A welcome series is a flow that sends new Members a sequence of texts after they join your Community. You choose the messages and the time between them.
This article covers building the series, adding delays, messages and media, reading its analytics, and what happens when you edit it.
Who this applies to: Leaders on an account with access to Flows. You build flows in the Web Dashboard only. The Mobile App can't create or edit them. This article does not cover other flow types. For those, see Flows in Community.
What is a welcome series?
A welcome series is a flow template built for new Member onboarding. The canvas shows the whole onboarding experience in order, starting with the Welcome Message and Confirmation Message you wrote during account activation. You can edit both from the canvas, then add more steps after them.
New Members enter the series as they text your Community number or join from integrations.
Why should I use a welcome series?
A Member who has just joined is paying attention to you. A series lets you use that moment for more than one message: you can give useful information, point them to a call to action, and learn more about them.
Questions in the series help you learn about your audience. When a Member replies with a Subcommunity keyword, they sort themselves into a Subcommunity. You can then send them more relevant texts later.
How do I use it?
Creating a welcome series
-
In the Web Dashboard, click the Flows tab in the navigation panel.
- On the Flows page, Click Create a Flow.
- Choose Welcome Series from the list of templates.
- Review the canvas. It shows your Welcome Message and Confirmation Message.
- Add steps and actions. Drag them from the menu, or click the (+) sign on the canvas.
- Publish the flow.
Editing the welcome and confirmation messages
On the canvas, either click the step node or click the ellipsis on the Welcome Message or Confirmation Message and choose to edit it.
In the right-hand panel, edit the message and click Update.
Adding delays
A delay sets how long the flow waits before the next action.
- Add a Delay step.
- Choose a number of days, hours, minutes or seconds.
- Click Done.
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| No delay set | The next action runs right after the previous one |
| Longest delay | 7 days |
Adding a text message
- Add a Send Message action.
- Write the message you want Members to get after the delay.
- Click Done. The action appears on the canvas.
- Add more delays and actions until the series is complete.
By default, texts in a welcome series don't send during Quiet Hours. To send during Quiet Hours anyway, uncheck the Do not send message(s) during quiet hours. For how Quiet Hours work, see Quiet Hours.
Attaching media
You can attach a supported media file to any message in the series.
| Media type | File types | Size limit |
|---|---|---|
| Images | .jpg, .png | 1 MB |
| Animations | .gif | 1 MB |
| Audio | .mp3 | 1 MB |
| Video | .mov | 50 MB, sent by SMS only |
Media sends as a hosted content link, which adds 43 characters to your message. Videos send as a Community Link Tracker link (media.community.com). For more on why media becomes a link, see Why do media files send as shortened links on Community?
If MMS is set as your default media type in Settings > Customize > Default Media Type, then images, animations and audio count as 1 MMS in the lower right of the compose box.
Reading welcome series analytics
As new Members text your Community number, the series shows messages sent, total unique clicks and click-through rate. Clicks and click-through rate are unique counts, so a Member who clicks a link twice counts once. These only apply to messages with links.
Editing a published series
Members already in the series finish the version they started. New Members get the newly published version.
Editing a step keeps that step's analytics. Deleting a step removes that step's analytics from the series total.
How do I use it well?
- Give each message one job. Information, a call to action, or a question. A Member can act on one thing at a time.
- Ask a question that sorts Members. A reply with a Subcommunity keyword puts the Member in a Subcommunity. You can use that to personalize later sends. See Subcommunities in Community.
- Space messages with delays. Day-by-day pacing is a common pattern. The Flows hub gives a three-day example: greet and thank, tell your story, then make an offer.
Common questions
Can I pause my welcome series after I publish it?
No. A published Welcome Series flow can't be paused. You can still edit it. Members already in the series finish the old version and new Members start the new one.
Will my welcome series send during Quiet Hours?
Not by default. Texts wait until Quiet Hours end. To change this for a message, uncheck Do not send message(s) during quiet hours below the message editor. See Adding a text message above.
What happens to my analytics if I edit or delete a step?
Editing a step keeps its analytics. Deleting a step removes that step's analytics from the series total.
Can I create a welcome series in the Mobile App?
No. Flows are only available to create in the Web Dashboard.
Is the welcome series included in my plan?
See Who this applies to at the top of this article.