What is Aloware's broadcast?
The broadcast tool allows users to send bulk messages to contacts for promotional and marketing purposes. This page shows the history of previous bulk messages also the ones that are currently running.
Users must obtain approval from the Aloware support team and accept Aloware's User Policy to enable and effectively use the Broadcast feature.
Setting broadcast schedule
The Broadcast Scheduler feature works based on the account's time zone and shows the broadcast's open/ close hours.
Step 1: Access the Broadcast Menu
Login to your Aloware account and go to the Broadcast menu. Click +New Bulk Message.
Step 2: Fill in the necessary information
Now it's time to provide important details for your broadcast:
Name - assign a name to your broadcast. This name is primarily for reporting and reference purposes, so make it descriptive enough to easily identify the broadcast later.
From - select the Line you want to use to send the broadcast. This determines the sender ID that your contacts will see. Make sure that your lines are registered.
Select a group of contacts - you can select the recipients for your broadcast in various ways:
By tag - select contacts based on tags you've assigned to your Aloware account.
Filter - apply filters to target specific groups of contacts.
Integrations - if you have integrated CRMs with Aloware, you can select contacts from those integrations.
Aloware automatically removes Do Not Contact (DNC) or opt-out contacts from all broadcast lists and prevents them from being added.
Step 3: Set the Sending Time
Next, specify when you want the broadcast to be sent:
Select a time to send - admin can restrict specific time to send messages.
Send now - if you want to send the broadcast immediately, you can select this option.
Pick a time - to schedule the broadcast for a future date and time. You can choose the exact date and time when you want the message to be sent.
When you click the "Edit" link, you can modify the Business hours for Broadcasts in the Account menu under General Settings.
Step 4: Throttling
Throttling - this allows you to control the rate at which messages are sent. This can be useful to avoid overwhelming the system or the recipients. You can set an hourly throttle limit of 180, 360, or 900 messages per hour, depending on your needs.
Step 5: Check your Credits
Before sending your Broadcast, it's important to check the credits available in your Aloware account. Ensure you have enough credits to cover the cost, as sending messages will consume these credits.
The broadcast cost calculator provides an estimate of how many credits your broadcast will use. Keep in mind that this is an estimate, and actual charges from carriers may vary slightly.
Step 6: Compose your Message
Now, it's time to craft the message you want to send. Use the message box to compose your message. You can also enable GIF/MMS if you want to include multimedia content in your broadcast.
To ensure compliance and recipient preferences, Aloware includes the opt-out phrase "Text STOP to unsubscribe" in all automated messages. This not only simplifies the opt-out process but also protects messages from non-compliance flags, promoting responsible communication.
When you compose your message, Aloware will also determine the number of segments in your messages.
Step 7: Send your bulk message
Once you've filled in all necessary information, reviewed your message, and ensured you have enough credits, click the send bulk message button.
Aloware will take care of sending your broadcast to the selected contacts at the scheduled time or immediately, depending on your preferences.
You can keep track of the status of your broadcast activity on the broadcast page.
How to view a contact's bulk messages
Broadcast on Contacts provides a preview of bulk messages sent to a particular contact.
Go to the Aloware Talk, and navigate to the Broadcast menu.
To review a specific broadcast, simply select it from the list of broadcasts. Then, click on the three-dot menu and choose "Activity." This will give you access to all the relevant information and details about the selected broadcast.
Choose a contact and navigate to their profile's Broadcast panel. This panel will display the specific Broadcast in which the contact is enrolled.
Filtering contacts through broadcast attribution
Go to the Contacts menu. Then, click the Filters button.
Select Broadcasts under Attribution and apply the filter. This will display all the contacts who have received the broadcast.
Broadcast engagement rate
When you select Broadcast from the main menu, you will have access to data from your bulk message campaign.
The engagement rate is calculated by dividing the number of responses received from a broadcast campaign (Bulk Message or RVM) by the total number of contacts on the campaign, and then multiplying it by 100.
This percentage value represents the success rate of the broadcast campaign, regardless of when the responses were received.
For example, suppose you populated 100 contacts for a broadcast campaign, and 45 responded the same day, five the next day, and five after a week, for a total of 55 respondents.
Engagement will be at 55% and will only count up to the last outreach.