SMS - Keywords and Inbox

Keywords

Supporters can text a keyword to a phone number to trigger an action. Keywords are useful for people to send text to opt-in to your list or for sending an auto-reply with a link to a page where they can make a donation.

Keywords are not case-sensitive so JOIN, Join, or join -or any other case combination- will be accepted responses

Regulatory Keywords

You can use keywords like STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, etc., for regulating your SMS messaging. These regulatory keywords enable supporters to opt out of receiving unwanted messages. These are managed in the Twilio Extension under Hello > Account Settings > Extensions > Twilio (requires Super Admin access).

Keyword Campaigns

You can quickly create a keyword campaign to engage supporters in a giving or advocacy campaign:

Go to Marketing Tools > Keywords > click Create Keyword. Enter a Keyword. Select Campaign Type (Sign Up or Auto Reply). Add a message with supporter data or page links.

Sign Up	Select a page for a supporter to have taken action on and optionally an opt-in for them to be subscribed to. You can also instruct supporters to text back with another Keyword to further engage them. Then you can set up an Autoreply SMS message with a link that directs them to a donation/petition/Advocacy page, etc.
Autoreply	With the Autoreply option, you can set up a Keyword that supporters can text back to you that opts them into an opt-in or shows them as participating on an ETT, Survey or Petition. You can also share links that direct them to a page.

Behaviors

• Opt-Out Status: When a supporter opts out of receiving messages, this status will be applied to all records associated with that SMS number. This guarantees that once a number is opted out, no further messages will be sent to any records with that number, regardless of the number of records.

• Opt-In Status: When a supporter opts in or provides a keyword for communication, this status is applied to the most recently modified record. This is because the most recent modification likely contains the most current and accurate information about the supporter’s preferences. Applying the Opt-In status to the most recently updated record ensures that only one message is sent to a particular number, avoiding duplicate communications. This method respects the supporter’s latest preferences and maintains the integrity of our messaging system.

Reporting

You can view how many responses you’ve had to your Keyword by selecting the quick stats:

You can also run an export - Data & Reporting > Export > New Query > IN BLUE - select opt-ins or page selected in Keyword > Supporter Data tab > IN GREEN - Supporter Creation Date > choose date/range > In the report you should see an email formatted like this: 1235679234@smsnoaddress.ea. This is the phoneNumber@smsnoaddress.ea the text came from.

A button labeled Keyword Report has been added alongside the header. Clicking this button will open a modal that allows the client to specify a timeframe for generating a CSV file.

CSV File Output: The downloaded CSV will contain the following fields:

• Supporter Id: Unique identifier of the supporter.

• Supporter Create Date: Date the supporter was created in the system.

• First Name: Supporter's first name.

• Last Name: Supporter's last name.

• Email: Supporter's email address.

• Mobile Number: Supporter's mobile number.

• Keyword Used: The keyword the supporter responded to (e.g., "JOIN").

• Response Date Time: Date and time of the supporter's response.

Supporter Lookup:

In the Supporter Lookup you can also see their SMS response as a QCB, so if they unsubscribe via Text/SMS, it will show up as a response and you’ll see their Opt-in for the chosen SMS opt-in set to N.

Inbox

The SMS Inbox lets Users view and respond to inbound SMS replies from supporters directly within the marketing tools. Access is permission-based and must be enabled by a Super Admin for Users.

SMS Number Configuration

Organizations with multiple SMS numbers should review their SMS settings and configure a Default before beginning to use SMS inbox. A Super Admin can navigate to Hello > Account Settings > Extensions > Twilio > access the settings for the relevant number > toggle on Default.

Confirm the default account is linked to the correct opt-in question.

Using SMS Inbox

Users can access SMS inbox under Marketing Tools > Inbox The inbox displays supporters who have replied to SMS messages. The left panel shows a list of supporters with SMS interactions.
Filter and Search Inbox Messages Use the inbox filters to view: All messages Unread messages only Helps users quickly identify supporter unread replies that still need attention; Find specific Supporter conversations with search
View a Supporter Conversation Click a supporter from the left-hand panel to view the conversation on the right. Supporter messages will include origin categories (if that data is available): Broadcast Keyword General inbox message Can optionally Opt out the Supporter or view their full Supporter Profile.
Reply to a Supporter Conversation From the conversation screen, click into the send a message box and draft a message or use a Reply Template. Select Send Replies sent by a User are shown in orange and include the User’s name. Replying is disabled for supporters who are opted out.

SMS Reply Templates

Reply templates help standardize common responses for Users to reply with.

Users can access SMS Reply Templates under Pages > Components > SMS Reply Templates
View reply templates View a list of existing templates with the option to edit or delete
Create new reply templates Select the New Reply Template button to create a new template Enter the desired text and select the Create button

Permissions

Super Admins and Admins will have access to SMS inbox and keywords by default, but other Users need to be granted permission. A Super Admin can go to Hello > Account Settings > Permission Groups > Navigate to the relevant group > Enable the Keywords and/or SMS Inbox permission under Messaging.