Personalization in the SMS Composer works similarly to personalization in the Email Message Composer, but with the notable difference that you will define a Max length.

Max length is the maximum number of characters that a personalization can reach before the Fallback text is used. The Fallback text cannot exceed the Max length. This protects the length of your message - an important consideration for using your SMS Credits efficiently.

Your Recipient will receive Fallback text in their SMS instead of the personalization if their value exceeds the Max Length or if the Recipient does not have any data for that field.

Example

• Field: First Name
• Max length: 6
• Fallback text: friend

Any Recipient who has a name longer than 6 characters will receive the Fallback text instead, so your message never exceeds the 160 character length.

• George's name is 6 characters and that fits into your SMS. He will receive a text with his name.
• Stephanie's name is 9 characters, which exceeds the Max length and is too long for the SMS Message you are sending. She will receive a text with the word "friend" instead.

Instructions

To add Personalization to your SMS:

1. Click on the Personalization icon
2. Select a Personalization field type (Recipient List Field, Sender Field)
3. Choose an available field from the drop-down list
4. Enter a Max length and the alternative Fallback text
5. Click Select

Act-On will insert a Personalization variable into your message that is contained in brackets: {{={{First Name(6)}}|friend}}. Do not change the content between the brackets.

Once you insert the Personalization, we will reserve the number of characters equal to the Max Length of characters you defined. This means that the character count is always greater than or equal to what the Recipient will receive.

Preview Personalization

By default, a personalized fields show with a placeholder in the message preview equal to the Max length: (XXXX).

You can preview personalization with a sampling of contacts by selecting a Recipient from the drop-down menu in the preview window.