MMS Composer

What is the MMS Composer?

The MMS Composer is a tool that enables you to create engaging MMS messages that you can deliver to your target audience. These messages can contain various types of content. Using the MMS Composer you can create and edit the content of your MMS message.

What is an MMS?

An MMS (multimedia messaging service) is a method to send/receive messages containing multimedia content. While the character limit of a standard text message (SMS) is 160 characters of text only, an MMS can have thousands of characters of text as well as images, videos, audio files, personalized content, vCards, iCal files, PDFs and Apple Wallet® passes.

How do I create an MMS Template?

1. Uploading multimedia into the Workspace: The workspace is where you organize the content to be used in your various MMS messages. You can create albums and folders in your workspace to organize your files.
2. Adding content to an MMS: To build your MMS you can drag and drop the content from your workspace on a slide.
3. Adding text: Add text to a slide by entering the text in the box labeled “Enter Slide Text”.
4. Adding additional slides: Slides are displayed on a strip at the bottom of the MMS composer. Click on an empty slot to add a new slide. Drag the slides along the strip to rearrange their order. You may have up to eight slides per MMS.
5. Other features: The composer allows you to crop your images, videos, and audio files. You can also manage the display time of each slide, allocating the length of time the slide will appear on feature phones.
6. Deleting files versus deleting slides: To delete a piece of content from your workspace, drag it to the trash can icon in the workspace area. To delete a slide, click the trash can icon that appears on the bottom right hand corner of the slide.
7. Preview: Click the preview button in the composer section in order to see an approximation of what the MMS would look like to a customer. This will display an approximate preview of how it will appear on iPhones, Androids, and feature phones.
8. Save: Click the save button. You will be prompted to name the MMS template and provide a subject line for it. You will also be prompted to provide some fallback SMS text in case the MMS is delivered via SMS link and choose to disable the SMS link if desired. To edit this MMS template in the future, visit the MMS template page.

What type of content can I add to an MMS message?

The content that can be added to an MMS message includes images, audio files, videos, text, personalized images, vcards, iCalendars, PDFs and wallet files. Each MMS message may also contain a subject similar to email and/or a fallback SMS text in case the MMS is delivered via SMS link.

Adding an Image to an MMS message

We recommend that you upload images in a 9:16 proportion. Larger pictures are automatically resized for smaller handsets during delivery. You can also add animated gifs to a message. When one slide contains both an image and an audio file, the content will be viewed differently depending on the type of device. Most smart phones will deliver the image file and the audio file as separate entities, while feature phones will play the audio while displaying the image. We found that the optimal resolution across smartphones to be 640px by 1138px or 1080px by 1920px at any file size up to 1.5Mb. For 640px by 1138px, do not put any content of interest in the top 129px and the bottom 89px, and for 1080px by 1920px, do not put any content of interest in the top 218px and the bottom 150px.
Supported Formats: .jpg, jpeg, .gif, .png.
NOTE: Using a .png image with a transparent background may not display the background as transparent on some devices and should be avoided.

Adding an Audio file to an MMS message

Once an audio file has been uploaded, it might not appear in the MMS composer workspace right away; it may require additional time for encoding. You can click the refresh button to see if the encoding has been completed. Audio files can be cropped within the MMS Composer. Once you crop an audio file, you must select the trim/crop button to save the shortened audio file before you place it in your MMS. Both the original and the cropped audio files will be saved to your workspace, and can be used again in a future MMS. We recommend 90 seconds of audio or less so that it will play on most handsets.

Supported Formats: .mp3, .aac

Adding Videos to MMS message

Once a video has been uploaded, it might not appear in the MMS composer workspace right away; it may require additional time for encoding. You can click the refresh button to see if the encoding has been completed. Videos files can be cropped within the MMS composer. Once you crop a video, you must select the trim/crop button to save the shortened video before you place it in your MMS. Both the original and the cropped video files will be saved to your workspace, and can be used again in a future MMS. We recommend using 25-40 second videos for optimized delivery. We will deliver the best quality possible. If the video is too large for the phone or the network we will upload the video to a mobile web page and deliver an SMS with a link to that page.

Supported Formats: .avi, .mov, .mpeg, .mp4, .wmv

Adding Texts to an MMS message

We impose a limit of 5,000 characters of text per slide, but we recommend not exceeding 500 characters of text per slide for maximum readability. The text can include multiple URLs. You may insert variables dynamically in the text. The syntax for insertion is {$variablename|default}. You may insert the name of any variable you create through landing page web forms, CSV imports, or API. The variable name must also be set up within the Tag Mapping page. You may also use a {number} tag. When you add {number} in your MMS or SMS, the tag will be automatically replaced with the recipient’s actual phone number.

Adding Objects to an MMS message

You can insert dynamic pieces of content into an MMS message. These objects are fetched from the object workspace, third-party systems, or other parts of our mobile marketing platform.

Object	Description
Personalized Image	Insert a personalized image template created with the Personalized Image Template Builder.
vCard (Contact)	Insert contact data with a .vcf file. Some devices do not support vCards in the MMS client. We recommend you put a web link to your vCard in the MMS text as well.
iCal (Calendar)	Insert calendar invitations with an iCal file. Some devices do not support calendar events in the MMS client. We recommend you put a web link to your calendar event in the MMS text as well.
PDF	Insert PDF files into your message. Some devices do not support PDFs in the MMS client. We recommend you put a web link to your PDF in the MMS text as well.
Custom Content	Insert custom content into your message by providing the content URL.

Adding a Subject to an MMS message

We have imposed a limit of 80 characters in the MMS Subject. We recommend 40 characters since some phones will not display the full 80 characters.

Fallback SMS Text

We have imposed a limit of 110 characters in the Fallback SMS Text. If you choose to disable sending fallback SMS link, then the character limit will be increased to 160.

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MMS Composer FAQs

Can I edit content that has been saved?

Yes, you can edit saved MMS templates. This option is found on the MMS Templates page.

How do I preview MMS content?

There are three ways to preview MMS content.

• In the MMS Composer Page, select the “Preview MMS” button.
• In the MMS Templates Page, select the “Preview” button.
• In the MMS Templates Page, select the “Send Test” button and enter a phone number to send the MMS to a real mobile device.

Is there a limit to the file sizes that can be uploaded?

The file size limit is 1.5 MB for images, 10 MB for audio, 97 MB for videos, and 2 MB for object files. All files will be transcoded down to fit on the recipients’ phone and network. Each network has its own file size limitations.

Can I dynamically insert a name and other information into each individual MMS?

Yes you can, using dynamic merge tags. Dynamic merge tags are tags in text that can be replaced with subscriber personal data prior to the delivery of your message.

Dynamic merge tags follow the format {$variable|default value}. When you import recipients into a campaign, you can map the personal data using personal tags. Then you would simply replace the $variable with your tag in your SMS/MMS message body and our system will replace the tag with the personal data before the message delivery.

What U.S. carriers support MMS?

All US Tier-1 wireless carriers are supported, including AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile. Some US Tier-2 wireless carriers are supported such as Cricket and Virgin Mobile.

Please note that as of April 2016, you may experience issues with the order of the MMS content in messages that contain passes, vCards, iCals, and PDFs when delivered to Verizon.

Nearly every handset released since 2006 comes with a camera and MMS capabilities. MMS is as widely supported as SMS, since it does not require any application download and works on the phone. All US carriers properly configure their handsets with the MMS settings before selling them to consumers.

What does the message flow look like when an MMS message is too large or contains media that is not compatible with the OS’s messenger?

There are cases when an MMS message is too large to be delivered or the MMS contains media attached that is not compatible with the OS (such as .pkpass files and Android OS). In such cases, instead of sending an MMS, we will send an SMS containing the fallback SMS text instead of the subject and a link that will open to a web page containing all the MMS content. The subject will be shown on top of the web page.