Before you can send an SMS to a Marketing List, Act-On needs to know which field on that list holds the cell phone number. This is a one-time setup per list: add a Mobile Phone field if one does not exist, then map it to the Contact's Cell Phone system field. Lists that skip this step show as ineligible when you try to pick them as recipients.
Who does this: Marketing ops or Administrators preparing lists for SMS
Time needed: 5 minutes per list, assuming the Mobile Phone field already exists
Why this matters: The ineligible icon in the SMS recipient picker means one of two things - the list has no phone numbers in it, or it has phone numbers but no field mapped as Contact's Cell Phone. Identifying the field turns an unsendable list into a usable one without re-importing anything.
In plain English: Open your list, go to More Actions > Identify List Columns, and map the phone field to Contact's Cell Phone. That is it.
Add a Cell Phone field
If your Marketing List does not already have a phone number field, add one. The field must be called Mobile Phone.
- CRM users: How do I add fields from my CRM to Act-On?
- Non-CRM users: Add New Fields to Your Lists
Identify the Cell Phone field
Do this for each list you plan to send SMS to.
- Go to Lists > Marketing Lists and click the list name to open it.
- At the top right, click More Actions > Identify List Columns.
- Find the field containing the mobile phone number and map it to the System Usage field Contact's Cell Phone.
Next steps
- How to Create an SMS Message: once the field is identified, the list is eligible as a recipient.
- Build Your SMS Opt-In List: even with the field mapped, only opted-in numbers receive messages.