CloudMessage User Guide
CloudMessage User Guide
fingertips.
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Contents
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Creating / Editing a Canned Response......................................................................................... 20
Deleting a Canned Response ........................................................................................................ 20
Drip Campaign .................................................................................................................................... 20
Creating / Editing a Drip Campaign ............................................................................................. 21
Deleting a Drip Campaign ............................................................................................................. 21
Blasts .................................................................................................................................................... 22
Creating / Editing a Blast ............................................................................................................... 22
Deleting a Blast ............................................................................................................................... 22
Best Practices .................................................................................................................................. 23
Reminders ............................................................................................................................................ 24
Creating a Reminder....................................................................................................................... 24
Editing a Reminder ......................................................................................................................... 24
Deleting a Reminder ....................................................................................................................... 25
Admin Menu ....................................................................................................................................... 25
Add User .......................................................................................................................................... 25
Edit User........................................................................................................................................... 26
Delete User ...................................................................................................................................... 27
Organizations Overview ................................................................................................................. 27
Add Organization ........................................................................................................................... 27
Edit Organization ............................................................................................................................ 28
Delete Organization ....................................................................................................................... 29
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Number Switcher
Away Message
Away messages act as auto-responders to inbound messages. When an away message is active and a
message is received, the contact which sent the message will receive an automatic reply containing
the away message as the body of the message.
This scenario can quickly increase costs with your VoIP provider.
When an away message is sent to a contact, the body of the message that caused the auto-response
to be sent is associated with the contact. If that same contact sends the same message again, then
the auto-reponse will not be sent a second time.
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Note that if a remote auto-responder sends messages with unique content each time, it is still
possible for auto-responder loops to occur.
Conversations
The conversations page of the application is where you will spend most of your time communicating
with your contacts.
Active conversations are listed on the left. You may view an individual conversation by selecting it
from the list. When viewing an active conversation, there are three types of messages:
Inbound
Inbound messages are left aligned and have a grey background.
Outbound
Outbound messages are right aligned and have a blue background.
Notes
Notes can be entered into a conversation via the API and are meant to be contextual to the
conversation, like a voicemail transcription or a note from a CRM / e-commerce system. This feature
may not be available or enabled on every account type.
Opt-in Status
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Each contact has an opt-in status, which defaults to "opted-in." The opt-in status of a contact
controls the ability to use automated features of the application including but not limited to:
• Drip Campaigns
• Reminders
A contact is opted-out when any one of the following keywords are received: STOP, END, QUIT,
CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE
Conversely, a contact is opted-in when any of the following keywords are received: START, UNSTOP
Depending on your carrier, you may still be able to send transactional and conversational (non-
automated) text messages to a contact who has opted-out. However, a contact opt-ing out with a
keyword may trigger a block on the contacts cellular network and messages may not be delivered.
You may also manually opt-out a contact from their contact details page by checking the "Opted
out" checkbox and clicking "Update Contact Details".
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Some users may have a consent message requirement set at the Organization level by their account
admin. If enabled for a user, contacts' consent message status is displayed next to the contact name
in the active conversation view.
When sending a message to a new contact or a contact who has not yet received the consent
message, the intended message will be preceeded by a consent message, allowing the recipient an
opportunity to acknowledge or opt-out of receiving messages. Once the consent message has been
sent, an indicator will be added to the contact details and conversation views denoting their status.
• Next, you can choose to send to a phone number or select a contact from your address
book.
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• Send to Phone Number
You can send to a phone number by entering it into the "Send to Phone Number:" field and
clicking "Start Conversation".
• Choose Contact
Start a conversation with an existing contact by searching or scrolling through the address
book and clicking on the contact.
Archiving Conversations
It is important to archive inactive conversations in order to maintain the best performance and user
experience. When a conversation is archived, all message history is retained, but the conversation will
be hidden from the active conversation list.
Note: There is not currently a way to view all archived conversations, but they will appear in search
results.
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Archive Conversations in Bulk
If you have a large number of conversations that you would like to archive, we recommend using the
bulk archive features. You can select the checkbox next to each conversation, or use the checkbox at
the top of the list to toggle the selection of all conversations. Once you've selected the conversations
that you would like to archive, click the archive button on the top right of the list.
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Archive Individual Conversation
You can archive individual conversations by choosing the "Action" dropdown, and choosing the
"Archive" option.
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You can delete individual conversations by choosing the "Action" dropdown, and choosing the
"Delete" option. You will be asked to confirm deletion of message history. This will delete all
messages for this conversation and this action is NOT reversible.
Notice
Some users and account types may have the delete option disabled by their administrator.
Conversation Features
Export Message History
You are able to export conversation history from an individual conversation using the Export
Messages feature.
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2. Choose a start and end date.
Note: Start and end dates must be within 7 days of each other.
4. Click "Export" to begin the export. Depending on the number of messages in the
conversation, the process can take up to 30 seconds. A download prompt will automatically
open when the export is complete, allowing you to save it to your preferred destination.
Send MMS
You are able to send and receive MMS messages. MMS messages are currently limited to pictures
and video in this app but will be updating it with better file support in the near future. MMS file
support will vary per carrier.
To send a MMS file, click the camera icon from the message composer section.
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Note: It is recommended that MMS files stay under 1.5mb to prevent filtering by the recipient's
carrier.
1. To send a canned response, choose the double arrow icon in the message composer to
launch the selection modal.
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2. Select a canned response from the list to prepopulate the message textarea with the canned
response. Canned responses are NOT automatically sent, to allow you the opportunity to edit
the message prior to sending.
Example: You would like to apply a drip campaign that has a total of three messages. Drip 1 has an
interval of 1 day, Drip 2 has an interval of 3 days and Drip 3 has an interval of 5 days. When you
apply that campaign to a contact, the first message will be scheduled for 1 day from now. The
second message will be scheduled for 3 days from now and the third would be scheduled 5 days
from now.
Drip messages will be sent until a reply has been received by the contact. If a message is received
from the contact before any scheduled drip messages have been sent, any that are unsent will be
automatically deleted.
1. To apply a drip campaign to a contact, choose the water droplet icon from the message
composer area to launch the drip campaign modal.
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2. Choose a campaign from the list and a preview of the campaign will be displayed.
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Note: Some users and account types may not have the drip campaign feature enabled. Drip
campaigns will also be disabled for any contacts that have been opted-out from marketing and
automations.
Contacts
The contacts page allows you to manage your contacts and details like opt-out and consent message
status, import in bulk, and more.
Adding a Contact
2. Next, enter in details, being sure to complete all required fields, denoted by a red asterisk.
Note: Although the app does not utilize the e-mail address for communication, the e-mail address
field is helpful when utilizing features like Relay Webhooks and the API as a secondary identifier field
for integrations.
Editing a Contact
1. Choose the contact that you would like to edit from the list on the left.
2. Next, edit any details, being sure to complete all required fields, denoted by a red asterisk.
Note: Although the app does not utilize the e-mail address for communication, the e-mail address
field is helpful when utilizing features like Relay Webhooks and the API as a secondary identifier field
for integrations.
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3. When all required fields are complete, click "Update Contact Details"
Note: Choosing to edit the "Opted out" checkbox manually will permanently opt this contact out,
until the contact replies back with START or UNSTOP.
Deleting a Contact
1. Locate the contact from the contact list on the left.
3. Finally, choose the "Delete" option to be prompted with a confirmation that you would like
to delete the contact.
Note: Some users and account types may have the delete feature disabled by their adminstrator.
Note: We provide a sample CSV that is pre-formatted for you to fill in your data. Please make sure
that your CSV files match the format before uploading. Improperly formatted CSVs, will result in the
entire import failing.
2. Choose the "Upload File" option or optionally paste in the content of your CSV.
Note: If you included a header row (e.g. "Full Name, Phone, Email") you may choose the "Skip First
Line" checkbox to intentionally skip the first row of the list.
Note: If you would like to import these contacts into a specific list for marketing purposes, you can
choose the list from the "Import Contacts into Selected List" dropdown. If the dropdown does not
display, you should double check that at least one list exists in your "Lists" page.
3. Click "Import Contacts". The list will be sent to the server for processing. Depending on the
list size, you should notice the contacts in your contact list within several minutes.
1. To delete all contacts, select the gear icon on the top right of the Contacts page to open
the Settings modal.
2. Choose the "Delete" button and you will be prompted to confirm that you would like to
delete all contacts. This option CANNOT BE UNDONE.
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Depending on the size of your contact list, this process may take several minutes and your contact
list may refresh several times as it syncs with the server.
Note: Some users and account types may have the delete contacts feature disabled by their
administrator.
Contact List
Contact lists allow you to segment your contacts when sending Blasts.
Note: Some users and account types may have this feature disabled by their administrator.
Create a List
1. Click "New List" button on the top right of the screen.
Edit a List
1. Locate the list that you would like to edit on the left hand side.
Tip: List name is meant to be a user-friendly identifier. (e.g. "Staff Alert" or "September Promo")
Auto-Subscribe Keywords
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A great way to build lists is to promote a subscription keyword to your contacts. When an Auto-
Subscribe Keyword is received from a contact, that contact will be automatically added to the contact
list.
Tip: To generate an auto-reply to a contact subscribing to the list via keyword, utilize the "Auto-
Reply Keyword" on the Canned Response feature, setting the keyword to the same as your list
subscription keyword.
3. Check the checkbox next to any contacts that you want to add to the list.
2. Click the checkbox on the row that contains the contact(s) you would like to delete.
3. Click the trash can icon to delete the selected contacts from the list.
Delete a List
To delete a contact list, simply locate the list you would like to delete and choose the "Delete" link
on the right. You will be prompted to confirm deletion.
Canned Responses
Canned responses are pre-written messages that you can use as replies to common inquiries, as
away messages and as automatic replies to keywords.
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Creating / Editing a Canned Response
1. To create a canned response, click the "Add New Response" button on the top right of the
screen. To edit a canned response, click on the canned response that you would like to edit
from the list to open the edit drawer.
2. Add or modify the canned response details, being sure to complete all required fields, as
denoted by a red asterisk.
Note: You may optionally enter a keyword into the "Auto-Reply to Keyword" field and when
a message containing that exact keyword is received, a message will be sent back to the
contact with the "Message Body" field as it's content.
2. Click the "Delete Response" button at the bottom of the drawer. You will be prompted to
confirm deletion of the canned response.
Drip Campaign
Drip campaigns allow you to apply a scheduled set of messages to a contact based on intervals of
your choosing. Any replies received from the contact will break any future drips that have not yet
been sent.
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Creating / Editing a Drip Campaign
To create a new drip campaign, click the "Create New Campaign" button on the top right of the
screen.
To edit an existing drip campaign, locate the drip campaign that you would like to edit from the
list and click the "View" link under the "Actions" column to open the edit drawer.
Tip: We recommend setting the campaign name to something that will easily allow you to identify
the campaign and it's contents when applying the campaign.
To add a drip to a campaign, click the "Add Drips" button to add a row. Enter the drip campaign
message into the textarea and then select your drip campaigns interval, calculating it from time of
application.
Tip: We recommend that you allow at least one day in between each drip interval to prevent your
contact from becoming annoyed and opting-out of your message.
When you are done editing the campaign and individual drips, remember to click the "Save" button
on the bottom right of the drawer to save your changes.
2. Click the "Delete" link under the "Actions" column. You will be prompted to confirm deletion
of the campaign.
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Blasts
Blasts are a great way to send the same message out to a list of contacts, often used for marketing,
staff alerts and organization notification systems.
Blast Status
Draft- This will save the blast in a draft state, allowing you to come back and edit it before sending
or scheduling in the future.
Send Now- This will queue the blast up to be sent in the next several minutes.
Schedule- This option will allow you to choose a timezone, date and time to send the blast.
Compliance Footer
The Compliance Footer will automatically be appended to the message body. It is recommended that
your compliance footer includes identifying information about the sender, a brief explanation as to
why you are contacting them (e.g. to discuss order details, appointments, etc.), and how they can
opt-out from receiving future communications (e.g. Reply STOP to unsubscribe.).
Note: We currently utilize a simple time-based queueing system to send out blasts. Users and
account types have varying limitations on the volume at which they can send / accept messages in
bulk. If you experience deliverability issues with blasts, please consider your carrier limitations and
plan your blasts accordingly.
Deleting a Blast
1. You can delete blasts that are in Draft or Scheduled status. First, select blast that you would
like to delete from either the Draft of Scheduled tab.
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2. Next, scroll to the bottom of the edit blast drawer. Click "Delete Blast" to open the
confirmation prompt.
Best Practices
• You should always obtain proper opt-in before sending out marketing campaigns to
contacts.
• Identifying your brand and an opt-out option in the compliance footer helps to build trust
with your recipients.
• Try to avoid using URL shorteners as receiving carriers often block links from popular services
like bit.ly or goo.gl.
• When sending a high volume of messages, it is recommended that you register a campaign
and brand with The Campaign Registry (https://www.campaignregistry.com/) for the best
deliverability.
• Do not send messages related to S.H.A.F.T. (Sex, Hate, Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco--including
cannabis)
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Reminders
Create reminders to send scheduled messages to individual contacts.
Tip:
Dates that have messages scheduled have a blue dot identifier above the day number.
Creating a Reminder
1. Choose the date on the calendar for which you would like to schedule the reminder.
6. Click "Save"
Editing a Reminder
1. Choose the date on the calendar for which the reminder is scheduled for. This will pull up a
list of reminders for that date on the right hand side.
4. Click "Update"
Note Reminders can be edited or deleted up until their scheduled date / time.
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Deleting a Reminder
1. Choose the date on the calendar for which the reminder is scheduled for. This will pull up a
list of reminders for that date on the right hand side.
Admin Menu
Manage Users, Settings and Organizations.
Add User
1. Navigate to the "Users" tab.
3. Enter Full Name and E-mail Address (this will be used for authentication and must be
unique).
4. If you would like to allow the user to use their PBX login to SSO into CloudMessage, enter
their PBX username (username_or_ext@domain) in the External Identifier field.
Note
Users must belong to an organization, even if it is a single user organization. Organizations in
CloudMessage are synonymous to Domains.
6. Start typing the phone number that you would like to assign and allow the suggested search
to complete.
7. Select the desired number for this user from the suggested DIDs list.
Note
A phone number can only belong to a single user. If you would like share access to a number for
multiple users, see the Number Sharing feature.
What's Next?
The user will receive an e-mail at the e-mail address entered welcoming them to the application. If
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you entered an external identifier, they will be directed to sign in with their PBX credentials. If not,
they will be asked to click a button to confirm their e-mail and set a password on CloudMessage.
Edit User
To Edit Profile Details
1. Locate the user that you would like to edit and click the "View" link to open the edit drawer.
3. Click "Save"
Change Password
For users who do not have SSO enabled, you may change their password by doing the following:
1. Locate the user that you would like to edit and click the "View" link to open the edit drawer.
Permissions
When editing a user profile, you have the option to enable and disable permissions to specific
features. To edit a permission, toggle the checkbox next to the permission and click "Update
Permissions" to apply changes.
Number Sharing
Number Sharing allows you to share access to numbers amongst users of the same organization.
Share a Number
1. To share a number with another user, navigate to the user / number that you would like to
share and click the Number Sharing tab.
2. Choose the user of whom you would like to share with from the dropdown.
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1. To stop sharing a number with another user, navigate to the user / number that you
would like to remove access to and click the Number Sharing tab.
2. Locate the user that you would like to stop sharing with and click the trash can icon to open
the confirmation prompt.
1. To set a Relay Webhook URL, navigate to the user that you would like to edit.
Delete User
WARNING: The deletion of a user is permanent and will delete all content related to that user
including messages, contacts, etc. This CANNOT be undone.
2. Locate the user that you would like to delete from the list.
Tip
Use the Organization filter to quickly find a user.
Organizations Overview
Assigning users to Organizations allows you to keep them organized, control plan type, enforce
consent messages, share numbers, and more.
Add Organization
1. Click the "Organizations" tab.
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2. Click the "Add Organization" button.
4. Select a value for the Domain for SkySwitch dropdown. This list will prepopulate from your
SkySwitch account's domain list.
5. Select a Plan for the organization. All users of an organization must utilize the same plan
type.
Organization Admins Organization admins may edit names and email addresses of users, and may
change passwords of users within an organization. Org. admins may not create or delete users or
organizations. Org. admins may not modify user provider settings (phone numbers, API keys, etc).
Designate an existing user as an Org. admin by typing their name, e-mail or assigned phone number
into the typeahead box and select a user from the results.
Edit Organization
1. Click the "Organizations" tab.
2. Click the "View" link next to the organization that you would like to edit.
See Require Consent Message? and Consent Message Best Practices sections above for more
information regarding the consent message settings.
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Delete Organization
1. Click the "Organizations" tab.
2. Click the "Delete" link on the organization that you wish to delete. This will open a
confirmation prompt.
Note
Organizations can only be deleted when all users have been deleted from it.
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