Send SMS only to specific country contacts in Dotdigital

Learn how to ensure that SMS campaigns are sent only to contacts in a specific country using Dotdigital. This is particularly useful for clients who want to target their SMS campaigns geographically. In this example, we will use the United States, but the same steps can be applied to any country.

Problem

You have been sending SMS to contacts in multiple countries, but now you want to target your SMS campaigns more precisely. Whether you want to send SMS campaigns only to contacts in the United States or tailor different campaigns for various countries, you need to sort your contacts geographically.

Solution

To achieve your objectives, you need to know how to create a segment that ensures only contacts from the desired country receive your SMS messages.

Learn more in Create a segment.

Step-by-step guide to sending SMS only to selected countries

Step 1: Capture US mobile numbers

If you capture mobile numbers through a Dotdigital form, they can limit the form to only capture mobile numbers from the desired country.

Go to Content > Surveys, pages, and forms and create a new form or edit an existing one.
Select your Text box form and in Settings define the following:
- Question type - select Contact mobile number
- Default country - select United States (+1)
- Select the Show only default option.
  This ensures that only US mobile numbers are captured through the form.
Adjust other form settings according to your needs.
Select SAVE and then PUBLISH your form.

Step 2: Create a segment for US contacts

To ensure that SMS campaigns are sent only to US contacts, you can create a segment based on the mobile number country.

Go to Audience > Segments.
Create a new segment with the following rules:
- Mobile number is not empty.
- Mobile number country is equal to United States.
  
  This segment will include only those contacts who have a mobile number and whose mobile number country is the specified country.

Step 3: Send SMS

When sending an SMS campaign, you can select the segment created in the previous step to ensure that the SMS is sent only to US contacts.

Select the segment:

During the SMS campaign setup, choose the segment created for US contacts.
Proceed with the campaign setup and send the SMS.

Step 4: Handle opt-outs

For toll-free numbers, you should include instructions for recipients to reply with "STOP" to opt-out of receiving further messages.

Include opt-out instructions:

Add a line in the SMS message instructing recipients to reply with "STOP" to unsubscribe.
When a recipient replies with "STOP," they are automatically opted out, and their number will be removed from the list.