Group text messaging
The Group SMS feature allows you to set up a “group chat” in which responses are sent to the whole group within a contact list. This can be a useful feature for team collaboration, emergency notifications, etc.
How to set up Group SMS
First, create a contact list for the group. If you are the sender, include yourself as a contact in order to receive a copy of all the correspondence.
You may need to purchase a dedicated number for this feature. If you’re only planning on using the account for this use case, it may not be necessary but the account is used for a variety of sending purposes, then you’ll want to segregate the sending and responding of the Group SMS to a single SenderID (i.e. number).
In your message settings, go to Email SMS. Select “Get message from email body only” and ensure the email you plan on sending from is listed in the “Allowed Addresses”. If not, add it now.
Finally, set up an automation in Message Settings so that all responses to this Sender ID / Number are forwarded to the group.
You are now ready to test the feature.
- Go to your contact list and click on Group SMS
- Copy the custom email for that contact list
- Now go to your email inbox and send your message to the recipient above.
All your contacts, including yourself will receive the notice. When anyone replies to the thread, the whole group will get the response.