Create a Text-to-Join Customer Journey Map

Create a text-to-join Customer Journey map and invite new contacts to opt in to your SMS marketing with a keyword.

Use the "texts a keyword" starting point in your Customer Journey to send a text message to new SMS contacts who opt in for your SMS marketing. Add additional journey points to your journey map to create a personalized path for your SMS contacts.

In this article, you'll learn how to create a text-to-join Customer Journey map.

Before you start

Here are some things to know before you begin this process.

• Full Customer Journey Builder access is included with the Standard plan or higher.
• To learn more about the Customer Journey Builder, how it works, and your pricing plan’s capabilities, check out About Customer Journeys.
• Customer Journey maps with SMS Marketing functionality require an approved SMS Marketing program.
• To create a traditional SMS signup form for new SMS contacts, check out Create and Promote an SMS Marketing Signup Form.
• When you create a text-to-join Customer Journey map, the Allow customers to subscribe to your SMS audience with this keyword slider is toggled on by default. This must stay on to enable text-to-join.

How it works

After you submit an SMS Marketing application and get approved, use the Customer Journey Builder to create an automated workflow that subscribes new SMS contacts to your audience after they text you a specific keyword.

Use the "texts a keyword" starting point to assign a new or existing keyword to your text-to-join Customer Journey map. When your journey map is set up and turned on, the keyword triggers a subscribe action for new SMS contacts, then automatically sends them an SMS using a Send SMS action. This SMS could be a welcome message, discount code, or back-in-stock notification.

The SMS Marketing application requires you to choose an SMS phone number specific to your program. This is the phone number your new subscribed SMS contacts text a keyword to. Promote this phone number and your text-to-join keyword on your website, in-person marketing materials, social media, or wherever you’d like to offer contacts a simple way to opt in for your SMS marketing.

Create a text-to-join Customer Journey map

Use text-to-join to invite new contacts to opt in for your SMS marketing with a simple keyword. You can assign 1 keyword to a text-to-join Customer Journey map. Change a keyword at any time as long as your journey is paused.

To create a text-to-join Customer Journey map, follow these steps.

1. Click Automations, then click All journeys.
   
2. Click Build from scratch.
3. Enter a Name for your journey, then click the drop-down to choose an Audience. Since this journey map is specific to SMS contacts, you’ll want to choose your connected audience.
4. Click Start Building.
5. Click Choose A Starting Point.
6. Click Contact Activity, then click Texts a keyword.
7. In the Keyword text box, type a new or existing keyword, then click Create a new keyword or click the existing keyword. This is the keyword that new contacts will text to your program’s number to opt in for your SMS marketing.
8. The Allow customers to subscribe to your SMS audience with this keyword slider is toggled on by default. To create a text-to-join Customer Journey map, this must stay on.
9. Click Save Starting Point.

Add a Send SMS action

Automatically send text messages to your subscribed SMS contacts with a Send SMS action in the Customer Journey Builder.

To add a Send SMS action to your text-to-join Customer Journey map, follow these steps.

1. From your text-to-join journey map, click Add a journey point.
   
2. In the Actions section, click Send SMS.
3. Click Edit name, type the name of your SMS in the text box, then click Save.
4. In the Send time section, click View to view the quiet hours details.
5. In the Content section, click Edit content to enter the SMS builder.
6. Type your text message in the Message text box. A preview of your message will automatically appear on the screen. To learn more about the SMS builder, check out Create and Send a Marketing SMS.
7. When you’re ready, click Save and continue.
8. Click Save.
9. Add additional journey points to your map as needed.
10. When you’re ready to turn on your text-to-join Customer Journey map, click Continue, then click Turn On.

That’s it! New SMS contacts will be subscribed to your audience and receive your text message after they text the keyword to your SMS Marketing program’s phone number.

• A keyword can be assigned to multiple journeys. If you set up more than 1 Customer Journey map with the "texts a keyword" starting point, assign different keywords to each in order to avoid confusion or duplicate sending.
• If the keyword, "join" is active for 1 journey, and it's assigned to multiple journeys, it will automatically be active for all assigned journeys.