Creating Contacts and Managing Groups Video Tutorial

*Following the video there is a transcript of the same content for those who prefer to read the material.*

Transcript

There are THREE primary ways to create contact groups:

• Lists of contacts can be uploaded via spreadsheet by clicking Import Contacts. You can also use an API. If you’re using an API the group name must be included as a parameter in the script. Once contacts are imported, they are automatically added to a group with the same name as the file you imported.

• Within a flow, you can attach an action -- to “add contact to a group” or “remove contact from a group” to a split-step to move multiple contacts between groups instantly.

• Finally, there’s a way to manually edit a contact’s group membership through the contacts tab.  We don’t recommend doing this for large groups, but it can be helpful in situations where you want to edit individual contact membership. To remove a contact from a group via the contacts tab, click the group from which you want to remove your contact, check the box to the left of the contact whom you'd like to remove, then click the "remove from group" icon that appears above your contacts. 

• You could also go into the contact directly and manage all of their group memberships at once-- Simple! 

You’ll want to think about: 

1. The main groups you serve. To identify them, think about the end-user (or contact’s) journey through your organization as a service provider. 

2. Edge cases.  Who doesn’t fit with the neatly organized groups you just imagined? Why? Feel free to pause this video and jot down some notes, if that’s helpful.
   

Once you’ve got your main groups down, and you’ve given your edge cases some thought, next, you’ll want to think about:

• When contacts might naturally leave groups 

• When contacts might be added to groups

• When contacts might be part of multiple groups

• Opt outs

• Opt ins

An opt-out is someone who requests to be removed from a list. Typically, users text “STOP” to remove themselves from the list -- but quick tip: you can set up triggers using different words - like DECLINE or UNSUBSCRIBE to remove  people from a group, too.

An opt in is a contact who took an action to enroll in your program.  The same quick tip applies here: you can set up triggers using different words - like RESUBSCRIBE or JOIN to add people to a group.

Take a look at the note referencing TCPA compliance.  It’s of the utmost important that you make sure your opt-out and opt-in processes are user-friendly, compliant, and seamless.

If you haven’t already, ask our team about our AI-powered platform-wide opt-out or to obtain our standard template for your account!

Split by Group Membership. 

The function of this allows you to be confident you’re filtering the right people out. 

Finally here are some guideposts for your contact management approach:

• Ground in your organizational or business objectives - why does your job exist? What are you accountable to accomplish?
• Decide on team-level strategy or individual-level strategy 
• Center your relationship with your contacts. Today, we talked about them in the abstract, but we at CCL know they are people with needs, and hopes, and distractions and ancestors and a LOT competing for their attention.  Building an engaging relationship with the people you serve doesn’t happen overnight or rest on one single message; we build trust through connection over time. Consider asking your people what kind of text messages they would value most, and build from there.
• Stay compliant! It’s typical to have questions about compliance and the rules and guidlines can vary based on industry. Consult with your leadership for best practices, and should you want to consult with the CCL team, let us know. 

Resources/Documentation:

Add the Contact to a Group / Remove the Contact from a Group