Each month every client is given 1000 SMS segments to use for free. After that initial 1000, each batch of 1000 SMS segments costs $29.00. That amount is added to your SmartMoving subscription on your next billing cycle. To learn more about SMS usage billing, visit our article, SMS Usage-Based Billing.
A typical segment is made up of 160 characters. If the message contains any nonstandard or special characters, then the message can cost multiple segments. If any of your templates contain a non-standard character, SmartMoving will alert you in your sales templates and communication templates. Below you will find our best practices for reducing the number of segments being used in your SMS templates.
Best Practices
When creating a sales template, the best practice is to use a standard keyboard to manually type out your template. Copying and pasting text from a Word document or other format may insert nonstandard characters some of which may not be visible to the user interface. Not only will the use of emojis and other special characters increase the number of segments used each time that template is sent, but also many SMS messages that contain emojis and nonstandard characters are flagged as spam by the carriers. This means, that the messages will not be delivered to their desired recipients.
What to avoid?
When creating a sales template there are special characters that you will want to avoid using in order to limit the number of segments used each time that template is sent to a customer. For example, it is best to avoid the following special characters:
The use of emojis
Copying texts from other sites including Word documents
The use of non-standard characters such as:
` (Backtick or Grave Accent)
™ (Trademark Symbol)
® (Registered Trademark Symbol)
Where Can I View What Special Characters, I Have Used?
Text Message Usage Page
From the Text Message Usage page, you are able to view your SMS templates. This includes both your SMS sales templates and your SMS templates from the communication section.
From that pop-up window, you will find a column that states how many estimated segments each template is made of and if there are any non-standard characters being used. If there is a non-standard character being used, the template will have an alert in the Non-Standard Character User column.
If there are any non-standard characters being used, we recommend clicking on the title of the template, or the button that will open the template in a new tab and editing the template.
Sales Templates
By navigating to Settings -> Sales -> Sales Templates to the SMS section and selecting a template you are able to view if any non-standard characters are present in that template. By hovering over the alert icon, you will be able to view which non-standard character has been used in the template.
Communication Templates
By navigating to Settings -> Communication -> Email & SMS Templates and selecting a template you are able to view if any non-standard characters are present in that template. By hovering over the alert icon, you will be able to view which non-standard character has been used in the template.
