Well, fellow API enthusiasts, we just launched something new that should get your attention. Something that pairs perfectly with email. Something that opens up new doors for an improved customer relationship. Something that we, as a transactional solution leader, needed to bring: Short Text Messaging!
Commonly known by the sweet name SMS, it’s one of the most efficient channels of communication that can boost your contact engagement!
As an API wizard, there are two main factors that you usually consider: how useful is this new integration, and how easy is it to implement? We take both these factors into account when developing API solutions, and so after months of hard work, here comes the newest one – our SMS API. This is a feature for those who love simple and effective APIs, allowing you to send SMS all around the world in just 5 lines of code!
Right now, this release is focused on transactional messages, but we aim to evolve these features with new components in the future. As a developer, if you see room for improvement and ways to collaborate with us, your feedback will help us make this feature even greater!
So, why is the SMS API useful to you?
Text messaging is one of the most impactful channels for direct communication. According to the Mobilesquared report, 90% of SMS are opened and read within 3 minutes after reception, and 72% of users are interested in receiving transactional SMS.
Given these figures, SMS sending presents a huge opportunity for businesses to engage with their clients.
For instance, you may want to increase security by enabling two-factor authentication for your users, send them useful notifications to increase customer engagement, or display payment confirmations on their phones to verify successful transactions. All of the above benefit from instant sending and a quick way of viewing the messages – and what is quicker than checking your phone to see the SMS you just received?
Any requirements before I start sending?
To send SMS messages, you need two things – funds in your SMS wallet and a Bearer token to authenticate your requests.
Token authentication is a different method from the one used for emails, but just as easy. Simply create your token in the front-end, then use the token value in the Authorization header of your payload. For security purposes we don’t keep the token values – once you create it, you need to copy it locally in order to use it.
Time for some code, don’t you think?
We’ve talked enough about the benefits of sending transactional SMS – it’s time to see how it’s done, and what else is possible with Mailjet’s SMS API!
Send your SMS
Sending an SMS message is done with a simple HTTP call on the /sms-send endpoint. The payload consists of a JSON body with 3 properties – To (recipient’s phone number), From (customizable sender ID) and Text (the message content).
Nothing to it, right?
Detailed Error and Success Payloads
In order to help you quickly find sending issues, we implemented strict checks on your input payload. This means you’ll get synchronous feedback on what went wrong, scaling down your debugging time. See the below example of an error payload:
The success reporting is also quite detailed, providing information about, among other things, the message sender and recipient, Status and Cost.
What about Statistics?
You can easily retrieve lists of SMS messages with an HTTP call on the /sms endpoint. You can filter by message delivery status, recipient’s phone number, time period etc.
The response will include a list of messages matching the conditions you have set with the filter values, starting from the most recently created one.
In case you only need the count of the messages, use the /sms/count endpoint instead, and the response will show the number of messages matching your filter settings.
You will also be able to export lists of messages using the /sms/export endpoint.
Where can I learn more?
See our dedicated SMS API Guide to learn how to use its capabilities. And, of course, take a look at the SMS API Reference or detailed information on the endpoints, properties and available filters.
What’s Next
Glad you asked. Sending transactional messages is just the first step into the SMS world and the beginning of a long series of awesome developments for Mailjet’s API users. Here’s what is on the agenda for the next few months:
- Beyond Transactional: Additional features to the V1 will allow you to book your own short code for sending SMS and MMS, as well as enhanced tracking and statistics.
- Marketing campaigns: By building bridges between emails and SMS to manage your contacts or your marketing campaigns, you will be able to engage your customers in a new yet more accurate multichannel experience.
- Conversational Messaging: 2-way SMS or the possibility to retrieve responses to any SMS you send with us will establish the bedrock for any automated marketing, chat apps or bots.