead, you can select a different sender.
3. Next, you can define what will be the fallback sender among the sender IDs you've already configured in your account. If the recipient doesn't have RCS enabled on their mobile phone we will send them an SMS or MMS instead, depending on the capabilities of the selected sender ID.

   1. As default, a sender will be already selected based on your account configurations, but you can change it or disable the fallback if you want. Fallback is optional, but highly recommended to maximize your campaign reach. 

      

       

4.  To add your audience, you've got a few options:
   
   A) Manual Entry: start typing the name of a saved contact and select them from the resulting list, or just enter a mobile number. You can also copy and paste a list of numbers from another source, like a spreadsheet, directly into the recipient field.

   B) Contacts: select individual contacts from your master contact list by clicking Search contacts and ticking the ones you want to send to. You can also select all contacts from this option too.

   C) Contact Lists: if you've already got contact groups saved, you can select them by clicking Search contact lists and ticking the ones you want to send to. Use the arrow to expand the contact group and uncheck the name of anyone in the group you'd like to exclude from the send.

   D) Contact Segments - similar to lists, a contact segment is a group of contacts that are categorised based on shared characteristics or behaviors. If you've already got contact segments saved, you can select them by clicking Search contact segments and ticking the ones you want to send to. Again, you can use the arrow to expand the segment and uncheck the name of anyone you'd like to exclude from the send

   E) Import from File - if your contact lists are saved on a separate database, like an Excel spreadsheet or CSV file, you can click this option to import it.
    

5. 

Composing RCS campaign content

As you compose your message, a live preview will appear on the mobile preview screen. Your brand name, logo, and verified badge will be shown as the sender. You can also switch between the RCS and SMS Fallback previews using the toggle switch.

There are two message formats to choose from: Rich Cards and Text Message: 

(If your RCS agent country is set to the US, you will see Rich Media RCS and Rich RCS in the tabs instead of Rich Cards and Text Messages):

Rich cards

Selecting Rich cards allow you to include the following message types:

There are a few limitations and formatting rules to keep in mind, but don’t worry as these are clearly indicated in the interface. The system will also automatically validate your content to ensure you’re sending a valid message.

Formatting rules

Standalone media: images (up to 2MB ; png, jpg or gif) and videos (up to 10MB ; mp4)

Rich card:

• Title: Up to 200 characters
• Description: Up to 2.000 characters
• Button name: Up to 25 characters
• Button types (maximum 4 buttons per card):
  • Text
  • Open a URL (only valid URLs starting with http or https)
  • Call a phone number
  • Share a location - a business can ask for a consumer's location using the Request Location action. The recipient must tap the suggested action (button) and then share their location, it is not sent automatically. It's also a static location, so even if the recipient shares, it does not follow them afterwards. 
• A valid card must include at least one of the following: header, title or description

Carousels

An RCS carousel is a horizontally scrollable message format in RCS that allows businesses to display multiple interactive cards, each containing images, text, and up to four buttons.

• Follows the same rules as Card for each individual card.
• Must include a minimum of 2 cards and a maximum of 10 cards. 

Text messages

By selecting Text messages, you can create the following types of messages (these have their own formatting rules which are detailed below):

Text: Up to 2.000 characters

Text message + interactive buttons:

• Text: Up to 2.000 characters
• Button name: Up to 25 characters
• Button types (maximum 10 buttons per message):
  • Text
  • Open a URL (only valid URLs starting with http or https)
  • Call a phone number
  • Share a location 

Content personalization and AI assistant

You can utilize personalization tools for your message to:

• Include emojis
• Use the contact fields feature to add personalized information (If you uploaded a recipient list), mapped directly from your uploaded CSV file columns. 
• If you have an e-commerce integration enabled in your account (such as Shopify or BigCommerce), you can also add coupons to your RCS messages and automatically populate carousels with products already configured in these external platforms.

The AI assistant helps to write your message content simply by entering a description of the message you want to send, with any key information and then selecting the language and  the message tone (formal or informal). You can also check a box to allow emojis to be included. 

SMS fallback composer

Under the RCS message composer, you'll find the SMS/MMS fallback composer. For recipients who do not have RCS enabled on their devices, an SMS or MMS can be sent using the fallback sender ID selected in step 3. 

Please note that the type of fallback message (SMS or MMS) is determined by the sender ID you select. If the selected sender ID supports MMS, you will be able to compose an MMS message for the fallback. If it does not support MMS, only the SMS composer will be available. You can also select a sender ID that supports both SMS and MMS. In this case, the final message content will determine whether the fallback is sent as SMS or MMS:

• If you include text only, it will be sent as an SMS.

• If you add a title or media, it will be sent as an MMS.

Only one fallback option is supported. This means you can compose either an SMS or an MMS fallback message, but not both. You can preview how your fallback message will appear in the message preview panel on the right side of the screen.

While fallback is optional, it’s highly recommended to ensure your campaign reaches your entire audience. 

When you're happy with your content, choose if you want to the Send now or Schedule your campaign - the campaign will be processed on the day and time you chose. 

Recipient opt-in and opt-out

You need a consumer to opt in before you send RCS messages, but the good news is that if they've opted into your SMS program, that opt-in generally covers the same program switched to RCS.

You're responsible for giving users a way to opt out, and to follow through when they do. If someone opts out of your RCS messages, that opt out should apply to the same SMS program too.

Be sure to check local laws and best practices for handling opt-out requests the right way.

You can add opt-out instructions by enabling this option while composing your message. The platform will use the settings configured under Settings > Account to generate the appropriate opt-out instructions.

Please note:

• If the selected sender is an Alphanumeric Sender ID (alpha tag), an unsubscribe link will be added, since recipients cannot reply to this type of sender.
• For all other sender types, a keyword-based opt-out instruction will be included instead.

When recipients opt out using these options, the platform will automatically update their contact preferences accordingly.

Reporting on RCS Campaigns

Once the campaign has been sent you can track its delivery using Campaign Reports or Detailed Reports in the same way as an SMS campaign, but with one difference: with RCS it is possible to see if the user read the message: