MessageDesk allows you to store and manage your contacts. In this article we'll go over the basics of our Contacts and Groups module - outlining how to create contacts, add contacts to groups and why Groups are important.
Contacts Overview
In the Contacts module, you'll be able to view, create and import all your contacts.
In the Contacts module, you'll see all your contacts listed out. To find a specific contact simply search for them by their first name, last name or phone number and press "enter".
You can click on a contact to expand their profile. This is where you can edit their information, create custom fields and send a text message to them.
Click the vertical 3 dots to quickly text the contact, block the contact or delete them altogether.
Creating a Contact
If you can't find a contact or want to create a new one simply click the "Add Contact" button in the top right. After clicking you'll get a pop up like below:
You can also upload contacts in bulk via spreadsheet by clicking "Import Contacts".
Check out this article to learn how to import contacts with our CSV Import Tool.
Sort Contacts into Groups
Otherwise, the most popular way to use the Contacts module is to quickly add contacts to groups. You can do this by multi-selecting contacts and saving them to a Group.
Once contacts are selected, you can click "Save for Later" to save them to an existing group, create a new group or "Save them" as you continue searching for additional contacts.
Groups Overview
Groups allow you to organize your contacts into different sub-categories. Once a group is made, you can text all group members with a Broadcast or organize your Inbox by group members using Inbox Views.
You can find or create new groups from the "Groups" module of the app. Here you'll be able to add existing contacts to a Group manually or create a filter to add contacts automatically.
In the Groups module you'll notice we already provide you with a few default groups you can use:
All contacts: a group that contains - you guessed it - all of your contacts
All MessageDesk Users: a group that contains you and all your teammates (people you've invited to your MessageDesk account)
Opt-Out Group: A grouping of any contacts who replied "Stop" to a text message
No Mobile Phone Number: A group of contacts who don't have a mobile phone number (useful if you sync contacts from a third party)
Anonymous Leads: A group of contacts who were not added to your account but texted your MessageDesk phone number (You may want to delete these contacts or update their first/last names)
In MessageDesk we have 4 types of Groups.
Static Groups: Manually adding Contacts
Filter Groups: Setting a filter to add Contacts automatically
Autoresponder Groups: These groups relate to any autoresponders you've created. When a contact gets an autoresponse, they'll be added to these groups
Contact Form Groups: These groups relate to any Contact Forms you've created. When a form gets a new submission the contact gets added to this group
Manually Adding Contacts to a Group:
From the contacts module, you can select contacts and choose to add them to an existing group by clicking "Save for Later". Simply select the contacts you'd like to add and then click "Save for Later" in the top right.
You can also import contacts into a Group from a spreadsheet - you can learn how in this article.
Setting a Filter to Groups:
Contacts get grouped based on logic rules and operators that you create. These rules can apply to custom field values or a contact's profile information.
Groups with a filter will automatically update as new contacts fit the stated rules.
An example Group could look like this: "All contacts who have '(775)' as their area code"
Groups with a filter added are great for large groups (20+ contacts) or groupings of people that will change over time.
Learn how to make your first filter group here.
Autoresponder Groups:
Autoresponder Groups are created automatically and relate to an autoresponder keyword you set up.
These groups get contacts added to them and removed automatically as your contacts respond with the opt-in or opt-out Keyword for that group.
Contact Form Groups
Contact Form Groups are similar to Autoresponder groups in the sense that they relate to a specific feature in the app.
Contact Form Groups contain all the contacts who have submitted the form at some point in the past.
In general, Contact Forms are a great way to generate new contacts and update information for existing one's. You can learn more about Contact Forms here
