SMS Broadcasts

SMS broadcasts send a single message to hundreds or thousands of contacts at once, delivering open rates above 90%. Unlike one-to-one messaging in Conversations, broadcasts are one-to-many sends with built-in compliance controls, audience targeting, and drip scheduling. Used strategically, they re-engage cold leads, promote limited-time offers, and drive appointment bookings. Used carelessly, they burn through your contact list and trigger opt-outs.

What SMS Broadcasts Do

Broadcasts give you full control over message delivery, audience targeting, and pacing:

Delivery modes: Send all messages immediately, schedule for a future date/time, or use drip mode to send in batches over hours or days. Drip mode prevents inbox flooding and gives your team time to respond to replies in manageable waves.

Audience targeting: Target contacts by lists, Smart Lists, or tags. Filter by engagement recency, lead source, or custom fields. Contacts with DND enabled are automatically excluded.

Compliance controls: Navigate to Settings > Phone Numbers > Messaging > Messaging Compliance to enable automatic opt-out messages (“Reply STOP to opt out”) and sender information. Periodic opt-out reminders are recommended every 30 days.

Drip configuration: Set batch quantity (contacts per batch), repeat interval (time between batches), send days (weekdays only or all days), process window (business hours), and end time. The system processes in waves, preventing carrier throttling.

Performance tracking: Monitor delivery rate, response rate, opt-out rate, conversation-to-appointment rate, and cost per conversation. View replies in the Conversations inbox and track metrics in Dashboards.

Key Configuration Options

Prerequisites: Verify your phone number at Settings > Phone Numbers and confirm A2P 10DLC brand and campaign registration are approved at Settings > Phone Numbers > Trust Center. Unregistered numbers face severe carrier filtering.

Drip mode setup: Navigate to Contacts, open your Smart List, and click Send SMS. Choose Send in Drip Mode and configure start date/time, batch quantity (100 per batch is typical), repeat interval (every 3 to 10 minutes), send days (weekdays only), and process window (business hours). Example: 10 contacts every 3 minutes for 30 minutes = 100 contacts per day.

Segment cost management: Each SMS segment (160 characters with standard encoding) is billed individually. Emojis switch to UCS-2 encoding, reducing the limit to 70 characters per segment. A 150-character message with one emoji becomes 3 segments instead of 1. Paste text as plain text (Cmd+Shift+V / Ctrl+Shift+V) to strip hidden formatting.

Checkpointing and recovery: The platform records progress after every batch. If a disconnection or restart occurs mid-send, the system resumes from the last completed checkpoint automatically without duplicates.

Pause and resume: Navigate to Contacts > Bulk Actions, click the menu icon next to your active drip, and select Pause. When you resume, processing continues from the last completed batch.

Power Features

Writing effective broadcast copy: Lead with personalization ({{contact.first_name}}), identify your business immediately, keep it to 160 characters or fewer, include a clear offer, ask a single question, match a casual tone, skip links (they trigger spam filters), and avoid excessive punctuation or emojis. Example: “Hi {{contact.first_name}}, this is Ashley from Bob’s Fitness. We are giving out a few free 10-day passes and I was wondering if you would like one? Reply STOP to opt out.”

Segmentation strategies: Filter by engagement (active last 30 days, warm 30-90 days, cold 90+ days), source (form submissions, past customers, event attendees, imported lists), tags (“interested in X service”), or custom fields (location, industry). Targeted broadcasts to engaged contacts outperform full-list blasts by 2x to 3x.

Quiet hours enforcement: Never send before 8:00 AM or after 9:00 PM in the recipient’s time zone. Use the Process Between Hours setting in drip mode to restrict delivery to appropriate hours. Some states (like Florida) prohibit commercial texts before 8:00 AM or after 8:00 PM local time.

Consent documentation: Every contact must have documented opt-in consent (method, date, program). Pre-checked checkboxes are not valid. Opt-in must be an active choice. A2P 10DLC registration must accurately reflect bulk/marketing use cases, and sample messages should match actual broadcast content.

Pro Tips

• Use drip mode for conversation-driven campaigns to prevent inbox flooding and give your team time to respond to replies in manageable batches.
• Send no more than once per month to respect your contacts’ attention. Over-messaging is the #1 cause of high opt-out rates.
• Only send when your team has capacity to reply in real-time. Contacts who respond and wait hours for a reply will assume the message was spam.
• Keep messages to 160 characters or fewer to stay in a single segment and minimize costs. Avoid emojis, which switch to UCS-2 encoding and reduce the limit to 70 characters per segment.
• Test before sending by messaging yourself or a team member. Verify personalization tokens, segment count, formatting, and delivery before launching to your full list.

Common Questions

How do I access SMS broadcasts?

Navigate to Contacts, apply filters or open a saved Smart List, and click Send SMS in the toolbar. This opens the broadcast composer where you can write your message, choose a delivery mode, and configure scheduling.

What is the difference between a broadcast and a workflow SMS?

A broadcast sends a single message to a group of contacts at once (or in drip mode over time). A workflow SMS is triggered by a specific event (form submission, tag change) and sends to individual contacts as the trigger fires. Use broadcasts for marketing campaigns and workflows for automated, event-driven messaging.

What is drip mode and when should I use it?

Drip mode sends your broadcast in small batches over time instead of all at once. Configure batch size, interval, active days, and active hours. Use it whenever you want to generate conversations, because it prevents inbox overwhelm and gives your team time to respond.

How do I avoid carrier filtering and spam blocks?

Ensure your A2P 10DLC registration is approved. Write natural, conversational messages that avoid spam trigger words. Limit link usage. Avoid excessive punctuation and emojis. Use drip mode instead of blasting thousands of messages simultaneously. Keep your opt-out rate below 2%.

What happens if I send to a contact with DND enabled?

The platform automatically skips contacts who have Do Not Disturb enabled for the SMS channel. These contacts will not receive your broadcast message and will not be charged against your sending costs.

Can I schedule a broadcast for a future date?

Yes. Choose Send all at scheduled time or Drip mode and set the Start On date and time. The broadcast will begin sending automatically at the configured time. Make sure your team is available to handle replies when the messages start going out.

What is the best time to send an SMS broadcast?

Mid-morning (10:00 AM to 11:30 AM) on weekdays tends to produce the highest response rates for most industries. Avoid early mornings, late evenings, weekends (unless relevant to your business), and major holidays. Always respect quiet-hour laws in your recipients’ time zones.