Managing SMS/Texting Settings and Automated Messages

1. Click Messaging in the left hand menu
2. Click 'IM and SMS Settings' located at the top right side of the page
3. Settings are broken into tabs: General Settings, IM Settings, SMS Settings, and Standard Messages. When you are adjusting SMS Settings, ignore the IM Settings tab. 
4. Each Messaging service is set-up into a Portal. Select the drop-down list and select the Portal, or Messaging service you wish to edit. 
   

General Settings tab

1. Term to use when referring to the person at your agency in the chat: This will appear in messages sent to the help seeker referring to the Vols-Staff member. For example, if you enter counselor for this setting, then the message that will be sent to the help seeker when a Vols-Staff has joined the session is ‘The counseloer has joined the conversation’. 
2. Minimum security level for monitoring chat: This setting allows you to set the advanced security level that a Vols-Staff member must have to be able to monitor sessions between other Vols-Staff members and a help seeker. Monitoring a session means the Vols-Staff member can see the chat as it is happening, and they can join/take over the session if the counselor needs assistance.
3. Minimum security level to see “All other conversations” queue: This setting allows you to set the advanced security level that a Vols-Staff member must have to be able to see the “All other conversations queue”. You will need to have this setting to be the same or lower than the setting for ‘Minimum security level for monitoring chats’. Seeing the “All other conversations queue” allows the Vols-Staff member to see a list of all of the current conversations and to open any of those sessions to monitor them. This setting does not allow the Vols-Staff member to join/take over any sessions. 
4. Minimum security level to disable messaging or portal: This setting allows you to set the advanced security level that a Vols-Staff member must have to be able to take your portal temporarily offline. During a currently staffed messaging shift, Vols-Staff members that have this enabled, will see a link at the top of their main Messaging page that says ‘Current status: Your organization is currently Online – Click here to set Offline’. If the link is clicked, then your organization will be set as ‘Offline.’ Help seekers will receive your offline message if this link is clicked until you manually click ‘Current status: Your organization is currently Offline – Click here to set Online’ to re-enable your messaging service.
5. Maximum number of concurrent conversations per person: By default, iCarol will not assign a new session to a Vols-Staff member, instead it will put the session request into "Waiting in queue". If you want to have iCarol automatically assign an incoming session to a Vols-Staff member then this setting must be set to any number above zero (0). This number tells iCarol how many active sessions a Vols-Staff member can have at the one time. Once you set a number for this setting, in order for it to be effective, at least one Vols-Staff member who has permission to access chat must be logged into iCarol, they must be assigned to a Messaging shift, and have selected 'New incoming conversations: I am available to have them routed to me' from the Messaging main page. When all three of these things happen, then when a session is started by a help seeker, it will automatically be assigned to whoever has selected "I am available to have them routed to me" up to the maximum number in this settings in a round robin type fashion. Once the maximum number is reached by all Vols-Staff members available, any additional session requests will be sent to "Waiting in queue" to be manually selected by any available user. If this setting is left at zero (0), then any session request will go to 'Waiting in queue', regardless of what the Vols-Staff has selected for the setting "New incoming conversations" from the Messaging main page. Many clients leave this setting at zero (0) when their Vols-Staff are also answering phones, or performing other tasks while taking messaging sessions. Regardless how this setting is set, Vols-Staff can manually take and engaged in as many active messaging sessions as they want. If you want to limit this, you will have to set internal policies. This setting can only be accessed by a member of the iCarol Support team. If you would like the setting adjusted to something other than 0, then contact the iCarol Support team. 
   

SMS Settings tab

1. SMS initial message: is the first (optional) auto message that is sent when an SMS visitor comes to chat. This area is useful for STOP instructions. Nothing is sent if this area is left blank. An example of a message you might want to set is ‘Welcome to Elmdale text line. Reply yes to continue or STOP to cancel. Msg rates may apply.’ Read this help article to learn more about the "STOP" functionality, and adding additional Key Words and Auto Responses. 
2. SMS welcome message: this is the second (optional) auto message that is sent when an SMS visitor comes to chat, and it will be sent after the SMS initial message.
3. SMS response when visitor is waiting in queue: this is the message that will be sent to the SMS visitor when they are waiting in queue.
4. Settings to Test Mobile Numbers: enter mobile numbers here that are used by your organization for testing purposes. SMS Registration will be required each time this number initiates a new Chat.
5. SMS response when your agency is offline: this is the message that will be sent to SMS visitors who text your number while your agency is ‘Offline’.
6. SMS Handling Instructions: the message typed here will be available to your workers from within the chat screen. They can click on the icon associated with "Handling Instructions", and this message will appear which can be used to offer guidance on how to handle SMS conversations. 
7. Guidelines and policies for SMS: this is the message that will be sent to SMS visitors after they complete the registration.
8. Require registration for new users: if you would like new SMS visitors to register (and receive the above message) then turn this setting on. Assistance from the iCarol Support Team is required to initially activate this setting.
9. Optional auto-response: when registration is not required, this message will be sent to SMS visitors at the beginning of the conversation. An example of a message you might want to set is ‘Your standard message and data rates may apply’.
10. Hide mobile number in conversation screen: this setting allows you to determine if your staff should be able to see the visitors mobile number in the conversation.
11. Enable SMS area restriction: this setting allows you to restrict SMS visitors based on their geographic location, which is based on their cell phone number.  It is important to keep in mind when using this feature for SMS conversations, location lookup based on a phone number is not always perfectly accurate, as a prefix can actually be shared across multiple towns, and since people can now take their number with them when they move. 
12. SMS Coverage Area Settings: after you have turned on the setting to "Enable SMS restriction", you can add specific coverage areas here. Remember, their area will be based off their phone number, which is not always an accurate reflection of their location, so use this tool with caution. 

Note about sending SMS/Text character limits

The maximum number of characters that can be sent in one SMS/Text message from an SMS/Text Messaging conversation in iCarol is 1,600. This means all fields above, and in the field where messages are sent during an SMS/Text conversation by your vols-staff are limited to 1,600 characters. 

Standard Messages tab:

1. The settings on this tab will be applied to the SMS channel, IM channel, or you can choose to have it apply to both for the selected Portal (if you have multiple Portals in your Agency).
2. You can create custom messages you'd like to have in your system, so your counselors won't have to type them out each time. Typical messages might include these topics: Abusive Language warning, Greeting, Goodbye. There is no functional limit to the number of custom messages; however, the list of messages shows up in a pull-down menu, so keep the size of the menu in mind when you consider the ease of use for your counselors.
3. If you have multiple Portals in your Agency, then from any Portal you can choose to view a list to “Edit (visible to all portals) messages”, which will show you all Standard Messages in all Portals. Or, you can choose to view a list of “All”, “IM”, “SMS”, or “(IM and SMS) Shared” Standard Messages for the selected Portal.
4. Note: the difference between “All” and “(IM and SMS) Shared” is that “All” will show all of the Standard Messages for the selected Portal; “(IM and SMS) Shared” is a setting you can choose when you are creating a Standard Message, so selecting “(IM and SMS) Shared” will only show Standard Messages marked as such. 
   

SMS Settings

1. SMS initial message
1. Sample 1: Welcome to Elmdale text line. Reply yes to continue or STOP to cancel. Msg rates may apply.
2. SMS welcome message
1. Sample 1: Thank you for texting us today. How can I help you?
3. SMS response when visitor is waiting in queue
1. Sample 1: Thank you for texting us today. Someone will be with you shortly. 
4. SMS response when your agency is offline
1. Sample 1: We are currently offline; please return [list available days/hours]
5. SMS handling instructions: these are for your staff’s use during the chat, accessible by clicking on an icon at the bottom of their chat window, which will open the instructions for them to follow.
1. Sample 1: As a reminder please note the following policies and guidelines for conducting Instant Messaging conversations with people:
1. Do not ever disclose any identifying information about you including name contact information or anything else.
2. Do not disclose the location of our offices to anyone.
   
3. Do not ask for consumer’s cell number
   
6. Optional auto-response
1. Sample 1: Your standard message and data rates may apply.
   

HELP and STOP Messages: These messages are set-up during the set-up of the number you will use for SMS.  If you ever want to change either of these messages, please submit a ticket to iCarol Support so we may assist you.

Standard Messages

1. Greeting: Welcome to X chat. How can I help you today?
2. Ask About Location: Hi. Before we start, what zip code, city, OR at least area/region are you in? This just helps me search for the best resources during our conversation. 
3. Abusive Language Warning: If you continue to use that kind of abusive language, I am going to terminate this conversation based on our policies. 
4. Abusive Language Termination: Due to abusive language we are terminating this session according to our policies.
5. Goodbye: Thank you for coming to chat today, I hope you received the help you were looking for. Please come back to chat if you need further assistance, or text or call us at xxx-xxx-xxxxx.