Twilio is a 3rd Party Service that can send out Text messages to your users. My Event Café can use this service to send an Text Message as a reminder to complete their daily activity or as a notification that someone has replied to their discussion comment.   Daily messages are only sent during an event.  Once the event is completed, the user will no longer receive a daily notification.  However, they still could receive a notification if someone replies to one of their comments, if enabled.


If you already have a Twilio Account and Phone Number, scroll down to "Connecting Twilio to MEC".  You'll need to know your Account SID and Auth Token.


Getting Started:  You'll need to head over to https://twilio.com and create your account.  Here's the basic steps you can expect

  1. Click the Sign-Up Button & fill out the sign up screen (Name, Email, Password, etc)
  2. Verify your Email Address. Twilio will send you a verification email
  3. Verify your Phone Number using a verification code
  4. Fill out a questionnaire of how you will be using Twilio.  You can choose "No" to writing code, and then "Skip to Dashboard"
  5. Next you'll need to upgrade your account from Trial to a Paid account by clicking on the "Upgrade Now" button.  
  6. And that should complete your account setup.


Buying a Phone Number:  Now that you're logged in to your Twilio Account, you'll need to buy a Phone Number.  

  1. Click "Explore Products" then scroll down until and click on "Phone Numbers".
  2. Now Click on the "Buy a Number" Button.
  3. Now let's search for an available Phone Number and click "Buy" when you found one.  Be sure to check the Fee's, but most numbers are $1.00 a month.
  4. Write down your new phone number, we'll need it later.  You can always Click "Explore Products" then scroll down until and click on "Phone Numbers" to review the Phone Number.



Connecting Twilio to MEC:  

  1. First you'll need the Account SID and Auth Token from the Console of your Twilio Account.  (Pictured Below)
     
  2. Now that you have your information, go to the Account tab in My Event Café
  3. Scroll down to SMS/Text Messaging and click on "Enter Twilio Information"  
  4. Next, enter that information, along with your Twilio Phone Number here.
  5. Once you click ok, and the system verifies your account, you should see the following in your Account.  If you get an error message, double check your entries, especially your Twilio Phone Number.
  6. As, shown above, you can also Send yourself a test message to ensure it's been setup correctly.


One Last Thing!:  Be sure you have your correct cell phone number saved in your profile.  This is the number where YOU will receive text messages.   Each user also has the same option to provide their personal phone number where they will receive messages.


DON'T STOP YET


Once this is successful, be sure to Register your Twilio Number.   Please reach out to us if you have trouble or questions.