Configure SMS API credentials and channel surfaces

Welcome. In this video, you will learn how to set up SMS and Journey Optimizer so your organization can start using the SMS channel in their journeys and campaigns. This is a one-time setup.

You will learn how to connect Journey Optimizer to an SMS service provider and how to create an SMS channel service.

Adobe Journey Optimizer currently integrates with the SMS API providers Sinch and Twilio. This partnership gives you the broadest reach with over 600 mobile phone carriers supported in over 150 countries, but before you can begin, you must ensure that you have Journey Optimizer system administrator rights, and if you don’t already have one, you must create an account with either Sinch or Twilio, and you should have the credentials you have received from these SMS providers handy, meaning the API token, the service ID, and the sending phone number. You will need all these to set up the connection.

Now, we are ready to set up SMS in Journey Optimizer. We’ll begin by creating the API credentials. Navigate to Administration, Channels, and under SMS Configuration, select API Credentials. Then, click on “Create API Credential” in order to create a new one. On the next page, choose your provider. From the SMS vendor dropdown, Twilio or Sinch. Sinch is thereby default. We will set up Sinch.

Give the API credential a name and now, paste the service ID and the API token you received from your provider into the fields. Once you’re done and double checked everything is correct, click Submit.

Now, that we’ve successfully connected the provider to our AGO account, we can proceed and create an SMS channel surface, which is required to use SMS as a messaging channel in your campaigns and journeys.

To do this, navigate to Channel Surfaces under Branding. Click “Create Channel Surface.” Give the channel surface a name.

Adding a description is optional, so I will leave this blank. Now, select SMS from the channel dropdown. Next, we need to specify the SMS settings. We will select the SMS type Marketing in this example. You have to create a separate SMS channel surface for transactional messaging.

Select the API credentials we just created and now, add the number the SMSs will be sent from.

It will be a number that the provider has provisioned for you. Finally, you need to define which profile fields corresponds with the end user’s mobile number. With the end user, I mean the people or the profiles who you are trying to target with your SMS. In this case, we’ll simply keep the default field.

Once you’ve made all the specifications, we can go ahead and click Submit.

Once submitted, the channel surface is automatically activated. You can deactivate it by selecting that option when clicking on the three dots next to the surface name. You need to be aware that when you deactivate the channel surface, any actions that are currently using it won’t be affected, however, you won’t be able to use it in any new actions. Now, we’re all set to start authoring and sending SMS text messages. Thank you for watching. -