Getting Started - Launch an SMS Campaign

Task-specific steps

A bulk SMS campaign should reach a permissioned, deliberately selected audience at a controlled rate. Confirm consent, sender identity, message content, and opt-out handling before scheduling any live batch.

1. 1Build or open the intended Smart List, inspect its filters, and exclude contacts without valid SMS consent, contacts marked do-not-disturb, invalid numbers, and internal test records.
2. 2Select a small internal test group in Contacts, choose Send SMS, and confirm the From number belongs to the correct business and is approved for the intended traffic.
3. 3Write a concise message, resolve every custom value, identify the business clearly, and include the required opt-out language for the campaign and jurisdiction.
4. 4Enable Drip Mode for a large audience and set the batch size, timing, business hours, and sending days so replies and opt-outs can be handled responsibly.
5. 5Send the internal batch first, verify delivery and personalization, and test the opt-out response before expanding the recipient selection.
6. 6Monitor Contacts → Smart Lists → Bulk Actions for progress, errors, pause, edit, or cancel controls, and review replies in Conversations.

Feature-specific checks

• A form submission is not automatically permission for every kind of promotional text; use the consent captured for the specific communication purpose.
• Do not upload or select a purchased list, and do not work around carrier filtering by splitting an unapproved campaign into hidden batches.
• For ongoing event-driven messages, use a published workflow with narrow enrollment and re-entry rules instead of repeatedly launching manual bulk actions.

Before you begin

“Getting Started - Launch an SMS Campaign” is part of the Conversations → SMS area in Adaptive AI. Send, receive, track, and troubleshoot text messages. Campaign, advertising, social, affiliate, and reputation changes should be reviewed as a complete customer journey from creative and destination through attribution and follow-up. The objective is not merely to save a setting; it is to confirm the result works for the staff member or customer who will depend on it.

• Confirm the correct advertising, social, affiliate, or reputation account is connected with the permissions needed to publish or report.
• Define the audience, offer, destination, budget or commission rule, schedule, owner, and measurable success event.
• Prepare approved creative, final copy, working destination links, and tracking parameters before opening the publishing workflow.
• Use draft, preview, or the smallest controlled audience available while validating a new campaign or configuration.
• Review brand, platform, privacy, consent, disclosure, and customer-service requirements that apply to the channel.

Verify the result

After completing the instructions in this guide, use a controlled test before treating the setup as finished. A saved screen or success message confirms configuration, but only an end-to-end test confirms the business outcome.

1. 1Review the final preview for identity, copy, media, destination, schedule, audience, budget, and mobile presentation.
2. 2Publish or activate the smallest safe test and confirm the item reaches the intended account, placement, or affiliate destination.
3. 3Open every public link and verify the landing page, form, calendar, product, or tracked conversion completes successfully.
4. 4Confirm clicks, leads, replies, sales, commissions, or reviews appear under the expected campaign and contact records.
5. 5Compare platform reporting with the destination or payment record before scaling spend, audience size, or payout exposure.

Troubleshooting checklist

If the result differs from what you expected, preserve the current state and isolate one variable at a time. Start with the checks below before deleting the configuration or rebuilding it from scratch.

• Check account connection, role permissions, approval status, billing status, and policy notices when publishing is unavailable.
• Confirm audience filters, schedule, time zone, budget, and delivery status when an active item receives no traffic.
• Inspect the final URL, redirect chain, tracking parameters, form, and conversion action when clicks are present but results are missing.
• Reconnect expired accounts and refresh required permissions when media, pages, profiles, or reporting data disappear.
• Separate creative, delivery, destination, and follow-up problems so each layer can be tested without changing the others.

Best practices

• Use consistent campaign names and tracking parameters so performance can be compared across channels and reporting periods.
• Keep claims accurate, destination content aligned with the creative, and customer consent appropriate to the follow-up channel.
• Change one major variable at a time and record the date so performance changes have an interpretable cause.
• Set spending, commission, and publishing permissions according to responsibility rather than giving every user full control.
• Archive obsolete drafts and disconnected assets while preserving the reporting history needed for business decisions.