Advantages and examples of API SMS: what is it and how it can help us
If you’ve asked yourself what APIs are on more than one occasion (and how they can help you in your massive SMS strategy), don’t stop reading because this is the article for you. Today, we want to talk about APIsprecisely, of their multiple uses, and how they work. Let’s go!
One of the main ways to communicate systems is by calling an API. But what is an API? This acronym corresponds to Application Programming Interface. This is a collection of protocols and definitions used to develop and integrate software applications. Any platform or system is usually integrated with a lot of APIs to access services like:
Index
- Sending emails
- Monitoring users
- Communicating data to CRM platforms
That’s why the LabsMobile API is one of the many possibilities to communicate with any software to send SMS. In reality, they are very practical because any software (web, ecommerce, CRM, mobile app, etc) can add the features of SMS communication. Then, in just a few minutes, the software will have access to any mobile user in the world (5.220 million people have a mobile device) and you’ll be able to communicate with them immediately with an open rate of 98% and with a median reading rate of less than 1 minute.
Advantages/Benefits of the SMS API
Now that you know what’s an API and how it works, let’s see what its main advantages are:
- Immediate and automatic communication.
- No need to import or export data manually.
- It’s not necessary to install any software. You just need to code an HTTP REST with any of the API SMS versions.
- It’s compatible with any environment and programming language. We have versions for http/POST JSON, http/POST XML, WebService, http/GET, Mail2SMS, etc. The user needs to choose the version that better suits their needs.
- Widening the characteristics of a software (security, loyalty, communication, etc).
- Simple integration. There are many integrative SMS API versions available to send messages in just minutes.
Many SMS API functionalities
We have seen that the LabsMobile’s API is an excellent resource to improve the sending of massive SMS but let’s see in detail move information about the best features:
- Individual or massive sending.
- Schedule for a concrete day and time.
- Sending concatenated messages (of more than 160 characters).
- Certified messages (with legal validity in legal and administrative procedures).
- Unicode messages (that contain special characters that are not only present in the GSM alphabet): https://www.labsmobile.com/en/api-sms/sms-charset).
- Sending the SMS to any country simply by adding the prefix of the country to the receivers.
- Confirmation of delivery or communication mistakes directly by phone operators.
- Receiving clicks on the URLs of messages.
- The possibility of massive events or campaigns with personalized variables.
- Sending simulated messages that do not generate a cost for integration tests.
- Identifying messages with a label field. Possible applications of stats or invoicing.
- Understanding pending balances
- Consulting updated prices and rates of any country in an individual or massive way.
- Reducing the length of URLs automatically within an SMS. It’s useful to save in the number of the SMS character and to count every click.
- Setup or disable the anti-duplicate filter. This filter detects and does not send messages classified as duplicate (the same message sent more than once to the same number within 60 minutes).
Integrating the API, some things to consider
When integrating any API, it is important to take into account a series of aspects (account preferences, setting up notifications) that can help everything to work correctly. In this article, you’ll find a complete explanation of how to integrat the API where you’ll also find recommendations and good practices to consider during this process.
Safety
When we talk about the internet and personal data, safety is always of vital importance and that is why the LabsMobile API has filters and processes that guarantee safe communications. These are some of them:
- Connection through HTTPS protocol,
- Creation of an API token that preserves the main password of the account.
- Filters by IP. Only the IP that has been setup will be the origin of the call to the SMS API.
- Access to the control panel of the account with 2FA.
- Filters per hour, country, and anti-duplicates.
Examples and use cases of API integration
By reaching this point, with the theory well-learned, let’s go into the practical aspects. Or to the practical cases, to be more exact, to examples and concrete uses of the API integration.
- Appointment reminder: some days before, you send a reminder to the patient or client for them to remember the date they have booked so they remember the appointment and to prevent absences. This system of calendars should be connected to the SMS API.
- Communicating medical tests results. Send SMS with the notification that medical tests are available. The message can contain details or links to access the results in an easy manner.
- Sending OTP codes. It’s more and more usual for informatic systems (payment, banks, intranets, etc) use doble verification systems that require them to ask for a password and another validation system (SMS, fingerprint, facial recognition). In this case, the system that carries out the validation has to be integrated with an SMS API to send the messages with the validation code.
- Alarm or error systems. Be it in automatic processes or when an event takes place, it’s possible to send individual or massive SMS communicating about the situation or an alert situation to the population.
- Reminder of payment. Any institution can remind people of the payment of an installment or a notification of a charge that was not paid. In this case, it’s necessary to sync clients with their data and to communicate with them via SMS so they can pay their debts.
- Notification of stock of a product. In some places or ecommercse, it’s possible to register an alarm when there’s a product that’s out of stock that became available. In this way, people will be notified when the product is available again so they can purchase it online or on site.
- Notification of delivery. It’s very frequent when an item (online or not) has left the warehouse and then the transportation is initiated. In a similar way, transportation companies notify via SMS about the arrival of a product. This type of SMS makes deliveries better because the receiver will be on the alert, waiting for the product to arrive. It’s essential to have the receivers’ data by the transportation system and, in many cases, the user can modify the date and time of delivery.
Advantages and examples of API SMS: what is it and how it can help us
Resources:
Even though we’ve tried to offer you a clear and concise explanation about the API in general and LabsMobile’e one in particular, it’s possible that you still have some doubts. If that’s the case, in these links you can find more information about it:
- Description and manual of the mail SMS API: API SMS POST JSON https://apidocs.labsmobile.com/
- Other versions of SMS API like GET, XML, WebService, Mail2SMS, etc: https://www.labsmobile.com/en/api-sms/documentation
- Examples of code in the most-used languages: https://www.labsmobile.com/en/api-sms/code-examples
- Modules, libraries, and plugins in some of the most well-known platforms: https://www.labsmobile.com/en/api-sms/plugins-and-extensions
- Integration with an API platform without code like Zapier (https://www.labsmobile.com/en/api-sms/plugins-and-extensions/zapier) or Integromat.
- Recommendations and good practices: https://www.labsmobile.com/en/api-sms/suggestions After helping thousands of clients to make the connection or integration with the SMS API, we have created this section with the most important points and the most frequent issues that have been detected. It’s recommended to follow this guide and all the points to be sure that the integration is correct and valid in every case possible.
Technical support thorugh chat, tickets and emails (support@labsmobile.com).
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