Channels
GetPulseRelay works with WhatsApp, email, SMS and RCS. Your contacts, chats, campaigns and reports are shared across all of them. Just connect the ones you want to use.
Connecting a channel
- 1Open Channels from the sidebar. Each channel shows the services you can use and anything you've already connected.
- 2Click Connect on the channel you want, then pick a service.
- 3Enter your connection details. We store them securely, and secret details are never shown again after you save.
- 4Give the connection a name. This helps if you have more than one sender on the same channel.
- 5Click Send test to check everything works before you message real customers.
What you need for each channel
| Channel | Service | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Meta | Nothing to copy: click Connect with Meta on the Get started page. If you'd rather enter details by hand, see Settings. | |
| Our email service (recommended) | Nothing. We send email for you. | |
| Your own email server | Your server address, username, password and the address to send from. | |
| SMS | Twilio | Your Twilio Account SID, Auth Token and a sending number. You'll find these in your Twilio account. |
| RCS | Twilio RCS | Your Twilio Account SID, Auth Token and your RCS agent ID. |
More than one sender on a channel
You can connect several senders on one channel, for example a different WhatsApp number for each country. Campaigns and automatic replies use your default one unless you pick another.
Replies from customers
- WhatsApp messages from customers, and updates on whether your messages were delivered, appear in your shared inbox.
- SMS replies are checked to make sure they really came from Twilio, then added to the same contact's chat.
- If someone replies STOP, they're unsubscribed. If they reply START, they're subscribed again.
- If a phone can't receive RCS, replies come by SMS and stay in the same chat.
- If an email bounces or someone marks it as spam, we stop sending email to that address.
Using channels in campaigns and automations
Every campaign has one main channel and can have a backup. If a WhatsApp message can't be delivered, for example, we can send it by email or SMS instead. See Campaigns for how this works.
- WhatsApp needs an approved template. For email, SMS and RCS you write your own message.
- Email campaigns skip contacts with no email address. SMS and RCS use the contact's phone number.
- Unsubscribed contacts never receive campaigns, on any channel.
Usage and cost
- We keep track of every message you send on every channel. Long SMS messages may count as more than one.
- Messages on every channel count towards your plan's monthly allowance.
- The Analytics page shows how many messages you sent on each channel and roughly what they cost.
Turning a channel off
If you turn off a connection, it stops sending straight away. Messages waiting to send on that channel won't go out, unless the campaign has a backup channel, in which case they're sent that way.
Still stuck? Open a support ticket.