Navigate to: Message Center > Mass Communication
Use Shepherd's mass communication feature to send a text message or email to all clients or a specific segment. This is useful for unexpected closures, adjustments to hours, and monthly promotions or educational messages.
What You Need to Know
Mass Communication must be enabled in the user's role before they can access it. To enable it, go to Admin > Users > Roles, edit the role, and check Mass Communication under the Admin tab.
Mass Communication can be sent to one client. The workflow is the same regardless of audience size.
All outbound SMS messages consume message credits, including individual texts sent via Mass Communication. Learn more about Credit Usage →
Mass messages can be sent immediately or scheduled for a future date and time.
Clients who reply with opt-out keywords are automatically removed from future SMS. They must reply with an opt-in keyword to resubscribe. See Opt-out and Opt-in of Texting below.
Quick Start Guide
Navigate to Message Center > Mass Communication
Click +New Mass SMS/Email
Select SMS or Email and click Choose
Enter a Template Name and click Done
Compose your message and click Next Step
Select your audience — manually or using filters — and click Next Step
Review your recipient count, then send immediately or schedule for later
Create a New Message
To create a mass communication message in Shepherd:
Navigate to Message Center > Mass Communication
Click +New Mass SMS/Email
Select SMS or Email and click Choose
Enter a Template Name and click Done
Template Name
This is the title/purpose of your mass email/text. You will be able to select a previously created template for SMS, next. Also, this is NOT the subject line for your email.
1. Content
The Content step is where you compose your message. What you'll see depends on whether you selected SMS or Email.
For SMS:
Type your message directly, or select from an existing SMS template in your account
Messages over 160 characters use 2 credits; the maximum length is 320 characters
Click Next Step to continue
For Email:
Enter a Subject line
Write the Body of the email
Click Next Step to continue
2. Audience
The Audience step is where you define who receives the message. You can manually select individual clients, or use Advanced Filters to target a specific group.
To filter your audience:
Select Client or Patient as the filter type
Choose further qualifiers. Status, Appointment Date, Species, Reminder Due date and more.
Add multiple filters using + Add Filter
Save a filter combination for future use with Save Filter Set
Click the blue Filter button to lock in your filter selections.
Clients and patients matching your filters will appear in the list. Use the checkboxes to select individuals, or check the box in the column header to select all filtered results at once.
Once your audience is set, click Next Step.
3. Review & Send
The Review & Send step shows a preview of your message and the total number of recipients. To double check your recipient list, you may click the link "# recipients" to review.
From here you can:
Send the message immediately
Schedule a specific date and time for the message to go out
Scheduled messages are sent at or near the time you select. A brief delay may occur depending on system load at the time of sending.
Once a message has been sent, you can click the recipient count in the Sent column to view which clients specifically received it.
To further review the details of a sent mass communication, you may click the row of a sent message to review the details from the main page.
Opt-out and Opt-in of Texting
Shepherd follows industry-standard SMS opt-out and opt-in rules. When a client replies to any text message with an opt-out keyword, they are automatically removed from future SMS communications.
Opt-out keywords: STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, END, CANCEL, QUIT, STOPALL, ARRETT, ARRET, ARRETE
Opt-in keywords: START, YES, UNSTOP
Clients who have opted out must reply with one of the opt-in keywords above to resubscribe and receive text messages again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why don't I see Mass Communication in the menu?
Mass Communication is a permission-controlled feature. If it doesn't appear in your menu, your user role may not have it enabled. To enable it have an administrator go to Admin > Users > Roles, edit the relevant role, and check Mass Communication under the Admin tab.
Can I use Mass Communication to email or text just one client?
Yes. Mass Communication can be sent to as few as one client — there is no minimum audience size. In the Audience step, manually select the individual client rather than applying filters and proceed through the workflow as normal.
Note that Shepherd does not currently have a standalone "email one client" button outside of Mass Communication. If you need to send a plain email to a single client that isn't attached to a SOAP or record, Mass Communication is the supported path for doing so, or using external email.
Does Mass Communication send both SMS and email, or just one?
Each mass communication message is either SMS or email — you choose when creating it. SMS and email are separate message types and are created independently. You do not need SMS set up to send a mass email.
Why does the Recipients count differ from the Sent count?
A Recipients count of 0 on a sent message means the message either was not delivered or a failed notification event occurred. If you expected recipients and see 0 Sent, check for a failed notification. The Sent column reflects actual successful deliveries.
How many SMS credits does a mass message use?
Each outbound SMS uses one credit for messages up to 160 standard characters, or two credits for messages between 161 and 320 characters. Special characters may reduce the character limit and increase credit consumption.
Do mass emails cost credits?
No. Email mass communications do not use SMS credits. Credits only apply to outbound SMS messages.
Can I reuse a message I've sent before?
Yes. When creating a new SMS, you can select from existing SMS templates saved in your account rather than composing a new message from scratch.