SMS can be a really powerful way of engaging with your fans. If you've collected phone numbers previously, or through one of your OS landing page flows, try using SMS broadcasts to reach out to your fans in creative & exciting ways!
NOTE: If you don't have phone numbers in your artist settings, reach out to your OS point of contact or email support@openstage.live to get these set up.
Top up your credit
Before you can send any SMS messages, you need to top up your account with credit. Follow the below next steps to add credit. (As a guide, click here for the current pricing by region. Navigate to the bottom and see usage charges, SMS then varies by country).
Setup
Once you have added credit, you can begin creating your SMS broadcast.
Navigate to Engage, then Broadcasts.
Click New Broadcast
Click Set Channel and choose SMS
As a default, your audience will begin segmented to only those who can receive SMS broadcasts. You can then segment further by country calling code if you need a specific market, and then any other criteria needed to target the desired audience. Click on Target Audience to edit the audience for this SMS broadcast.
For more on audiences, click here.
Details
Head to Details and enter your broadcast details, including name (which is just for your reference within the platform). You can also choose the start date (the text will not go live until activated, despite the chosen date & time). Your current audience for this broadcast is summarised to your right.
If in next steps you see "Set up phone numbers", this could mean one of two things:
You don't have any numbers set up - email support@openstage.live to do so.
You don't have the relevant number to message a number of fans in your current audience segment i.e. a US/Canada number to reach fans with those country calling codes. If you only have 1 number, you can exclude/include the relevant country calling codes in the Target Audience section under location filters. This will then allow you to proceed to send your message.
Please note the below for important information on Initial Contact SMS costs and GDPR.
Content
Head to Content to start drafting your SMS message. You have 160 characters to work with and links use 29 of these. Links can be added below and usually you'd be sending a landing page for fans to engage with or perhaps links to new merch or tickets on sale. Use "fan first name" & "fan last name" tags here to pull in names if they're on record for that fan (adding that personalised touch).
The test function is just to your right - use this to see how your SMS looks before going live with it by sending it to yourself or a colleague. You can reset content or reset all your progress to start again at any point using the relevant buttons in top right, next to the save button.
SMS content section - always click Save as you make changes.
Your current SMS costs can be seen here based on your current audience segment. You can segment the audience further at any time by clicking on Target Audience. Your quote will factor in the cost of sending any mandatory GDPR messages as mentioned above.
Sending
When you're happy with your SMS content, as mentioned, send yourself a test to make sure all the copy and any links are correct.
Then, when you're ready to schedule, ensure your scheduling date & time are correct, and hit the green Activate button in the top left-hand corner under details.
This message will then send at the scheduled date/time. The only exception is if the scheduled date/time has passed, in which case, your SMS will begin broadcasting immediately.
TOP TIP: ALWAYS test your texts before pushing them live. This is particularly important if the text points fans to a landing page to collect more data or fan uploads, so make sure to test the entire flow so that fans don't experience any issues along the way. You don't want to spend money on texts that have incorrect links or any other problems.
Lastly, if you want fans to receive a welcome text, or an SMS based on a particular activation, you can configure an automated SMS broadcast in Automated Broadcasts. To see more, click here.
NOTE: You can call fans from the platform - no need for a physical phone. You will however need your numbers configured for calling. To do so, please reach out to your OS point of contact or support@openstage.live.
Video Walkthrough