Manual SMS – Captivation Hub

Overview

The Manual SMS action allows you to create a task for a user to manually send an SMS to a contact. This is useful when you want a personalized message sent that requires human intervention. The task created will appear in the Conversations > Manual Actions tab.

Action Name

Manual SMS

Action Description

This action generates a manual task to send an SMS message to a specific contact. The task requires user intervention to finalise and send the message. Users can select a template, add custom values, include trigger links, and test the message before sending.You can also assign the task to a specific user instead of the default contact owner.

Action Details

Field	Description	Mandatory
Action Name	Name of the action to identify it in the workflow.	Yes
Templates	Select an SMS template from the pre-defined templates available.	No
Message	The message body to be sent. This field supports custom values and trigger links.	Yes
Custom Values	Custom values available for personalising the message. Examples include contact name, appointment details, etc.	No
Add Attachment	Option to add attachments to the SMS message via URL.	No
Test Phone Number	A phone number to send a test SMS. Include country code.	No
Assign To	Select a specific user to assign the manual SMS task to. Found under Advanced Settings. If left empty, defaults to the contact owner. If the selected user does not have contact access, the task is assigned to the contact owner or Unassigned if	No

How to Configure

Select Template: Choose a prebuilt SMS template, if applicable. This will automatically populate the message field with the template content.

Enter Message: Write the message you want to send. Use the custom values dropdown to insert placeholders for dynamic information, such as the contact’s name or appointment details.

Add Attachment: If needed, you can include a file by pasting in a URL.

Test SMS: Enter a phone number to preview how the message will appear when received.

Assign To (Advanced Settings): Optionally choose a specific user to assign the task to. This will override the default assignment to the contact owner.

Custom Values and Trigger Links

The Manual SMS action supports both custom values and trigger links within the message body.

For example, you can include links that direct the contact to join a calendar, access a community, or complete a custom form. These links are clickable and can guide the contact toward a specific next step.

Assign To Behavior

The Assign To field in Advanced Settings allows you to assign the Manual SMS task to a specific user instead of the default contact owner. This can be helpful when you want a certain team member to handle follow up tasks regardless of who owns the contact.

Assignment logic:

If a user is selected and has access to the contact, the task will be assigned to that user.

If a user is selected but does not have access to the contact, the task will fall back to the contact owner.

If no user is selected, the task will default to the contact owner.

If neither the selected user nor the contact owner is available, the task will be marked as Unassigned.

Example

Trigger: A lead submits a form on the website.

Action: Create a Manual SMS task for the assigned user to send a follow up message.

Message: "Hi {{Contact Name}}, thank you for filling out our form. Click here to schedule an appointment: [Calendar Link]."

Test Phone Number: +11234567890 for testing the SMS.

In this example, when a lead submits a form, a manual task is created for a user to send a personalized SMS with a link to book an appointment. The message uses custom values to personalize the content and a trigger link to direct the lead to the scheduling page.

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