Dotdigital SMS guide

Introduction

Apteco integrates with dotdigital SMS so that campaigns can send out text messages via PeopleStage. Follow this guide to get started.

Prerequisites

  • A dotdigital account with SMS

  • PeopleStage diagram configured

Setup

To setup dotdigital SMS with Apteco, configure a new PeopleStage channel.

To configure a new PeopleStage channel:

  1. Sign in to PeopleStage with a user that has Administration access.

  2. Click File > Administration > Channel Editor.

  3. In the folder that you wish to create the new SMS channel, click the ellipsis menu.

  4. Click Add… > Add SMS Channel.

  5. 5. In the Channel Settings, update the Channel Name.

  6. In Output Settings, select dotdigital as the Broadcaster.

  7. Populate the remaining settings as follows:

    Row Item Description
    Username The API username that dotdigital supplied as part of setting up the account with them
    Password Password The API password for dotdigital account
    Mobile Number Variable Select the variable from the FastStats system for Mobile (this should be on the person table)
    Variable Description Override *Optional if the variable is called something different to Mobile
    Reply Email Address Contact Email Address for replies
    Reply Mobile Number Contact Mobile for replies
    Response File Key Type *Recommended as Urn or Communication Key
    Message Content Type PeopleStage SMS Template
    Retrieve existing message names Checked

  8. In Parameter Settings select Message Type = SMS. The other optional parameters are displayed below:

    Row Item Description
    Add New Fields Ability to add new fields. The default is false
    Address Book Add contacts to Address Book
    Admin From Email The from email address that administrative emails are sent from
    Api Host The endpoint URL for the dot digital api calls. The default is https://api.dotmailer.com/v2/
    Communication Key Field Name Name of the Communication Key Field
    Cpaas Host The endpoint url for the cpaas api calls. The default is https://api-cpaas.dotdigital.com/cpass/
    Dated List Format Enter the dated list format you want to use, the default is ‘yyyyMMdd - HHmmss’
    Dm Timeout The time in seconds before the api call is timed out. The default is 300 seconds
    Email Field Name Name of Email Field
    Encoding Encoding of the input file. This should be left as default. Possible values: ASCII, BigEndianUnicode, UTF32, UTF7, UTF8, Unicode, Default
    File Mapping File Mapping
    Maximum Wait Time The time in seconds before we give up waiting for an import to complete. The default value is 2 hours
    Originator Enter the Sender Id for the message originator you wish to use for this broadcast
    Page Size The number of records to receive in each API page request. The must be in the range of 1 to 1000. The default is 1000
    Segment Field Name Segment Field Name
    Upload Batch Size The size in Mb in which to batch recipients into when uploading them to the dot digital web service. A value of 10Mb is recommended. The default value is 10Mb
    Urn Field Name Urn Field Name
    Use Dated List Setting this to true will add a date and time stamp at the end of the list name making it always unique. The default value is true

  9. Add any required Additional Variables.

Create SMS Message in Creative Template Editor

Dotdigital do not currently allow for message templates to be called from their API, meaning that the SMS message needs to be created within PeopleStage as a Creative Template.

To do this:

  1. As an Administrator in PeopleStage, go to File > Administrator > Creative Template Editor.

  2. Click New Creative Template, then choose SMS Create.

  3. Give the Creative Template a Name and Description. In the right hand dialogue box, enter the SMS text that will be sent, using entering any variables that the message will use inside double curly brackets, for example {{Forename}}. For each variable added to the message, a new entry appears in the Parameters section giving the option to add a default value.

  4. Save and Close. The new Creative Template appears.

  5. Close the Creative Template Editor.

SMS Campaigns in PeopleStage

Now that you have created the channel, you can use it to send SMS messages through dotdigital.

Note: Dotdigital expects the mobile number format to be like the following example: 447855512345

To send SMS messages through dotdigital:

  1. After creating the channel, refresh the PeopleStage Library.

  2. Create a Person level Campaign, with an Audience and Message (Content and Delivery).

  3. Drag and drop the new dotdigital SMS channel into the Delivery step.

  4. In the Delivery > Message Name, select the SMS Message template created in the Creative Template Editor.

  5. Enter a List Name.

  6. Schedule the campaign to run.