10 Ways to Automate Twilio with Zapier to Improve Your Business Operations, Fast

Twilio is an easy-to-use tool that makes it easy for developers to send and receive SMS messages and make voice calls. It allows brands to connect with their customers wherever they are, from texting and email to phone calls, chatbots, video, and more. Twilio offers united communications across your entire business, linking customer service, marketing, and sales for streamlined operations from start to finish. 

You can use Twilio to personalize all of your customer experiences and help your business get a professional contact center in the cloud with all kinds of automation built in. There are plenty of plans and products to choose from to cover all of your essential business communication needs, as well. You can choose from SIP, VoIP, mobile VoIP, and so much more. 

The key highlights of Twilio include:

• IOS and Android mobile VoIP
• Pay-as-you-go pricing
• Scalable, customizable communications solutions
• Intelligent technology and automation

Then, you can add the power of Zapier to take it to the next level. Integrated workflows will let you set up all kinds of streamlined administrative tasks that embrace the power of AI, from notifications to data transfer to anything else that you need. Zapier is the automation tool that every business needs today to improve things like:

• Data entry and transfer
• Lead generation and intake
• Communication and collaboration
• Database tracking and reporting
• And so much more

Zapier has pre-built triggers, actions, and workflows that will get you started with automating Twilio or any of the other tools that you use. It also offers an open API so that brands can customize their workflow automation exactly the way that they want. It’s never been easier to embrace automation than it is with this unique tool. 

If you want to embrace taking your communication to a new level, consider complimenting the AI solutions from Twilio with a partnership with Smith.ai for 24/7 live chat and after-hours answering by a team of real receptionists when chatbots just won’t do. 

The power of automated communications

In business, there are several different areas that you can automate. They'll all have pros and cons to consider, and you’ll have to look into what you can do to get more out of your own strategy. However, when you choose to streamline and automate communications, you’ll enjoy the peace of mind in knowing that everyone’s on the same page and working toward the same goals. Not only that, but it will save you a lot of time and effort for your team and free up so much time in your day. 

Automated communication also means fewer instances of people “not getting the memo” about meetings, events, new leads, or other things that require their attention. You'll know that everyone gets every message when they should, how they should because you’ve got Zapier on the job. You can reduce the risk of human error and missed customer opportunities and create a better personalized experience for each customer in their journey. 

Automating communications also cuts a lot of administrative work and follow-up from your to-do list. It could mean that you’re not spending a lot on a salary for an assistant and that you’re never missing a beat because everything is automated and streamlined. There'll never be another risk of missing an appointment or message, and you can even use automation to help increase your brand awareness and reputation. 

Automation will allow you to reduce lead times, improve your ROI by reducing expenses, increase production and productivity, standardize processes, improve quality control, and even offer your brand the chance to be more competitive. If you want to keep up with the businesses that are on the market today, you have to do whatever it takes and part of what it takes right now is embracing an automation strategy that works for you. 

Whether you choose to use Twilio or any other communication tools out there, you’ll count on the fact that your customers will appreciate the care that you put into choosing them. When you automate, you benefit the customer too—they don’t want to sit around waiting to do business with you. Automated communications, specifically, offer perks like:

• Time savings that you can spend elsewhere. Thanks to automation, you’re not spending time drafting tons of communications and sending them on the spot. You can set up notifications, emails, and other communications to be sent automatically and free up a lot of your time normally spent on communication busywork. 

• The chance to leverage multi-channel marketing and communication options. This makes it easy to go where your customers are and deliver the communication they prefer. That will capture their interest and be more likely to turn them from a lead into a customer than any other type of communication strategy that you choose. 

• Automated systems allow you to set up communication workflows with customer preferences, company communication procedures, or other elements in place to keep up with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of your business while still providing all the perks of automation. 

Now, let’s take a look at 10 of the ways that Twilio and Zapier can work together to bring you these benefits and more. 

1. Get new Twilio SMS messages via email    

If you use email by Zapier, you’ll love all the ways it can integrate with your other tools. Forget having to track messages or sort through your other email because with Zapier, you can get emails about all your automations right through its own email server. This automation will turn all of your Twilio SMS communications into emails and send them to your inbox so that you’re always notified of when new messages come in. This also makes tracking communication easier for everyone. 

2. Forward your Twilio SMS messages to Slack automatically    

Slack is one of the most popular collaborative messaging tools used by remote teams across the country and around the world. Of course, it’s also used by in-house teams and others, and anyone will find it useful for streamlining communication and keeping in touch. When you combine it with Twilio and Zapier, you’ll get notified about all of your Twilio SMS messages right in the Slack interface. You can even choose which channel or user to forward the messages to so that everyone stays on the same page. 

3. Add Twilio SMS messages to Google Sheets rows    

Google Sheets makes tracking easy, no matter what kind of data you’re collecting. Plus, it’s easy to share and collaborate across devices with other users. With this workflow automation, you can easily add all of your Twilio messages that come through the SMS service as rows in Google Sheets. When the messages come in, Zapier will take note and get to work, sending them all to the corresponding sheet that you chose when you set things up. That’s going to save you hours on data entry. 

4. Send SMS messages through Twilio for Google Calendar events    

Keep tabs on your calendar without having to keep track of everything yourself, thanks to this integration. Google Calendar will integrate with Twilio so that whenever an event is created or modified, an SMS message will be sent to the designated users so that no one misses an appointment or event. Plus, then you never have to check your schedule, and you can even use this integration to send reminder messages to your customers through the Twilio platform. 

5. Send SMS messages via Gmail     

Gmail is one of the most common business email tools used today. If you want to keep your team in the loop and you use Gmail, you can use this workflow to send all the messages that you get in Twilio through to your email. That way, you’re not dealing with ten different notifications from ten different apps and trying to keep tabs on everything because you can manage it all in one place. 

6. Send an SMS notification on Twilio when a Typeform submission comes in     

Keep track of your form submissions with ease and get them on the go when you set it up through this workflow. Twilio SMS messages will be created for each Typeform submission that is sent in by leads, customers, or anyone else. Set this workflow up any way that you like so that when you get forms, you always know what’s going on and you’re notified in the way that works for you. 

7. Generate Twilio SMS messages for new Facebook Lead Ads leads    

Facebook Lead Ads is a great social media marketing tool, and it makes tracking and generating new business easier than ever. When you use it with Zapier, you’ll find a lot of great features and workflows that will keep you from dealing with a bunch of busywork. Set this workflow into place and anytime you get a lead from your Facebook campaigns, you’ll get notified in Twilio. You can even set it up to notify any member of your team at your choosing. 

8. Send SMS messages in Twilio for New Google Forms submissions    

Google Forms is another popular form submission choice, and especially for Google power users. If you have this tool for lead generation or any other use in your business, you’re going to want to automate it as much as you can. Zapier makes this easy with this and other workflows. This one, in particular, will notify you every time that you get a Google Forms submission by sending it via SMS in Twilio. Then, you’ll stay on top of your forms without having to check up on your apps all the time. 

9. Send Twilio SMS messages for events in Calendly    

Calendly makes scheduling easy, and it’s one of our favorite apps for that. You can integrate it with your Twilio platform so that whenever new events are created and put on the schedule in Calendly, you’ll get an SMS notification through Twilio to make sure that you never miss a meeting, seminar, client appointment, or anything else. Forget about having to manage your own calendar because automation will manage it all for you and keep you posted as to what requires your attention while Zapier takes care of the details. 

10. Send submissions from Gravity Forms as Twilio SMS messages    

Gravity forms is one of the most common forms tools used today. If you combine it with the power of Zapier, you’ll take so much work off your plate. When the submission comes in from Gravity Forms, this workflow will make sure that it’s translated as an SMS message and sent to your Twilio platform, as requested. You can even customize the workflow to your exact needs, or just use it as it comes. That way, you don’t have to worry about checking Gravity Forms or other platforms for submissions because you’ll get them and get notified no matter where you are. 

Take improvements further with a partnership with Smith.ai 

Our team loves the power of automation, and we love being part of making your business run better. When you hire our dedicated virtual receptionists, you’ll have us to act as the face of your brand for whatever needs you have, from after-hours call answering to live website chat and so much more. And, we’ll even work with you to create an ideal strategy for fielding every need, no matter how big or small they might be. 

Zapier is a favorite of ours because it allows anyone and everyone to create smart workflows between their different business software platforms. And it’s also thanks, in part, to Zapier that Smith.ai can integrate with more than 3,000 apps to guarantee each call and chat gets logged in the right place in your business software, from your CRM database to marketing automation tools, and more. 

Check out our apps to explore how we connect to Zapier! Learn more about Smith.ai’s Answering Service app on Zapier, and explore Smith.ai’s Website Chat app on Zapier.

Find out more when you schedule a consultation to discuss the 24/7 live chat and phone answering services we offer, including appointment scheduling, new client intake, after-hours answering, and so much more. You can also reach us at hello@smith.ai or (650) 727-6484.