How to Use RoboCent

Getting Started

Starting with RoboCent takes about 15 minutes and can be done from a mobile phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. This guide will take you through the steps to creating your account, adding a new organization, and scheduling your first message.

Sign-Up

Signing up with RoboCent will have you create a user account with a unique email and password. You can do this on our login page at https://app.robocent.com/. You will use this account to access the RoboCent platform and manage all of your sub-accounts.

Creating an account

To get started with RoboCent, you will first need to create an account. This will be a unique email and password that you use to access the RoboCent platform.

Step 1: Sign Up

If this is your first time using RoboCent, you will need to sign-up to create an email and password combination. First, select "Don't have an account? Sign Up" below the Continue button.

Step 2: Email & Password

Enter your email and type a new password to create your account. When this information is provided, you can select "Continue" to enter the platform.

Be sure to remember your email and password! This will be required to access the RoboCent app. If you forget, you can reset your password by selecting "Forgot Password" on the login page.

Step 3: Select Role

The first thing you will see is your Role Selection. This will determine the level of access you have within the RoboCent platform.

If you are responsible for uploading files, scheduling messages, paying invoices, or viewing results, you will need to select the "User" role.

If you are a Texting Agent and will only be sending outbound text messages through the Agent Portal, you can select the "Agent" role.

Step 4: User Information

Now, we need to collect your personal information. This information is for you personally, not your campaign, organization, or customer. We are required to collect this information for legal purposes in case of irresponsible (attempted spam or scams) use of our platform.

Step 5: Accept ToS

Accept the Terms of Service. Declining the ToS will prevent your access to the RoboCent platform.

Create New Organization

Think of Organizations as Sub-Accounts that are there to keep your organizations organized and separated. If you are only managing a single organization, no worries! You will simply create an org for the account you manage and run everything through that account.

Now that you have a user account, we can add the organization that you manage. You can add as many organizations as needed for the accounts that you manage.

Each organization will contain its own files, invoices, billing info, users, agents, results, and more. Separating two different organizations will make management much easier in the future.

Step 1: Create Org

Select "Create New Organization" at the top of the page.

Step 2: Account Details

Select the type of account you are creating and fill out the requested information. Please ensure you select the correct organization type during this step. While you can update the information provided for the organization at any time, you cannot change its type (Political vs Non-Political) after submitting.

Schedule Messages

Now that you've created your first organization, you're ready to schedule your first message.

What is a "Message"?

A message is an Outbound Campaign sent to your contacts. A campaign is defined by a message (voice or text) being sent to a contact list at a specific time. When you schedule a message, you will provide details that instruct RoboCent on the settings you would like active for the campaign. The Scheduler is the only page you will need to use within the app. This page will allow you to create an organization, upload files, scrub phone lists, import caller ids, and can handle everything the platform can do.

Before you schedule your first message, be sure you have the following items ready:

•Contact List

•Audio File or Text Script

•Date/Time to Start Sending

•How to Schedule a Text Message Campaign

Step 1: Message Type

Select the type of Message you want to send. RoboCent can send Text Messages to Mobile Phones and Voice Calls to Landlines.

Step 2: Organization

Select the organization you want to schedule this campaign under. The most recent org you have used within the platform will be automatically selected, but you can select any org in your account. Alternatively, you can create a new organization to use by selecting "+ Create New Organization"

Enter the name of this campaign. This is for internal use to identify this campaign from others you may schedule. (Example: Endorsement Text from Gov. Allen)

Step 3: Date and Time

Select the Start Date, Start Time, Time Zone, and Campaign Duration for when you would like this campaign to begin sending.

Start Date: The date the campaign will become active. Start Time: The time, on the start date, that the campaign will become active.
Time zone: The active time zone to use.

After your campaign becomes active, you will have seven days to access the Agent Portal to view inbound messages and respond to contacts.

Step 4: Contact List

Upload or Select the Contact List to use for this campaign.

To determine the number of Landline and Mobile Phones on this list, select the "Scrub Phone List" button. This will also have the added benefit of providing a Cost Summary that will determine the exact cost for this message before you submit.

Step 5: Scripts

Create or select the Scripts you would like to use for this campaign. You can select a single intro script and as many response script as you need.

An Intro Script is the introductory message that is sent to every contact on your list. Response scripts are used when manually having a conversation with your voters to save time by preloading responses to common questions.

Step 6: Determine Who Sends the Texts

Now, we need to decide who will be sending the Text Messages. Since all messages must (legally) be send by a human, you need to decide if you and your team will send the texts, or if you would like RoboCent's Agents to handle the outbound sending.

Step 7: Phone Number Information

Here, we will select the phone number information that will generate the 10-digit phone numbers used to send your text messages.

Each text sent through our platform originates from a 10-digit phone number we purchase from the carriers specifically for your account. The information you provide will help us match the phone numbers to your area to increase the likelihood your contacts will view the message.

Inbound Routing Number: The phone number that will ring when contacts call after receiving a text. Typically, this is a campaign line or office number.

Area Code: The prefix we will match when assigning the sending numbers to your campaign. State: If needed, we will fallback to the state provided for sending phone numbers. This is only if there are no numbers available in the area code provided.

Step 8: Credit Card & AutoPay

Now we can add a credit card and enable AutoPay. While not required, RoboCent recommends this step to automatically collect payment so your message sends at the requested time.

To add a new credit card, select "Add new Card" next to the step title. A modal will appear where you can add your credit card information.

Step 9: Review Cost Summary & Schedule Campaign

You are now ready to schedule your Text Message Campaign! This final step allows you to review the Cost Summary and schedule your message.

And that’s all there is to it! You are now ready and prepared to use Robocent!