# Campaign Types & Channels Every conversation your AI bot handles lives inside a **campaign**. Think of a campaign as a project: it defines which channels the bot listens on, how it behaves, and what its goal is. The type of campaign you choose determines whether the bot responds to people who message you, reaches out to people on your list, or both. *** ## The Campaigns Page The Campaigns page shows all your campaigns in a table. Each row displays: * **Campaign name** - the name you gave it. * **Contacts** - the number of contacts assigned to the campaign. * **Channel** - badges showing which messaging channels are active (for example, WhatsApp, SMS, Instagram). * **AI mode** - a sparkles icon indicating whether the AI bot is enabled. * **Status** - the current state (Draft, Live, Paused, Completed, etc.). This gives you a quick overview of all your campaigns at a glance. *** ## Campaign Types at a Glance | Type | What It Does | Best For | | ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | | **Incoming (from Unknown Contacts)** | Responds to people who message you first | Customer support, website chat, general inquiries | | **Outgoing** | Sends messages to contacts on your list | Promotions, re-engagement, event invitations | | **Combined** | Does both incoming and outgoing in one campaign | Sales funnels, all-in-one bots (recommended for most users) | *** ## Incoming Campaigns (from Unknown Contacts) An incoming campaign handles messages from people who reach out to you first - contacts you may not even know yet. **Imagine this:** Someone finds your business on WhatsApp and sends "Hi, do you deliver to my area?" Your AI bot instantly greets them, answers their question, and starts a conversation - all without you lifting a finger. **How it works:** 1. A new person messages you on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, or any connected channel 2. DM Champ automatically creates a contact record for them 3. The contact is assigned to your incoming campaign 4. Your AI bot responds based on your campaign settings **Best for:** * General inquiry handling ("Someone messaged us - what do they want?") * Customer support - answer questions from anyone who reaches out * Chat widget on your website - handle visitor questions automatically * Instagram DM automation - respond to people who message your business page **Good to know:** DM Champ automatically creates a default incoming campaign for each channel when you connect it. You can customize these or create additional ones. *** ## Outgoing Campaigns An outgoing campaign lets you proactively send the first message to contacts on your list. You provide the contacts and the opening message, and the bot handles the rest of the conversation after someone responds. **Imagine this:** You have a list of 500 leads from a trade show. Instead of manually messaging each one, you launch an outgoing campaign. Each lead receives a personalized WhatsApp or SMS message, and when they reply, the AI bot takes over the conversation. **How it works:** 1. Create a contact list and add your contacts to it 2. Create an outgoing campaign and link it to the list 3. Choose your outgoing channel - **WhatsApp** or **SMS** 4. Write an opening message (WhatsApp requires a pre-approved template; SMS does not) 5. Submit for approval if using WhatsApp 6. Schedule or launch the campaign 7. Contacts receive the opening message 8. When they respond, the AI bot continues the conversation **Best for:** * Promotions and announcements to existing contacts * Re-engagement campaigns for leads who have gone quiet * Event invitations * Product launches * Follow-up sequences after a webinar or event **Why is a template needed for WhatsApp?** WhatsApp requires businesses to use pre-approved message templates when starting a conversation. This is WhatsApp's policy to prevent spam. Once the contact replies, the conversation flows freely. SMS does not have this requirement. *** ## Combined Campaigns (Recommended) A combined campaign handles both incoming messages and outgoing outreach in a single campaign. This is the most versatile type and is **recommended for most use cases**. **Imagine this:** You set up one campaign for your fitness studio. It sends a welcome offer to your contact list AND responds to anyone who messages you on Instagram. One bot, one set of instructions, all conversations in one place. **How it works:** * You configure the bot once with instructions, FAQs, and company info * The campaign can receive inbound messages from new contacts * The campaign can also send outbound messages (via WhatsApp or SMS) to a contact list * All conversations follow the same bot behavior, whether started by you or the contact **Best for:** * Sales funnels (contact opts in on your website, receives a WhatsApp message, conversation continues) * Any scenario where the same bot should handle both outreach and replies * Keeping things simple - one campaign instead of two with duplicate settings **Tip:** If you are starting fresh, use a combined campaign. It covers both incoming and outgoing scenarios and saves you from managing separate campaigns. *** ## Multi-Channel Campaigns Each campaign can operate on one or more messaging channels at the same time. You choose which channels are active when setting up the campaign. ### Supported Channels | Channel | What It Is | Incoming | Outgoing | Good For | | ---------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------- | -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **WhatsApp Business** | Messages via the official WhatsApp Business API. Supports template messages, images, videos, and full automation. | Yes | Yes | Most businesses worldwide, especially in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia | | **WhatsApp Web** | Messages via a WhatsApp Web connection. No template approval needed for messages within 24 hours. | Yes | Yes | Smaller-scale operations, quick setup | | **SMS** | Text messages via Twilio. | Yes | Yes | North America, regions where WhatsApp is less common | | **Instagram DMs** | Direct messages on Instagram. Also supports monitoring comments. | Yes | No | E-commerce, brands with a strong Instagram presence | | **Facebook Messenger** | Messages through your Facebook Page. | Yes | No | Businesses with active Facebook Pages | | **Chat Widget** | A chat box you can embed on your website. Visitors chat directly from your site. | Yes | No | Capturing leads from your website, real-time visitor support | | **Custom Channel** | Connect any messaging platform for full flexibility. | Yes | No | Telegram, Slack, or any other platform | You can enable multiple channels on the same campaign. The bot behaves consistently across all of them. *** ## How to Choose the Right Campaign Type | Your Goal | Recommended Type | | ---------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- | | Handle messages from anyone who contacts you | Incoming (from Unknown Contacts) | | Send a promotional blast to your contact list | Outgoing | | Sales funnel (opt-in + automated follow-up) | Combined | | Re-engage leads who have gone quiet | Outgoing | | Website chat support | Incoming (from Unknown Contacts) | | All-in-one bot for a single product or service | Combined | *** ## Campaign Status: What Each Stage Means Every campaign goes through a series of stages from creation to completion: | Status | What It Means | | ------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Draft** | You are still setting up the campaign. Nothing is live yet. Edit freely. | | **Pending Approval** | Your WhatsApp template message has been submitted and is waiting for WhatsApp's approval. | | **Scheduled** | The template is approved and the campaign is waiting for its scheduled launch date. | | **Live** | The campaign is active. The bot is responding to messages and/or sending outgoing messages. | | **Paused** | The campaign is on hold. No messages are sent or responded to. You can resume at any time. | | **Completed** | The outgoing messages have all been sent. The bot still handles incoming replies. | | **Completed with errors** | The campaign finished but some messages failed to deliver. Check the error details. | | **Sent** | All outgoing messages have been delivered successfully. | | **Failed** | Something went wrong (for example, the template was rejected). Check the error message for details. | ### Typical Status Flow * **Incoming campaigns:** Draft -> Live -> Paused (optional) -> Live * **Outgoing campaigns:** Draft -> Pending Approval -> Scheduled -> Live -> Completed/Sent * **Combined campaigns:** Draft -> Pending Approval -> Scheduled -> Live -> Completed (outgoing part finishes) while still handling incoming messages *** ## AI Mode Every campaign has an **AI Mode** toggle: * **AI Mode ON:** The bot automatically handles conversations based on your settings. * **AI Mode OFF:** Messages are received and stored, but the bot does not reply. You handle all conversations manually. **Tip:** Start with AI Mode enabled and monitor the conversations. If the bot handles most situations well, leave it on. You can always pause the bot for a specific contact by using the "Alert Human" feature. *** ## AI-Powered Template Generation When setting up outgoing or combined campaigns, you need an opening message (a WhatsApp template or SMS message) to send to your contacts. Instead of writing these yourself, DM Champ can generate them for you using AI. ### Generating an Opening Message 1. Open your campaign and go to the **Template** or **Opening Message** section. 2. Click **Generate with AI**. 3. The AI creates a message based on your campaign instructions, company info, and target audience. 4. Review and edit the generated message as needed. 5. Submit for approval (required for WhatsApp templates). ### Generating Follow-Up Messages If your campaign uses [automated follow-ups](https://help.dmchamp.com/campaigns/follow-ups), the AI can generate the entire follow-up sequence: 1. Go to the **Follow-Ups** section of your campaign. 2. Click **Generate All Follow-Ups** (or similar). 3. The AI creates a series of follow-up messages designed to re-engage contacts who have not responded. 4. Review each message and adjust timing, tone, or content. AI-generated templates use credits. You will see the estimated cost before confirming. *** ## Campaign Cost Estimation Before launching an outgoing campaign, DM Champ shows you a cost estimate so there are no surprises. The estimate breaks down what you will spend based on your contact list and chosen channel. ### How It Works 1. After setting up your campaign and selecting your contact list, look for the **Estimate Cost** option. 2. DM Champ calculates the cost by analyzing: * **Number of contacts** in your list * **Countries** where your contacts are located (messaging costs vary by country) * **Channel** (WhatsApp template fees differ from SMS per-segment fees) * **Message length** (for SMS, longer messages are split into segments which cost more) 3. You see a breakdown showing the total estimated cost before you launch. ### WhatsApp Campaign Costs WhatsApp template messages are priced by Meta based on: * The **country** of the recipient * The **template category** (marketing, utility, or authentication) DM Champ groups your contacts by country and calculates the cost for each group, then shows you the total. ### SMS Campaign Costs SMS costs depend on: * The **country** of the recipient * The **message length** (each SMS segment is 160 characters; longer messages use multiple segments) * Your **Twilio rates** The cost estimator queries real-time pricing from your SMS provider so the estimate is accurate. **Tip:** Keep SMS messages under 160 characters when possible to avoid multi-segment charges. DM Champ automatically optimizes your text for SMS encoding to minimize segments.