This article will explain everything you need to know about customising your SMS invites
Customising your SMS invitations is a great way to increase conversion rates. Customers are more inclined to interact with your invites if they're personalised and match your brand.
While you're at it, we recommend personalising your email invitations too.
How to customise your default message for all SMS invitations
How to customise the SMS message for a single or bulk invitation
How to change the style of the buttons in your email invitation
Tips, tricks and other things to remember when customising the message in your SMS invitation
How to customise your default message for all SMS invitations
Updating your default SMS text will change the wording in all future invitations. The default text will apply to all invitations created through single send, bulk send or automation sending methods.
Read on to learn how to change your default text message.
- Login to your betterbunch account
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Head to the Settings page on the bottom left of your dashboard
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From there, navigate to the Invitations tab
- Option one is to select a pre-written betterbunch template from the dropdown box. You can see what the invitation will look like on the display phone on the right side of the screen
- Option two is to write your own custom message. To do this, select Custom 1 from the dropdown box and type your text.
If you're in a creative mood, feel free to pre-write other custom text for the Custom 2 template, Custom 3 template, and so on.
Don't forget to check out our tips and tricks section first though! - Click Save. It's that easy!
- We always recommend sending yourself a test invitation to check that you're happy with the change before you send your next invites
How to customise the SMS message for a single or bulk invitation
If you are sending a single invitation or uploading a bulk invitation to a list of customers, you can edit the SMS text for this single send only. This will not alter your default SMS message for future invitations.
Read on to learn how.
- Begin sending your feedback invitation using the single invitation method or bulk invitation method
- Click Select a template and choose the template from the dropdown that best reflects your brand. You can see what the invitation will look like on the display phone on the right side of the screen
- Alternatively, if you want to write your own custom template, select one of the Custom templates from the dropdown and type your message into the textbox.
Don't forget to check out our tips and tricks first though! - Click Update for this send only to save your changes.
- Or, if you've had a change of heart and want to update your text for all future invitations, select the dropdown arrow and click Update for all sends going forward
- Review your invitations by checking the phones on the right side of the screen, then hit Send Invitation. It's that easy!
How to change the style of the buttons in your email invitation
Your customers are more inclined to interact with your invites if the style of the invitations matches your business's brand because it will feel familiar.
Check out this article to learn how to update the style of your invitation buttons.
Tips, tricks and other things to remember when customising the text in your SMS invitation
Here are a few tips to keep in mind when you're writing your custom text.
- Pro plan subscriptions have 250 SMS credits per month, and starter plan subscriptions have 100 credits per month.
A 160-character message is equal to one SMS credit.
If your message is between 161 and 320 characters, then it will use 2 credits (and so on).
If you expect to reach your invitation limit, then we recommend keeping your SMS character count to 160 or less to avoid exceeding your monthly SMS limit.
If you expect to send less than 50% of your invite limit each month, then go for gold. We recommend you craft a custom template using 320 characters.
You can learn more about SMS credit limits here - Note that an email invitation does not have a character count. Therefore, if you want to send long, personalised feedback invitations to your customers, we recommend sending your invitations via email.
- If you are struggling to keep within 160 SMS characters, consider abbreviating your business name to keep the message sharp. Think betterbunch, rather than betterbunch Limited
- Unfortunately, 160 SMS characters include your betterbunch URL/link and the unsubscribe message
- Reply stop to unsubscribe is a requirement of the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007, which means it has to stay
- Remember, we need to adhere to Google's Prohibited and restricted content guidelines. This means your custom message can not contain incentives such as free services or vouchers in exchange for reviews
- The highest converting messages are personalised messages that come from real people. Phrases like "your feedback really helps us learn and grow" are great. Phrases like "WIN a $100 voucher" are more likely to receive a click on the unsubscribe button
Example SMS templates
Feel free to copy and paste the below examples into your default SMS template or into a one-off single or bulk invitation.
- Hi {recipient_name}! {business_name} here.
We know it's been a while, but can you share your thoughts on the job we did here:
{invitation_url}
Thanks, it means a lot! -
Hi {recipient_name}! {business_name} here.When you have some time, please share your thoughts on our venue & service here{invitation_url}
Hope to see you again soon! - Hi {recipient_name}!
I just wanted to check that you're happy with our recent work. Can you please let us know your thoughts here:
{invitation_url}
We're proud of our high standards, and your feedback helps us maintain that, so thank you.
The {business_name} team