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Text and Reply to Your Contacts Through Command Using Twilio

Paul Polansky
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Warning! The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which includes the National Do Not Call Registry, imposes strict limits on how real estate agents make calls, send text messages and/or leave voicemails. The law requires that you check all Do Not Call registries before calling or texting, and honor requests to be placed on all Do Not Call lists. The law also may require callers to meet certain consent requirements before making a call or sending a text message using an auto-dialer, or using or a prerecorded/artificial voice. Agents must follow this law or face stiff penalties and/or potentially catastrophic legal damages for violations. Contact your attorney to determine if your practices conform to the TCPA.


In order to text a contact using Command, you must first setup your Twilio account in Command. Every text you send will be sent using Twilio and the phone number you selected during the setup process. Text messages can be sent to clients from within the Contacts applet or you can create a custom SmartPlan and add a text message step as part of the plan.

To text and reply to contacts through Command using Twilio:


Access

1. Log in to  https://agent.kw.com with your Keller Williams login credentials.

2. Click the Contacts icon, icon_contacts.png​, on the left sidebar.


3. Check the box next to each contact you want to text, or check the box to the left of the "First Name" column title to select all contacts on the page.

contacts_check_the_boxes.png


4. Click the Select Bulk Action drop-down and choose Send Text Message from the list.

contacts_bulk_send_text_message.png

You can also choose to send a text to a single contact: 

  1. Find the lead/contact in your database, and click on the lead/contact's name.

  2. Click on their phone number (this must be a phone number that accepts texts), at the top left of the contact record, and select Send Text with Twilio.

contacts_twilio_click_send_text_with_twilio.png

 

Manage Recipients

1. If your contact has more than one mobile phone number, you can click the drop-down arrow to select the correct number that will receive the text message.

contacts_twilio_choose_between_multiple_numbers.png


2. When looking at the recipient list, there are a couple indicators to be aware of:

  • The globe icon, globe_icon.png, indicates that the number that has been selected is an international phone number which cost 2 credits per SMS. There is no extra cost for MMS.
  • If a contact has a red caution symbol and "N/A" in place of their number then either an invalid number was entered for the contact or there is no number entered at all.
  • Learn more about Twilio credits and the costs of sending text messages.


If you need to remove a recipient you can do so by clicking the X icon beside the number. 

twilio_bulk_text_module_remove_number.png

 

Compose the Text Message and Send

1. Type out your message, attach any media files that you want to add, and also add emojis. You can see how many credits the text message will cost by clicking Calculate Cost. This will show you how much the text message will cost, taking into account the content of the message and the number of recipients. 

contacts_twilio_calculate_cost.png
  • If the text message is more than 160 characters, or 70 characters if emojis or special characters are included, a second text message will seamlessly be created to accommodate the longer message, and the cost will go up accordingly.
  • If the cost goes above 3 credits in this way, a recommendation will appear suggesting to attach a media file to the message which will reduce the total amount of credits used. This will convert the SMS to become a MMS, which costs 3 credits for up to 1600 characters or 700 characters if emojis or special characters are included, making it cheaper than having multiple SMS messages linked together.  Click the upload icon, upload_icon.png, and select any image, video, or gif to include in the message.

If you prefer to not send an actual file that can be seen by the recipient, access this article, where we have attached a clear PNG file (the attachment can be accessed at the bottom of the article) that you can use to convert the SMS to be an MMS. When the recipient receives a message with that file attached, they will not actually see the file included with it.
contacts_twilio_convert_to_mms.png

If a user is sending an MMS message with an attachment, there are three different types of results that can occur which are dependent on the carrier (T-mobile, AT&T, etc.) of the recipient. This does not impact the credit costs:

  1. The recipient's carrier splits the image from the text and it looks like two separate texts when the recipient receives it, but they are sent at the same time in Command.
  2. The recipient's carrier adds an image bubble under the text when they receive it.
  3. The recipient's carrier does not allow images, which will cause Twilio to send the image as a link at the bottom under the text.


2. When you are ready, click Send (or Verify & Send, if you have not calculated the cost yet).

  • Keep an eye on the Daily Unique Recipients and Daily Segments Limits counters. The system won't let you go over this limit, when sending one-off texts. If you hit either of those limits with a SmartPlan, you run the risk of your messages being filtered out by the recipients phone carrier, and the number being blocked by the phone carrier. Neither KW nor Twilio have control of messages being filtered or a phone provider blocking your Twilio number.
  • Click here to learn more about these limits.
contacts_twilio_send.png

 

SMS Privacy Notification (Teams)
When an agent on a team sends a text message for the first time to client they will receive an opt-in/opt-out message and the following day they will receive another text message that states: "To better serve you, messages may be shared with other team members. Please call or text me with questions." This message is only sent once when an agent on a team is texting a client for the first time using Twilio. It will not count towards their daily unique recipient limit and it will not count toward their credit limit for the month.


Manage Responses

When a contact replies to a Twilio text, that will trigger a Command notification for the response. You can click to View Details, and see the message in their contact record.

not_text_received.png


You will receive a Command App notification as well, and you can respond through the Command App as well.

cm_twilio_response_tap_view_details.png

 

The responses also will be logged on their contact record in Contacts, where you have the option to reply.

twilio_message_thread_in_contacts.png

 

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