SMS capabilities are currently available to North American customers only. We look forward to implementing GDPR-compliant SMS functionality for our UK customers in the future.Overview
GotPhoto has a robust automated marketing system that allows you to schedule email and text messages to customers, notifying them when their photos are available online and for reminders to purchase. In this article, we'll review how to set up your communication settings for text messaging (SMS).
Setup
The SMS Settings page can be found by clicking into the Settings tab, and then clicking on Communication Settings under Customer Communication in the navigation menu on the left hand side. Then, click on the SMS Settings tab at the top of the page:
On the next screen:
- Enter your business details.
- Provide a point of contact.
- Set up your Twilio phone number and customer registration preference.
- Tick the box next to "I consent to GotPhoto sharing this information with Twilio on my behalf." You can learn more about Twilio's registration requirements here.
- Input your cell phone number and make sure to add the country code +1.
Messages will be sent using a number provided by Twilio, and replies will be forwarded to the number entered here. - Please know that entering a phone number will remain optional for your customers, even if you set it as mandatory. These settings have recently changed due to legal requirements.
- Click Register.
- Click Send test SMS, and confirm the SMS was received.
Create and Add an SMS to a Communication Profile
Click here to learn how to add an SMS message to a communication profile. When you're done, return to this article to continue setup.
Testing
Make sure you're set up for success by testing your new notification:
- Create a new photo job.
- Set the communication profile for the job.
- Upload some sample photos to the job and activate the access codes.
- Add yourself as a potential buyer (with your cell number) from the Photo Management page of the photo job.
- Set the job to selling. You should now receive the notification.
Unsubscribing from SMS Messages
If customers want to unsubscribe from SMS marketing, they need to respond to the message by responding with STOP (it's not case-sensitive). They will immediately receive the confirmation that they've successfully unsubscribed from the SMS newsletter. If it happened erroneously, responding again with Start will include them again in the list of recipients.
Please know: If a customer unsubscribed from texts, Twilio won't send them any more notifications. However, in your admin area, this won't be reflected automatically. To have updated customer information, search for the customer in the admin area. On the customer page, click Edit the Customer, then uncheck the box "Receives SMS newsletter and notifications".
The Takeaway
Harness the power of GotPhoto's automated marketing system by configuring SMS notifications for your customers. Set up communication preferences, conduct test runs, and ensure compliance with unsubscribe requests, offering a seamless and effective communication channel with your shoppers.