Understanding Multichannel Campaigns: Steps, Channels, and the Sequence Overview

What is a multichannel campaign?

A multichannel campaign lets you organize different types of outreach in one campaign. Instead of managing each follow-up separately, you can create a series of steps that guide your outreach to each recipient.

Depending on your goals, a campaign can include email messages, SMS messages, calls, LinkedIn activities, and other manual tasks.

You can use one channel or combine multiple channels in the same campaign. For example, you might email a prospect, follow up with a call, and then complete another outreach activity.

The steps you choose and their order determine how your outreach is organized.

What are campaign steps?

Campaign steps are the individual actions that make up your campaign. Each step has a specific purpose, such as sending a message or reminding you to complete an activity.

You create and arrange these steps on the campaign's Overview page, which gives you a view of your outreach sequence.

Campaign steps fall into two broad categories:

• Message steps: Steps such as email and SMS, which are used to communicate with recipients.
• Manual steps: Activities that require you to take action yourself, such as calling a recipient, completing a LinkedIn activity, or following a custom reminder.

What types of steps can you use?

Email

Email steps let you send email messages to recipients as part of your campaign.

You can configure the email content and the relevant sending settings for each step. Email steps also provide metrics such as open rate, reply rate, click-through rate, and delivered count.

Learn more in How to Set Up Email Steps in a Campaign.

SMS

SMS steps let you contact recipients by text message.

SMS requires available calling credits and the appropriate setup. You can review the completed and skipped counts for SMS steps inside a campaign.

Learn more in How to Set Up SMS Steps in a Campaign.

Calls

Call steps let you include phone outreach in your campaign. These are manual activities: you perform the call and then mark the step as complete for the relevant recipient.

Calling requires available calling credits.

LinkedIn activities

LinkedIn steps let you include LinkedIn-related outreach in your campaign. You perform the activity yourself and mark the step as complete for the relevant recipient.

Custom manual tasks

You can create a manual task with a title and body. These fields describe the action you need to take and can serve as a reminder.

For example, you might create a task titled “Research company before follow-up” and use the body to record what you need to review.

Once you've completed the task, mark it as complete for that recipient.

Learn more in How Manual Tasks Work in Campaigns.

How does the Overview page work?

The Overview page is where you view and organize the steps in your campaign.

Think of it as a plan for your outreach: each step represents an action, and the order of the steps defines how your workflow is arranged.

When planning your campaign, consider:

• The purpose of each step: What do you want to accomplish at this point in your outreach?
• The order of your steps: What should happen first, and what should happen next?
• The channels you want to use: Will you use email, SMS, calls, LinkedIn activities, or a combination?
• The actions you need to complete yourself: Where will you need to perform an activity and mark it complete?

Plan the steps before adding recipients and starting your campaign. This makes it easier to review your intended outreach workflow before it begins.

How do recipients move through a campaign?

Each recipient progresses through the campaign's steps according to the campaign workflow and the requirements of each step.

For example, imagine a campaign with these steps:

1. Send an email.
2. Complete a manual call task.
3. Send an SMS.

The recipient moves through the steps as the campaign progresses. When the recipient reaches the call task, you need to perform the call and mark that manual step as complete for that recipient. The recipient can then move ahead when the campaign's other requirements are met.

Important: Completing a manual activity outside ContactOut does not automatically mark its step as complete. You must update the step for the relevant recipient in ContactOut.

This matters when a campaign contains multiple recipients. You need to mark a manual step complete for each recipient you've finished the activity for.

What should I consider when combining channels?

When planning a multichannel campaign, keep these points in mind:

• Choose channels that fit your goal. Use the outreach methods that make sense for the recipients and the purpose of your campaign.
• Check contact information. Make sure recipients have the information required for the channels you plan to use.
• Check calling credits. Both calling and SMS require calling credits.
• Allow for manual actions. Calls, LinkedIn activities, and custom manual tasks require you to perform the activity and mark the step complete.
• Review the step order. Arrange your steps to reflect the outreach workflow you want to follow.

You don't need to use every channel in every campaign. Choose the steps that suit your outreach plan.

How do I get started?

To set up a campaign, follow this order:

1. Create your campaign steps. Add the channels and activities you want to use, and arrange them on the Overview page.
2. Add recipients. Choose the contacts you want to include in the campaign.
3. Start your campaign. Begin the workflow once you've reviewed your setup.

For step-by-step instructions, continue to How to Create and Configure a Campaign.

Summary

A multichannel campaign brings different outreach activities together in one workflow. The Overview page lets you organize the steps, while recipients progress through the campaign according to its workflow and step requirements.

Remember that manual steps—including calls, LinkedIn activities, and custom reminders—must be marked complete for each recipient. Calling and SMS also require calling credits.

Understanding these concepts will help you plan your campaign before moving on to recipient setup and launch.