Please note that is is important to test all SMS messages before sending it out to guests.
If you are using a word processor like Word or email to compose SMS messages, please remember to paste the text as plain text to clear any underlying formatting.
After you copy text, right click the field and there should be an option to "Paste as plain text."
As a best practice whenever you copy text into the SMS message body to create a new campaign template, it is a good idea to delete any symbols from the copied text and re-typing them directly into the SMS message body in the template settings. This will avoid any issues where copied text may be unrecognized and treated as a special character.
What is the character limit for SMS messages?
It's 160 character limit. If the 160 limit is exceeded, the SMS body will truncate. The SMS header is counted towards the 160 character.
If you are using an emojis, then character limit is 70.
How do I use an emoji in the SMS message?
Emojis either need to be in the decimal code or the hexadecimal code. Once you add in an emoji, character limit is 70 minus the number of characters in the SMS header.
Here is how to get the hexadecimal code version of an emoji.
Use a resource like Emojipedia (https://emojipedia.org/).
Find the codepoint of the emoji by scrolling close to the bottom page. The codepoint of cake is U+1F382
Replace U+ with &#x and add a semicolon or “;” at the end to turn it into hex code. For example, the cake emoji codepoint U+1F382 would turn into 🎂
Important Note: All emojis will render differently based the device and not all emojis are supported.
Can I use parameters?
Substitution parameters like first name (<template:insert field="first_name"></template:insert>) can be used. Do not add any default values in between tags. Only the output values will be counted towards the character limit
e.g. of a parameter with default values.
<template:insert field="first_name">Guest</template:insert>
<template:insert field="favorite_store_name"></template:insert>
<template:insert field="card_number"></template:insert>
Wallet parameters do not currently work in SMS.
Can I used accented characters?
The following characters can be copied and used in SMS messages.
À à È è Ì ì Ò ò Ù ù Á á É é Í í Ó ó Ú ú Ý ý Â â Ê ê Î î Ô ô Û û Ã ã Ñ ñ Õ õ Ä ä Ë ë Ï ï Ö ö Ü ü Ÿ
ø Å å Æ æ ß
HTML entities codes are also supported.
Example of HTML entity:
À - À
Do special characters work?
If you need to insert characters like trademarks, copyright or register marks you can either copy the character, use HTML entity codes or decimal code.
Symbol | HTML Entity Code | Decimal Code |
& | & |
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© | © | © |
® | ® | ® |
™ | ™ | ™ |
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Can I use special link parameters like survey, refer-a-friend, click-to-load etc.?
Currently this is not a supported feature. Surveys, refer-a-friend, and click-to-load parameters can only work in emails at this time.
Can I edit an existing SMS campaign message template?
Yes, you can but if you sent the SMS message in a previous campaign then the body of the SMS will change in the preview in Campaign Center for that campaign.