You need to have a phone number before you can start sending and receiving texts. We recommend Twilio, and have a whole section for setting up Twilio in a later chapter. Even if you don’t have a phone number set up yet, it’s important to be familiar with the System Phone Number settings because they are referenced later in this chapter.

These settings can be accessed and maintained from Admin Tools > Settings > System Phone Numbers.

1. Basic Settings - Here you can give the number a name, make it active or inactive, and choose a description. A good description can be very helpful if you have multiple phone numbers. Only Active phone numbers can receive responses. You might use a phone number for a large event and then inactivate it until the next event.
2. Phone Number - Be sure that the phone number is in the Phone Number field and that it is in the format of "+15555555555" (or similar for international numbers).
3. Assigned to Person - The person you select here will receive the incoming messages sent to the SMS Phone Number you’re viewing. This only happens if SMS Forwarding is enabled. Be sure the individual you select has a valid SMS phone number on their record.
4. SMS Enabled - This simply indicates whether the number can be used in SMS contexts within Rock.
5. SMS Forwarding - If enabled, then incoming messages to this SMS Phone Number will be sent to the Assigned to Person and to the SMS Pipeline. If this is not enabled, then the conversation will still go to the SMS Pipeline or SMS Conversations, but it will not be sent to the Assigned to Person.
6. SMS Received Workflow - You have the option of automatically launching a workflow when a response is received. Use this field to indicate which workflow should launch. Don’t forget, you can use the same phone number to launch different types of workflows using the SMS Pipeline.
7. SMS Notification Group - The members of this group will be notified when a message is received to this number. This option only works with a Rock Mobile app, via push notifications.
8. Mobile Application - Using this requires that you have Mobile configured correctly. This determines which mobile application to use when sending notifications.

In addition to the Assigned to Person settings described above, you can apply security to each System Phone Number individually. Simply click the ti ti-lock icon when viewing the Phone Number to apply security for that number. Please note that the security does not transfer over to SMS Conversations, Communication Wizard and Simple Communication blocks.

You may also want to review the block settings for SMS Conversations to further refine how your numbers are used and who can see them.

Configure Twilio

In the past, each SMS feature included its own webhook. The SMS Pipeline condenses those features into one place, so you only have to use one webhook. That means you can use a single phone number for a variety of different purposes.

To set your number up for the SMS pipeline in Twilio, set the A Message Comes In URL to:https://YourServer/Webhooks/TwilioSMS.ashx?SmsPipelineId=YourPipelineId

If you need multiple SMS Pipelines, you can link each one to your phone numbers by specifying the pipeline’s ID in the URL.

See the Integrations chapter for more information on setting up Twilio in general.

SMS Number Strategies

Now that you've seen how SMS replies are handled in Rock, let's touch briefly on strategies to implement this effectively in your organization.

SMS services like Twilio make it very inexpensive to rent phone numbers for SMS. (A number from Twilio runs only $1 per month.) Don't limit your organization to a single number if you need more than one. Think about getting a number for each department and/or heavy SMS user. It's also very easy to turn an SMS number on and off. You might grab a number for a large event and remove it after the event is over. You can also reuse a number internally by changing the Response Recipient as described above.

MMS Considerations

Standard MMS (aka, Multimedia Messaging Service) messages allow you to send images, slideshows, videos and audio clips as attachments. While this means you can do some creative things with your communications, there are some limitations to keep in mind.

The biggest limitation is that the recipient's phone may not support all multimedia files. So, while you may be able to send a short video, not all of your recipients may be able to view it.

Another thing to keep in mind is that some mobile carriers limit the file size of attachments being sent over their network. For example, Twilio limits messages that combine text and images to 5MB. If you try to send, say, an MMS message combining text and video, and the total size is greater than 5MB, Twilio will prevent the message from sending. Before sending out a large number of messages, it's a good idea to test your communications on various handsets using different file formats and sizes. See what works and what doesn't.

Twilio, Short Codes and MMS Messages

If you're using a Twilio short code, keep in mind that it doesn't automatically support MMS messages. You can add MMS capabilities for a one-time fee of $500. This is different than regular "long codes" (phone numbers) where MMS is usually automatically supported.

If you're not sure whether your account supports MMS messaging, check your Twilio Console. If you only see "Capabilities: SMS" and MMS is not listed, then it's likely you haven't purchased MMS for your short code.

See the setting up Twilio section for more information on configuring Twilio as your SMS provider.

Long Code Throttling

It's still a bit like the Wild West out there when it comes to SMS and MMS. Each carrier has its own rules and practices. For many carriers, sending or receiving too many messages too quickly will set off spam warnings, which results in messages either not being sent or not being received. This can be a real problem when you need to send information to a lot of people at once.

Fear not. We've got you covered. Out of the box, Rock comes configured with Long Code Throttling. This slows the delivery of non-short code numbers. By default, it is set to 500 milliseconds, or half of a second, which is the rate we've found works best for both speed and reliable delivery. You can modify the rate, though, by changing your Twilio transport settings (Admin Tools > Settings > Communication Transports). You can also disable Long Code Throttling altogether. Keep in mind, though, that this may result in your messages not being delivered.