Advanced Options

Under Advanced options you can different options such as validity period, data payload, scheduling, and more.

Validity Period

There is a specific time period for messages, regardless of the channel, during which the system will try to deliver them. For example, when you want to send a broadcast to your audience and some users have their cell phones turned off, the system will retry delivery to these users until the validity period passes.

The default and also the maximum validity period is 48 hours. It does not need to be set for each communication. If you want to set a shorter period, you should define it under Validity Period in the Advanced section for the specific channel. 

Message Sending Speed

The sending speed can be set for each broadcast. For example, if you’re sending a promo campaign and the goal is for customers to place orders through your call center, this can cause backups and long call wait times. To avoid this, send a broadcast with as many messages as your call center can manage within a given timeframe.

The sending speed can be set, and a limited amount of messages will be sent periodically. For example, 1000 messages per hour.

Available time units are:

• Minutes
• Hours
• Days

Scheduling Options

Every communication can be scheduled. For broadcasts, you can scroll to the bottom of the create a broadcast screen for scheduling. There, you can set a start date, time, and time zone.

Delivery Time Window

The time of the day when messages will be delivered to recipients can be set for any broadcast. This feature comes in handy when you don’t want to disturb your customers during the night, or you want to send messages only during a specific period for optimal conversion.

Delivery time window has the following parameters:

• Start time
• End time
• Days (of the week)

Data Payload

The data payload is available on all channels except Broadcast Voice. It provides the ability to send additional data along with a message. This data can be any placeholder that can also be used in the content of a message. The Push channel contains the MSISDN (cell phone number) by default, and it is set as the data payload due to the technical implementation of the Push channel.

URL Shortening and Tracking

The links we include in promotional messages, instructions, and notifications, are often long and unsightly. Research has shown that end users don’t prefer to click on long URLs with a lot of parameters. They find them untrustworthy and even consider them as spam.

If you are using an SMS channel, you should be cautious with the message length and used characters. When you include a long URL, an SMS can be sent as two or even more messages thus generating additional costs to you.

On top of all of that, if you cannot measure results and clicks, how will you improve your strategy and communication? In addition to shortening, you can use tracking options to see which of your end users clicked on the links you sent in your messages.

Remember to select the Shorten URLs check box to replace long URLs with short ones. To create short links and track, select Track URL clicks.