Keyword Responders

Managing Keywords

Creating a Keyword Responder

Navigate to Settings and locate the SMS settings menu. Click on the Keywords menu link to open up the list of Keywords in your organization. On this page you will be able to see any existing Keywords and create new ones.

Click the Add button in the top right corner to open the Add Keyword modal.

Keyword - This is the actual keyword that will be used to trigger the responder.
Message - Within this text area, you can type up your message (up to 500 characters) and choose to add emojis or add an image.
Lines - This dropdown will allow you to select which phone lines this Keyword Responder will be active on. A single responder can be active across multiple lines.
Actions - Keyword Responder Actions enhance the power functionality of this type of responder. Scroll down to read our Responder Action section for detailed information.

After configuring the details of your Keyword, simply click the "Add" button in the modal and your responder is now active.

Editing & Deleing Keywords

On the Keywords page, you will see a few options for modifying your existing responders.

Editing: To edit an auto-reply, simply click on the row of the responder you'd like to modify. This will open a modal that will allow you to modify the Keyword, Message, Line assignments, and Actions.
Enabling/Disabling: On the page, you will see a column that has a status toggle. By default, all newly created responders will be set to Active. There are some instances where it makes sense to deactivate a keyword. Deactivating will retain the Keyword but will deactivate it from sending messages on the assigned lines. This can be useful if you have Keywords that you want to be able to turn on/off quickly without recreating them.
Deleting: If you want to permanently delete an Keyword, you can click on the trash can icon at the end of the row. You will get a confirmation modal confirming your desire to delete the responder. Please note: deleting a responder will immediately remove any associations to phone lines. A Keyword is not recoverable once deleted.

QR Code Generation

A feature add-on available for keywords is a unique generated QR code. Mobile contacts can scan the QR code and will have the assigned keyword auto-populate on their messaging app that they can then send to the designated phone line. The unique QR code will automatically be generated upon creation of any keyword and can be found in the column labeled "QR Code" on the main Keywords page. Clicking the QR Code logo will bring up the QR code on your screen so that it may be downloaded for collateral use.

Keyword Responder Actions

Keyword Responders have 3 different actions that can be applied to them at any time, this allows a wide variety of uses to better manage mobile contacts. These actions can be found by clicking on the existing Keyword to open the edit modal.

Multiple Actions: Keywords can have multiple actions configured concurrently. This allows for a wide range of scenarios, e.g. supporting an opt in and adding a contact to a list.

Custom Opt-In and Opt-Out Actions

Our platform gives you the ability to define custom keyword responders that will set contacts' opt-in/out status. Some carriers support STOP and UNSTOP by default, but within our platform we offer customization on what triggers an opt-in or an opt-out for a contact. The Capacity platform manages these statuses independent of the carriers to ensure we have the most up to date information.

It can be very beneficial to have options when managing Opt-Out/Ins, especially in offering your customers more intuitive keywords. For example, to collect opt ins, you could define a keyword of START or SUBSCRIBE might be more suitable for your business.

To specify that a Keyword Responder should influence the consent status of a contact, check the box in the setup panel that states "This Keyword needs to update the opt in/out status." After that you will need to specify if it should set the status as opted out or opted in.

Opts In - This will opt the mobile contact INTO communications with the applicable outbound line when they text in this keyword.
Opts Out - This will opt the mobile contact OUT of communications with the applicable outbound line when they text in this keyword.
Opts Out Across All Lines - This will opt the mobile contact out of all lines within your organization. This is to be used vary sparingly as it requires the mobile contact to opt back into each line individually to restore any communication.

Contact List Actions

Keywords can be used to automatically add or remove contacts to/from a specific contact list set up within your Capacity CRM. This can be useful in segmenting your mobile contacts into specified contact lists based off of interests or actions.

Add Contacts to a List - Select this checkbox in the keyword modal and it will surface a dropdown for you to select the desired contact list.
Remove Contacts from a List - Select this checkbox in the keyword modal and it will surface a dropdown for you to select the desired contact list.

Assign to Agent Action

There are instances where it can be useful to automatically assign an incoming SMS conversation to a specific agent. This responder action, when set, allows you to specify which agent should get the auto-assignment of incoming conversations that are triggered by the keyword.

Carrier Compliance & Default Responders

Carrier Compliance Recommended Responders

To abide by a number of regulatory and compliance frameworks for SMS/MMS, there are several important Keyword Responders that every business who is utilizing texting as a channel, should have in place. These responders should be active on any text-enabled line that you are using to interact with your customers or prospects.

Providing Help Information (HELP) - In this instance, it is required that when mobile users text in the word HELP to your text-enabled business line, that you provide information about your business, how to contact you, and the purposes of your messages. An example template is: {Business & Description} Alerts: Help at {source of help #1} or {toll free number}. Msg & data rates may apply. {Message frequency}. Text STOP to cancel.
Managing Opt-Out Requests (STOP) - Many carriers will automatically take action on this Keyword if texted in by a mobile number, but it is required that you also take action. You should setup at least one Keyword Responder that is specifically in place to allow your subscribers to opt out of receiving text messages from your business line. While STOP is most common, others can be used as well (END, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE, and QUIT). It is also required in your first outbound message to them, that you inform your subscribers how to unsubscribe. Mobile users who have used that Keyword Responder should not be contacted again via text by your business on that specific outbound phone line.
Managing Opt-In Requests (UNSTOP - or similar for opting in/subscribing) - Allowing your subscribers to opt-in to receiving messages from your business. This subscription is on a per line basis. While no single keyword is required like HELP or STOP, it is important to instruct the mobile user the specific keyword they can supply to indicate they are opting in to receive texts from you. Examples included START, UNSTOP, SUBSCRIBE, etc.

Default Keyword Responders

To ensure all of our clients are in compliance with the carriers for both Toll-Free and 10DLC numbers, Capacity automatically adds several default Keyword responders to your account. You will have the ability to edit these responders if you choose, even deactivate them. However, we recommend that you leave them on with similar messaging to ensure you are compliant, accurately tracking opt outs and ins, and eliminating failed sends to opted out customers.

HELP - To receive assistance, please call or text us at our support line. Msg & data rates may apply. Text STOP to unsubscribe.
STOP - Texting STOP has unsubscribed you from receiving text messages from this number. Text START to receive to text messages again.
UNSTOP - You have texted UNSTOP and will begin receiving text messages again from this number. Text STOP to unsubscribe.
START - You have texted START and will begin receiving text messages again from this number. Text STOP to unsubscribe.

Best Practices

As a general rule of thumb, it is important to have awareness of all of the responders you have configured across your phone lines. This will ensure that you do not have overlap and potentially create unintended responses to your customers. Our platform does not impose any limitations on the number of responders that you can setup on a given line. Responders include both Keyword Responders and Auto-Replies.

Make note of the existing keyword triggers you have setup across your Keyword Responders. Avoid duplication in both the keyword used and what lines they are assigned to.
It is recommended to keep your keywords short. Typically, keywords are a single word and are easy to type.

Responder Prioritization: In the event that you have multiple responders configured on a phone line AND an inbound text message matches multiple responders, e.g. a Keyword Responder and an after hours Auto-Reply, our platform will prioritize sending the Keyword Responder over the Auto-Reply.

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