Broadcasts by Importing File
Learn how the Broadcast feature on Zoko helps you reach out to a list of customers imported from a file.
Broadcast is the most powerful feature that allows you to send messages to several customers through a single click by importing a file. You must import your contact list into an Xlsx file before sending a broadcast to the customers. This is comparable to sending messages in a WhatsApp group.
To do this:
1. Go to Apps.
2. Select Broadcast.
3. Click on New Broadcast.
4. The broadcast name is generated based on the date and time of creation of the broadcast. You can change it to a name of your preference.
5. Select the language of the template from the dropdown menu.
6. Templates will be displayed as per the language you select. You can select any of your own approved template that you want to send. Refer to our article on How to create a template.
7. Click on Add recipients.
8. Click on Import from File.
9. If you do not want to send a broadcast to the receivers, add them here under "do not send to."
Note: The Archived and Opt-Out tags are set by default, but you can remove them if you want to transmit.
10. Download import file by clicking on Download Xlsx.
11. Open the file and fill in all the required details:
(i) In the first WhatsApp column, enter customer's phone numbers, including the country code. For example, if the country code for the United States is +1 and the number is 8130521561, the number should be formatted as follows: 18130521561, without any special characters or spaces.
(ii) In case you are sending a media broadcast then you will have to paste the media link in the variable {{1}} column.
Pro tips: Create media links using Zoko’s link creator from Apps and then copy and paste the links. Refer to our article on How to create links using link creator apps.
Note: Remember to double-check the media links inside the Xlsx file, if the links are different, the broadcast will fail. Refer to our article on How to do a Media Broadcast.
(iii) Next, you will have to type the information for the variables in the chosen template.
(iv) If your template has a button then you will have to add the link under “Button Payload” inside the Xlsx file.
Always remember that while adding information to an Xlsx file, you should avoid adding extra space. The broadcast will fail if you add the excess space with information.
12. Once you have filled in all the information in the Xlsx file, then save the file and upload it on the dashboard by clicking on Upload. You can see the uploaded data here.
13. You can also send a test message by hovering over any row, clicking on three dots, and then clicking on "Send test message." This helps in quickly checking if the data has been prepared correctly.
14. Lastly, as per your requirement, if you want to send ithe broadcast instantly, click on Send now or if you want to send it later, click on Schedule.
That's it, your broadcast has been successfully created and sent. You can check the latest statistics of the broadcast by referring to our article How to get the latest broadcast data.
Keywords: Bulk broadcast, Broadcast using Import contact.
