Workato is a fantastic tool for automating business processes using the apps you use all the time. With the ClickSend connector in Workato you can now send SMS and MMS whenever an event occurs in connected apps. You can also use an incoming text message as a trigger to automate an action in your connected app.
Follow our guide to set up SMS and MMS in Workato.
Prerequisites
You will need a ClickSend account: create one here.
On the left menu, go to Projects>Recipes>Create Recipe.
Name your recipe for your reference and choose a project. Your recipe will be saved at that location.
Choose a starting point and start building. In this example, we've chosen 'Trigger from an app'.
Here is what the Workato canvas looks like. You can use either an app or HTTP as a trigger.
Add automated SMS to your Workato workflows
Workato has 200+ apps you can connect with.
In this example, we've added an action from Trello as the trigger. We're going to create a recipe that sends automated SMS notifications whenever there's a new or updated card in Trello.
Once you have added your trigger, click the plus button to add an action.
Look for ClickSend SMS app.
Select Send SMS action.
Create a connection by adding your ClickSend API credentials.
Now let's configure Send SMS action fields. You can fill in the fields with static or dynamic values. If the trigger app is capable to fetch phone number data then we can pull it through dynamically into the recipe. Here we have an example below. We're using both static and dynamic values in this action; the recipient number remaining static, while the message has dynamic values. When the message sends, these dynamic values will populate with data pulled from trigger app - Trello in this case.
Optional fields: you can also add the optional fields for sender number and custom string.- Sender number is where you enter the from number of your message; it will show as the alpha tag for recipients. The field can allow your purchased dedicated number, personal number or business name (country permitting). If you leave it blank, it will automatically use one of our free shared numbers. - Custom string is for your message reference. It will show on all reports and will be recorded on any replies.
Save your automation and activate it by clicking the Start Recipe button.
And that's it! Your nominated phone will receive automated SMS notifications when cards are created or updated in Trello.
Add MMS to your Workato workflows
Our send MMS action allows you to add automated multimedia messaging to your Workato recipes. Send multimedia files up to 250kB (or 100kB if it's a gif - more info). We support the following file types:
jpg/jpeg
gif (moving or static)
mp4
mpeg
Create a connection by adding your ClickSend API credentials. If you have already created a connection in the past, you can use your existing one or create a new one.
Fill in the required fields. Just like with the SMS action, you can use static or dynamic values - or both. When the MMS sends, the dynamic values will populate with data coming from trigger app. If the trigger app is capable to fetch phone number data then it can pull dynamically straight through to the automation. In the example below, however, we're using a static recipient value.
Media URL - this is the multimedia that you want to send in your MMS message. It is a required field and only accepts URLs ending in .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .mp4 and .mpeg.
Optional fields - if you expand this option, you can see additional options for sender number and custom string.- Sender number is where you include the From number of your message; which displays as the alpha tag to the recipient. Unlike with the Send SMS action, this field only accepts your ClickSend dedicated number. - Custom string is for your message reference. It will show on all reports and will be be recorded on any replies.
Save your automation and activate it by clicking the Start Recipe button.
And you're done! MMS will be sent to the phone number specified every time a trigger event takes place.
