Learn the basics to ensure a high completion rate:

Message Length

When you enter content into a Send Message action, TextIt supports text of up to 4096 characters.

Channels, however, have their own character limit per message. Because that limit depends on the channel type you're using, each message action has a character counter beneath the message input to help you keep track.

If you hover over the character counter, a pop-up shows how many characters the text has and how many messages we estimate it will use. With SMS, for example, the limit is 160 characters per message, so the counter shows you when you reach the end of the first message:

Educating your contacts on your service's intended purpose lessens the amount of content you'll need to fit into each message. This can be accomplished through marketing efforts, demonstrations, and training sessions.

Flow Length

Stating the length of a flow in the first message is a small but important step toward increasing a flow's completion rate. It tells contacts up front how much is required to complete the flow, serves as a subtle reminder that the interaction is automated, and makes uncategorized responses less likely:

Adhere to Industry Standards

• Provide an opt-out (STOP) and assistance (HELP) keyword in your initial message to satisfy regulatory requirements. Twilio handles these keywords itself, so what matters is that those words appear somewhere in the message. Refer to this article for more information about managing opt-ins and opt-outs.

• Establish 2-way messaging. An easy way to do this from the start is to have your contacts start your flows using keyword triggers. Once contacts have entered your flow, they will respond asynchronously with varying answers.

• Vary message content. If you're sending out a large broadcast, consider the number of unique words in each message, as large numbers of identical messages may irritate a carrier. An easy way to vary messages is to reference variables in them. The simplest is each recipient's first name (@contact.first_name), but you can create and reference other variables as you see fit.

Clarity

Be clear with your contacts about the types of responses you're looking for and what to expect from your flow. We advise listing the accepted responses in each question where you can, to increase response accuracy. In the example below, we're showing students the replies we expect when we ask how they usually get to campus: BUS, CAR, BIKE or WALK. In this case, a short list is enough; in others, you may need to give a longer explanation.

Use response rules to define acceptable answers and reduce the chance of receiving responses in an unwanted format. The more precise the responses, the more accessible and better organized your data will be.

In the example pictured below, we ask contacts how they usually get to campus. We've used multiple choice response rules to define the acceptable range of answers. These answers will be stored as values in a flow result called Commute.

With the response rule has any of the words, any answer that doesn't contain at least one of the words listed for a category will be categorized as "Other."

Redirect Errant Responses

In rare instances, a contact may misinterpret a question or command and respond with a value that doesn't match the response rules you've created. To redirect these responses, connect the "Other" category to a node that restates the correct response format, then connect that node back to the original node:

Language

Make sure your content is appropriate to your target audience. This can be accomplished by:

• Designing messages that are appropriate for all ages.

• Using local terminology.

• Using popular local abbreviations.

While engaging Liberian youth, UNICEF translated the following questions using local, abbreviated language:

• "Are you aware of the Ebola disease" became "do pple no abt Ebola."

• "What information source do you trust" became "which 1 will pple take on d info abt Ebola."

• "What has changed the most in your community because of Ebola" became "wat bother U d most abt Ebola."

Also see our article on message content best practices.

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