Text messaging

Every text message, in one inbox

Texts and media messages arrive in the same inbox as every other conversation. Your responders read and reply in one place, and each answer goes back out on the channel the seeker used.

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Connecting

How text messaging connects to Echo

Purchase or port your ministry phone numbers into Echo. Calls in and out, texts, media messages and voicemail all arrive in Echo’s inbox.

Everything is self-service. You can connect every channel yourself, whenever you’re ready, without talking to us first. Echo gives you step-by-step instructions, and most connections take 10 to 15 minutes.

Before you start, have these ready.

  • A phone number: buy one through Echo in the admin under Phone Numbers, or bring one you already own if it can be ported into Echo.
  • Brand and campaign information. The US national phone registry requires it for any purchased number used for SMS, and carriers must approve it before texts work.
  • A toll-free number is the exception. It needs a toll-free verification instead of a brand and campaign.
  • The number added to a permission set, so your responders can see its conversations.

Phone SMS integration guide

Set by each platform, not by Echo

Interaction time frames

Some platforms limit how long a ministry can reply after a seeker’s last message. The clock starts over every time the seeker writes again, so a conversation that keeps going stays open. Echo shows the time left on every conversation, so a responder can see what is about to close.

  1. Text messages
    No limit

Your responders

Your team only needs an Echo login

A responder answers Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and every other channel from inside Echo, and needs no account on any of them. Nobody on your team has to have Facebook to answer someone on Facebook.

Their personal accounts stay separate. A responder’s own Facebook or WhatsApp has nothing to do with the conversations they answer in Echo, and the two are never connected.

That protects your team. The platforms see your ministry’s account and the Echo connection, not the people replying through it.

Pricing

What it costs

Extra charges

WhatsApp, phone calls and SMS

WhatsApp accounts and phone numbers carry a monthly charge. Voice calls and SMS are billed by usage.

See pricing

FAQ

Open the status page

Yes, and most cost nothing extra to add. WhatsApp accounts and phone numbers carry a monthly charge, and voice calls and SMS are billed by usage.

No. A responder only needs an Echo account. Your channels connect through your ministry’s own accounts, and a responder’s personal accounts on those platforms are never connected to Echo.

Platforms expire tokens and revoke access on their own schedule, usually without warning. Echo sends an email when a channel disconnects, and you choose who receives those emails. The channel also shows as disconnected in the admin rather than quietly failing, so it is something you can see and fix.

No, though having one is an advantage. Setup should be a simple process for someone with basic technical knowledge. EchoSupport is available for assistance. If a volunteer can text, they can take conversations in Echo.