Some messages just can't wait in an inbox. 📱 A deadline reminder, an interview confirmation or a nudge to accept an offer often lands better as a text than as an email. Full Fabric sends SMS messages through an integration with MessageBird (now known as Bird). In this article we'll show you how to connect your MessageBird account, how to text a profile directly, and how to send SMS messages automatically from your workflows!

Once the MessageBird integration is set up, there are two ways to send an SMS message to a profile:

Every message sent to a profile is logged in that profile's SMS tab, with the number it was sent to, its delivery status, who dispatched it and when.

➜ Good to know: SMS in Full Fabric is outbound only. Recipients can't reply to your messages through Full Fabric, and there are no bulk SMS campaigns or reusable SMS templates. If you need to reach a large group, use an automated workflow (see below) or an email campaign instead.

You'll need two things in place before you can send your first text:

1) Your own MessageBird (Bird) account. Full Fabric doesn't provide phone numbers or SMS credit. Your institution signs up with MessageBird directly, buys credit, and chooses a sender number or name there. MessageBird bills you for every message sent, at its own rates for each destination country. Further ahead this article we'll explain how to connect your Bird account to Full Fabric.

2) The SMS module switched on for your Full Fabric instance. Please note this isn't the MessageBird integration, is the SMS module of Full Fabric. Once enabled, it adds a new tab on profiles called SMS, which you will later use to launch one-to-one messages, see delivery logs, message tracking, etc. This module is off by default. Ask your Customer Success Manager, to switch it on for you.

➜ Good to know: Your two-factor authentication (2FA) codes are not affected by any of this. Full Fabric sends 2FA codes through its own account, whether or not you connect MessageBird. Read more in Protecting accounts with 2-Factor Authentication and Passkeys.

Connecting MessageBird takes two values from your MessageBird account: an access key (Full Fabric calls it the Token) and an Originator, the sender name or number your recipients will see.

➜ Good to know: Make sure you copy a live key, not a test key. MessageBird only checks requests made with a test key and never delivers them, so your messages would silently go nowhere. See MessageBird's guide to creating access keys for more detail.

1. Click the Gear icon in the top right corner to open General Settings

2. Scrol until the Infrastructure section, and click on MessageBird

3. Click Add details

4. Paste your access key into the Token field

5. Enter your sender name or number in the Originator field

6. Save your changes

That's it! There's no separate on/off switch: as soon as a token is saved, Full Fabric uses it to send your SMS messages. Without a token, no SMS messages can be sent.

➜ Good to know: If you leave Originator empty, your messages will show Full Fabric as the sender. Most institutions use their own name, for example Admissions of Primrose University. Some countries restrict alphanumeric sender names, so check MessageBird's rules for the countries you text.

Once the module is on, every profile page has a new SMS tab, sitting between Emails and Letters.

The SMS area of the profile is composed by a set of columns that give you important informations about the SMS messages previously sent to that profile:

➜ Until the first message is sent, the tab simply reads No messages yet! Click on the compose button to get started.

The real magic happens when texts go out on their own! The 'Send SMS' action is available in automated workflows for Offers, Applications, Classes, Forms, Events and Lifecycle Workflows, so you can text profiles when they register for an event, submit an application, receive an offer and much more. If you're new to automations, start with our article on Automated workflows.

6. Set your exit condition and save the workflow. Voilá!

➜ Good to know: You can combine the SMS action with a Wait action to send a text a set number of days after the trigger, or a set number of days before a key date such as the application close date or class start date. For example, a reminder text 3 days before the application deadline is a classic! ⏰

No. SMS in Full Fabric is outbound only, so any replies are not received in Full Fabric. If you'd like profiles to get back to you, include an email address or a link in your message.

Not at the moment. SMS messages are sent one at a time from a profile, or automatically through a workflow. To reach a group, set up a workflow whose trigger and conditions match that group.

You do, through your own MessageBird account. Every message is charged by MessageBird at its rate for the destination country, so keep an eye on your MessageBird balance. If you run out of credit, messages won't be delivered.

Unlike the Send email action, the SMS action has no marketing setting. If a text is promotional, add a condition to your workflow so it only reaches profiles who have agreed to receive marketing by SMS.