HighLevel SMS Campaigns 101: The Complete Guide to Creating and Sending SMS Campaigns

Hey there, Matt here from HLPT. Let’s talk about one of the most powerful, yet often underutilized, tools in your marketing arsenal: SMS. With open rates that can make email jealous, text messages offer a direct and immediate line to your audience. If you’re not using HighLevel SMS campaigns, you’re leaving money on the table. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to get started, from initial setup to analyzing your results. Let’s dive in and make you an SMS marketing pro.

1. Foundations for Successful SMS Marketing in HighLevel

Before You Send: Essential Prerequisites

Before you can start sending SMS campaigns, there are a few things you need to have in place. First and foremost, you need a Twilio account connected to your HighLevel sub-account. This is what powers the SMS functionality, so it’s a non-negotiable first step. You’ll also want to make sure you have a dedicated phone number for your campaigns, which you can purchase directly through Twilio or HighLevel.

Understanding A2P 10DLC Registration: Your Ticket to Compliance

I can’t stress this enough: if you’re sending SMS messages to US numbers, you need to be A2P 10DLC compliant. This is a requirement from the mobile carriers to ensure that all application-to-person (A2P) messaging is legitimate and wanted. HighLevel makes this process relatively straightforward, but it’s something you have to do. Don’t skip this step, or your messages will get blocked and your account could be suspended.

2. Building Your First HighLevel SMS Campaign

Navigating to the SMS Campaign Dashboard

Ready to build your first campaign? You’ll find everything you need under the “Marketing” tab in your HighLevel dashboard. From there, click on “Campaigns” and then “SMS”. This will take you to the main SMS campaign dashboard where you can see all your past and current campaigns, as well as create new ones.

Configuring Your Campaign Settings

When you create a new campaign, you’ll be prompted to configure a few settings. This includes giving your campaign a name, choosing the phone number you want to send from, and selecting your audience. You can choose to send to a Smart List, individual contacts, or even all the contacts in your sub-account (though I don’t recommend that last one).

Composing a Compelling SMS Message

This is where the magic happens. Your SMS message needs to be concise, engaging, and valuable to your audience. Remember, you only have a few seconds to grab their attention, so make it count. Use clear and simple language, and don’t be afraid to inject some personality into your messages. And whatever you do, don’t forget to include a call-to-action!

3. Leveraging SMS Templates for Efficiency

The Power of Reusable SMS Templates

If you find yourself sending the same types of messages over and over again, SMS templates are going to be your new best friend. They allow you to create and save message templates that you can reuse in your campaigns, saving you a ton of time and ensuring consistency in your messaging.

How to Create a New SMS Template

Creating a new SMS template is easy. Just go to the “Marketing” tab, click on “Templates”, and then “SMS”. From there, you can create a new template from scratch or edit an existing one. You can even use custom values to personalize your templates with information like the contact’s name or a custom field.

Personalizing Your Messages with Custom Values

Personalization is key to making your SMS campaigns feel less like a mass broadcast and more like a one-on-one conversation. HighLevel makes it easy to personalize your messages with custom values. You can use these to insert the contact’s name, a custom field, or even a link to a custom landing page. The possibilities are endless.

4. Smart Audience Targeting and Segmentation

Sending Campaigns to Specific Smart Lists

One of the most powerful features of HighLevel SMS campaigns is the ability to send to Smart Lists. These are dynamic lists of contacts that are automatically updated based on criteria you define. This allows you to segment your audience and send highly targeted messages that are relevant to their interests and behaviors.

How to Select Individual Contacts for a Send

Sometimes you just need to send a quick message to a handful of contacts. HighLevel makes this easy too. When you’re creating a new campaign, you can choose to select individual contacts instead of a Smart List. This is perfect for sending targeted follow-ups or reminders to a small group of people.

Using Exclusions to Refine Your Audience

Just as important as who you send to is who you *don’t* send to. HighLevel allows you to exclude certain contacts or Smart Lists from your campaigns. This is great for preventing message fatigue and ensuring that you’re not sending irrelevant messages to people who have already taken a desired action.

5. Scheduling and Executing Your SMS Send

Best Practices for Timing Your SMS Campaigns

Timing is everything when it comes to SMS marketing. You want to send your messages at a time when your audience is most likely to see and engage with them. As a general rule, it’s best to avoid sending messages too early in the morning or too late at night. And always be mindful of your audience’s time zone.

How to Schedule a Campaign for a Future Date

HighLevel makes it easy to schedule your SMS campaigns in advance. When you’re creating a new campaign, you can choose to send it immediately or schedule it for a future date and time. This is perfect for planning your campaigns in advance and ensuring that they go out at the optimal time.

Using Drip Mode for Staggered Sending

If you’re sending a campaign to a large list, you might want to consider using drip mode. This allows you to stagger your sends over a period of time, which can help improve deliverability and prevent your messages from being flagged as spam. It’s a small feature, but it can make a big difference in the success of your HighLevel SMS campaigns.

6. Measuring Success: Tracking and Analytics for your HighLevel SMS campaigns

Key Metrics to Monitor for SMS Campaigns

Once you’ve sent your campaign, the work isn’t over. Now it’s time to track your results and see how your campaign performed. Some of the key metrics you’ll want to monitor include delivery rate, open rate, click-through rate, and conversion rate. These will give you a good idea of what’s working and what’s not.

Accessing and Interpreting Campaign Analytics

HighLevel provides detailed analytics for all your SMS campaigns. You can see how many messages were delivered, how many were opened, and how many people clicked on your links. You can also see who unsubscribed from your list, which is a good indicator of whether your messages are relevant and valuable.

A/B Testing and Optimizing for Better Results

The best way to improve your SMS campaigns is to constantly test and optimize. Try different message copy, different calls-to-action, and different send times to see what works best for your audience. HighLevel makes it easy to A/B test your campaigns, so there’s no excuse not to be constantly improving.

FAQ

Conclusion

So there you have it: a complete guide to creating and sending successful HighLevel SMS campaigns. As you can see, SMS marketing is a powerful tool that can help you connect with your audience in a direct and meaningful way. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you’ll be well on your way to becoming an SMS marketing pro. Now go out there and start sending some campaigns!