SMS/MMS Campaigns
To get the latest tips, tricks, & best practices on SMS/MMS, check out our recent SMS and MMS Segments Explained blog!
Our system allows you to send out text messages as a means of marketing communication. In order to stay compliant, we developed a system to deliver your messages in a safe and efficient way. Read on below to learn more and find out to set up your text messaging.
To import an opt-in list from another provider, please refer to the "Import customers into AIQ" section of our Retail Quick Start Guide.
In order for one of your customers to receive a text message, they must have an opt-in status of true. This means that they have given consent at some point to your business that agrees to receive text messaging to their provided mobile phone number. How to check who is currently opted-in to text: Option 1 - Individually:
Head to the Personas tab, click the View button next to a customer that has a phone number entered and look to the right next to the word "SMS" - you will either see a green checkmark that means (Yes they are opted in) or a red cancel symbol (No they have not opted in yet or No they have opted out already)
Option 2 - In Bulk:
Go to your Audiences tab, create an audience that uses the trait - Performed Event / Opt-in status is true:
This will give you a list of customers that have opted in, you can set it to "is false" for the opposite
After you have your previous customer data in AIQ, you will need to account for new customers that are opting into your marketing program. We recommend using our defulat Sign Up Form, as this will not only create the customer account in our system but will also trigger an opt-in request message to be sent automatically.
This process is referred to as "Double Optin Request" and must be done to get permission from the customer in order to text them in the future. After they received the Opt-in request, they must text "Y", "y", "YES, "yes" or "Yes" - this will then send a Post opt-in confirmation message
You can customize these messages for your account under Configure AIQ > Texting Defaults section
Keep in mind you must keep your Opt-in request compliant and not include any regulated industry or promotional language that is subject to carrier filtration.
There are also two other alternative ways to trigger opt-in requests for customers: 1. Your AIQ account will be assigned a dedicated "Text To Join" number that appears in your Texting Defaults
2. Turn on the Send an SMS double opt-in request if a contact with a phone number is synced from this source after: X Date setting on your POS integration - recommend turning this on after going live with new sign ups. This will trigger an SMS to be sent to any phone number that is not currently opted in to ask them to join the marketing list. You can go back in time to send a new request to ask.
Pending double-opt-in requests can be tracked by running a Member Club report under Data Analytics
If you don't want customers to have to "Reply Y or YES" to enroll in SMS marketing, follow the steps below to automatically enroll customers to receive SMS communications.
1.Go to Settings > Sign-up Forms > and either edit an existing sign-up form or create a new one.
2. Go to the sign-up form field options.
3. Make Signature a "Required" field.
4. Flip Do you want this form to send a double opt-in to "No".
5. Flip Do you want to auto opt-in new sign-ups to "Yes".
This toggle only appears when the toggle from Step 4 is flipped to "No".
6. Click Save sign-up form and you're all done!
Some customers will not want to be a part of texting, in that event they can always opt out by texting "STOP" or "Stop" to any text and they will be marked as opted out going forward. If they ever made a mistake and want to opt-in again, they will need to re-enter the sign-up flow to trigger a new opt-in request to be sent.
Walled Garden is an advanced text messaging technology that gives you maximum deliverability and the power to create personalized messaging. Send friendly, branded texts that hide regulated industry content behind a carrier-friendly URL We off two types of Walled Garden texting - Light & Premium:
- Light walled garden hides your long-form message behind a link that is placed within a basic SMS (text only) message body. As a part of compliance, your brand name must be announced in this message and you cannot use regulated industry or promotional terms. This message is still visible to the carriers so you must be wise with the words you choose. You will pay standard per segment SMS rates based on the length of your default SMS notice message.
- Premium walled garden sends your messages via the same methodology as the light version but it leverages MMS and showcases your brand's logo front and center to consumers. This not only helps from a delivery standpoint but also appears far less "spammy" to your consumers. Since Walled Garden is rarely more than a 1 segment message, it's highly recommended and depending on your volume, required to use Premium to avoid filtration. Premium also removes your brand name from the actual text body that is scanned by carrier filtration systems. You cannot swap to premium without first removing your brand name from all SMS defaults.
You will be able to choose your texting method in the section under Configure AIQ > Texting Defaults
No matter which option you proceed with, you need to set the account Default notice of new messages. This will be the message customers receive on their phone for every campaign (unless you set one on each individual campaign)

No matter which version of the Walled Garden you pick, sending the actual message is the same way. Check out this step by step to see how to set up and send a campaign.
1.Head to the Marketing section on the left navigation bar and select Campaigns
2. Click on Create campaign green button at the top of the screen to create a new one.
3. Now that you are on the Campaign Builder screen, type in a unique Campaign name at the top so you can identify this in the future if needed to reuse or report on
4. On the Text message channel, click on the green Add sms button to begin setting up your actual message
There are two tabs when you first open the SMS/MMS builder. Landing page is where you build the message that customers see after clicking into the Walled Garden. The Custom notification tab let's you customize the copy the customer sees when the message first comes through on their mobile device. Custom notifications are optional and if left blank, the customer would receive the Default notice of new messages you have in place via Settings > Texting defaults.
If you add a Custom notification, avoid any regulated industry or promotional language to avoid carrier blockage, include the {{landingPage}} macro, and if using Light messaging, include the name of your brand.

On the Landing page tab, you can build SMS/MMS messages in two modes: Visual designer and Original editor.
Don't forget to click the Save design to campaign button!
A. Add an image to the landing page (Original editor mode) - this will display right under your brand name behind the Walled Garden in your landing page (these are stored in your Media Library). Great for flyers, deals or even pictures of actual products!
B. Landing page content (Original editor mode) - This is where you can be free with what language you want to get to your customer base. You have free reign here as it is not seen by carriers! Its recommended to be creative and give relevant information that will drive the customers to take action. See the style guide below for how to add headers, lists and even links! D. Emoji (Original editor mode) - easily add in emojis to the message, simply click the ones you want to use E. Personalization (both modes) - This is where you will find macros, which are dynamic tags based on the data we have available. Use these to display relevant information to the customer. For example with {{firstName}} - this would show if we have it under their persona otherwise it would be sent as a blank Another recommendation would be to always include the {{walletURL}} at the bottom of texts so customers are always aware of points and discounts they have available. F. Attach discount (both modes) - This is where you will find discounts that can be sent directly to customers. Keep in mind this will be based on the discount settings on whether they can use it or not. G. Add template - if you have a great template that you want to reuse over and over this is how you can save your current view or apply an existing one. Any template that is saved can then be found under your Template Library H. Preview on/off - This gives you a look at how the message would appear to the audience selected. If you are using Premium it will display the logo that is set in Brand Settings or your Account Settings. This is the best way to test your message before sending it out - as you you click on the landing page URL and see the captcha page and then whats behind the walled garden! I. Cancel Editing - Use this to back out of this screen and not save any recent changes since last save J. Save design to campaign - Click this to dave your work, if you leave the page it will not save!
If a customer has previously opted out of SMS messages and wants to opt back in, simply send them the Main sign-up URL or have them take a picture of the Main sign-up QR code to fill out the sign-up form again. These can be found under Settings > Sign up forms > Share this page
After they submit the form, they'll receive the below notice to text START to the number provided and they'll be opted back into SMS messages
Find the most up-to-date information on all things 10DLC here: 10DLC Guide
The TCPA compliant messaging window is 8am - 8pm, time zone is dependent on the information we are provide for the customer. This is how we determine where they are (in order of priority):
- Customer's address provided on their persona
- Favorite store address
- Phone number area code
AIQ will not message outside of the messaging window, provided that the information provided for the customer is an accurate representation of what timezone they are currently in.
The system, by default, attempts to send the message four times when sending a double opt-in.
