How to… …send and receive MMS 1 www.textlocal.com How to… Contents Page 3 Page 4 An introduction to MMS messaging Page 7 Page 8 Page 12 How much does it cost to send MMS? Page 13 Page 15 Reporting on your MMS messages How to send MMS messages Receiving MMS How much does it cost to receive MMS? MMS in action 2 www.textlocal.com How to… An introduction to MMS messaging MMS messages, also known as multi-media messages, are a popular way to communicate images, audio files and video clips easily, quickly and cost effectively. The majority of phones can send and receive these types of messages and it doesn’t have to be a smart phone. MMS messages are free for the recipient to receive. Sending MMS messages from Messenger works very similarly to sending text messages, only you will need to purchase MMS credits instead of SMS credits. One credit is worth one MMS message which has a limit of 300kb. You will have two free credits when you open your account and can purchase more online. Every MMS sent can also contain a text message. You can receive MMS messages (images, audio files and video clips) as an email attachment, directly onto your server or application or in your Messenger Inbox. In order to receive MMS messages you will an MMS enabled inbox. 3 www.textlocal.com How to… How to send MMS messages Sending MMS messages requires the same simple thought process as sending SMS. Consider the following: Who are you sending your message to? What do you want to say? How do you plan to make the recipient act upon your message? Step one Click on ‘Send Picture Message’ on the main navigation bar. This will bring up a screen very similar to that of ‘Send SMS Message.’ 4 www.textlocal.com How to… Sending MMS Step two MMS can only be sent to UK mobiles, but don’t worry, Messenger will remove all foreign numbers before you hit send so you don’t have to worry about paying for them. Select who you want to send the message to. This can be individual numbers or pre-added groups. If you have not yet uploaded any contact data, see our separate brochure ‘How to Create and grow your database’ for instructions on how to do this. We always recommend including some text with your picture message to explain what the picture, video or audio file is about. The text message will be included in the MMS message and still only cost one MMS credit. Step three If you have uploaded any other data along with phone numbers you can include this in your message to personalise them. This is optional. Step four Upload your image. You will need to have your image saved somewhere on your desk top, laptop or tablet so you can instruct Messenger to insert the image into your message. Remember – the limit of the size of the file is 300kb. If your image is too big, Messenger will tell you straight away and will not upload it. Finally, click ‘send message.’ Like when sending a text message, a preview screen will show for one last confirmation before the message is sent. 5 www.textlocal.com How to… When sending MMS you still need to consider the following… Sender names Unlike sending SMS, your sender name will be automatically set to our MMS shared short code. You will notice on the send MMS screen there is no option to specify a sender name. The sender name will always appear as 88600. Including an opt-out path We strongly suggest always including an opt out path on all messages you send. This gives the recipients the chance to easily remove themselves from your database and any future messages from you. Once you have created your message and inserted your image, simply tick the box and chose your opt-out option from the drop down box. If someone was to send an opt out message, they will be automatically removed from your contact list and added to your opt-out list which can be found in your reports section in Messenger. You will not be able to send an MMS or SMS message to this contact again. Scheduling messages Like any form of marketing, it is important to consider when your customers are going to be most responsive to the message you send. There is little point sending a message for ‘buy one get one free on pizzas’ at 9pm when people are likely to have eaten. This is where scheduling comes in. If you don’t want your MMS to go immediately, then once you have perfected your message, custom fields and opt-out, tick the schedule box instead of hitting send. It will then give you the option to select the time and date you want to your messages, up to 12 months in advance. You can view and amend all scheduled messages in your reports section. 6 www.textlocal.com How to… How much does it cost to send MMS? To send MMS messages, the file needs to be a maximum of 300kb. All MMS are free for the recipient to receive. Like SMS credits, you can buy these online in the bundles displayed below. MMS credits will never expire so you can use them as and when you wish and make the most of our lower prices for large bundles. 7 www.textlocal.com How to… How to receive MMS messages Inbound MMS is a great way to receive accurate, informative and visual information in seconds. Like SMS, there are various types of numbers and keywords which you can rent from us that will deliver incoming MMS messages directly to your Messenger account and designated email addresses. We have three types of inbound numbers which are MMS enabled: Keyword on a long number With this option your customers, staff or members send their MMS to a long number and start their message with your chosen keyword. These can be purchased within Messenger and added immediately. Dedicated Inbound Number With this option your customers, staff or members simply send their MMS to your dedicated long number. As they don’t need to start their message with a keyword, this is slightly easier than the above. To set one of these up please call us on 0845 009 3180. This will take up to two weeks to set up. Keyword on shared Short Code With this option your customers, staff or members send their MMS to a short code and start their message with your chosen keyword. This is the same as above but with a more memorable short code number – ideal for rapid response. To set one of these up please call us on 0845 009 3180. This will take up to two weeks to set up. TIP: the sender will always be charged their standard network rate for sending an MMS message to any of our inbound numbers. It may be free if they have free MMS messages as part of their bundle. 8 www.textlocal.com How to… How to order an inbound MMS number Step One: Log into your Messenger account and click on the Receive tab along the top navigation Step Two: This will bring up a list of any existing inboxes, plus any default ones you have. Click on ‘Create a new Inbox’ Step Three: Click on the middle icon – MMS Inbox. This will bring up a brief description of each type of inbound MMS number available. 9 www.textlocal.com How to… Step Four: Click on the type of inbound number you would like to purchase and click ‘buy now.’ A keyword on a shared long MMS number can be set up online and you will be prompted to select your keyword. For any other inbound MMS numbers, instructions will be given on how to place an order with us. Finally, follow the payment instructions, using a credit/ debit card or PayPal. You will receive confirmation of this payment straight away and your inbox is live immediately. Once you have purchased your new MMS inbound number, it will appear as a new inbox under your ‘Receive’ tab. To set up the finer details of your keyword, click ‘settings’ under your new short code keyword. It will bring up the following screen where you can set up automatic responses, forwarding options and much more. 10 www.textlocal.com How to… Build an online gallery of inbound MMS quickly and efficiently Additional set up of your inbound MMS number Once your inbound MMS number is live it will show as a new inbox. To customise your inbound number, click ‘settings’ and the below screen will appear. Here you can set up : ü  ü  ü  ü  ü  ü  SMS Auto responses (with scheduling option) Set email addresses to forward inbound messages to Set email responses with attachments Forward messages to URL Forward messages to a mobile phone Forward to a group 11 www.textlocal.com How to… How much does it cost to set up an MMS inbox? Keyword on long number Keyword on a Short Code Keyword on Dedicated Number 12 www.textlocal.com How to… Reporting on your sent MMS messages Messenger provides a full range of reports for singular and group MMS messages. Here you can view MMS messages you have sent in certain date ranges and check delivery receipts for each. 13 www.textlocal.com How to… What your reporting means The same rules apply as for SMS: Delivered: this means your message has been successfully delivered to the recipients phone. Undelivered: On this occasion, your message has not been delivered. This could be because the handset has been without signal for 48 hours, is outside of the UK and not using roaming data or isn’t switched on. It could also be a case of the recipient’s message inbox being full and is unable to receive any more until some are deleted. We advise you use a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ rule for undelivered messages. If you haven’t been able to get the message through on a third attempt it is wise to remove them for your list. ! ? Invalid: The number is no longer in use and you will not be able to receive a message. We strongly advise you remove these from your database straight away. Unknown: The networks haven’t notified us yet on whether the message has been delivered or not. 14 www.textlocal.com How to… MMS in action Ticket Source ‘TicketSource provides event organisers with a free online box office service enabling them to sell tickets, general admission or seats selectable from a venue plan for their forthcoming events. TicketSource has been using Textlocal’s SMS API facility to deliver mobile tickets to customers since 2009 and is currently introducing MMS mobile tickets complete with scannable barcode using their MMS API solution. Service reliability is a key factor and in our time with Textlocal, the level of service has been exemplary. The API was easy to incorporate into the TicketSource website with lots of helpful examples available for a variety of programming languages on the Textlocal website and on a few occasions where we have required technical support from the Textlocal team, they have been responsive and knowledgeable.’ Card One Banking ‘I’ve used Textlocal for a number of years and have always found the service to be first class. The delivery is virtually instant and there is never any downtime, Our customers find the SMS facility extremely useful as they can bank with us 24/7 without the hassle of making a phone call or logging onto the website. It gives them fast and accurate account information. We also use the inbound MMS facility to allow customers to send us photo ID. It’s so much easier for them than scanning documents or finding a fax machine and the quality is so much better, We set everything up using the control panel which is really simple to use. Overall, I have been extremely impressed with the product and service and would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone who needs an SMS provider.’ 15 www.textlocal.com How to… Call us: 0845 009 3180 Visit us: www.textlocal.com @ Email us: [email protected] Follow us: 16