How to Setup Twilio Salesforce Integration

Twilio Salesforce Integration allows you to send and receive SMS inside and outside Salesforce. This Integration aims to revive the telecom sector’s significance and assist you in making the most effective use of it by providing you with the finest and most useful features.

You will also explore the key features of Twilio and Salesforce. Moreover, you will understand the importance and learn the steps to set up Twilio Salesforce Integration.

What is Twilio?

Twilio is a cloud communications platform that provides developers with APIs to programmatically make and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages (SMS), and perform other communication functions. Essentially, it empowers businesses to build, scale, and deploy communication services within their applications.

Key Features of Twilio

• Email: Send transactional emails like order confirmations, password resets, and marketing campaigns.
• Programmable Voice: Make and receive voice calls, build interactive voice response (IVR) systems, and integrate voice features into applications.
• Messaging: Send and receive SMS, MMS, WhatsApp messages, and other messaging services globally.
• Video: Power real-time video and audio communication within applications, enabling features like video conferencing and live streaming.

What is Salesforce?

Salesforce is a leading cloud-based Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform that empowers businesses to connect with customers, streamline sales, and improve customer service.

Key Features:

• Einstein AI: Integrates AI-powered features like predictive analytics, sentiment analysis, and personalized recommendations.
• Sales Cloud: Manages sales processes, tracks leads, opportunities, and customer interactions.
• Service Cloud: Provides tools for customer service, including case management, knowledge base, and live chat.
• Marketing Cloud: Enables marketing automation, email campaigns, social media marketing, and more.
• Commerce Cloud: Powers e-commerce platforms with features like online catalogs, shopping carts, and order management.

Prerequisites

• A Salesforce account with Admin rights.
• A Twilio account with Admin rights.
• Basic Understanding of Salesforce.

Steps to Connect Twilio Salesforce Integration

• Step 1: Install Twilio Packages for Salesforce from AppExchange
• Step 2: Connect Twillio Account with Salesforce
• Step 3: Create New Messaging Service in Twilio Salesforce Integration
• Step 4: Buy or Add Phone Numbers for your Messaging Service
• Step 5: Create a Webhook to Receive Incoming Messages
• Step 6: Select Messaging Service in Salesforce
• Step 7: Add Users to Twilio Permission Sets

Step 1: Install Twilio Packages for Salesforce from AppExchange

To successfully set up Twilio Salesforce ETL, you need to install some Twilio packages from AppExchange. Follow the steps below to install Twilio packages:

• Go to the Twilio AppExchange site.
• You have to select one preferred option out of Install in Sandbox or Install in Production.
• Next, select the option to Install for All Users and click Install.

Step 2: Connect Twillio Account with Salesforce

Now, after installing the packages successfully, you need to authenticate your Twilio Account credentials in Salesforce. Follow the steps below:

• Go to your Salesforce App Launcher and search for Twilio Configuration.
• Click on Create Account or Log In to go to Twilio Console.
• Next, copy your Account SID and Auth Token from the Twilio Console
• Now, paste the copied credentials into Salesforce App launcher

Step 3: Create a New Messaging Service in Twilio Salesforce Integration

To take advantage of Twilio features in Salesforce like sending messages, you need to set up a pool of Twilio phone numbers. This is provided by Twilio’s Messaging Service. The Messaging service supports phone numbers for 3 types of SMS:

• Campaign SMS is sent from the Campaigns Lightning Component.
• Send SMS that sends a notification through process builder action
• SMS sent by Salesforce users who don’t have any assigned phone number.

So, to create a new Messaging Service, follow the steps below:

• Go to Twilio Console, and open the Messaging Services page. Then, click on Create New Messaging Service as shown below.

• Next, Name your Messaging service and choose the Use Case as per your own use case from the drop-down list. Click Create once done.

Step 4: Buy or Add Phone Numbers for your Messaging Service

After creating a new Messaging Service, you need to buy phone numbers, to start your service. Follow the steps below to buy a phone number:

• Click on SMS>Messaging Services>Connect to Salesforce>Numbers in the sidebar and click on Buy a Number as shown below.

• Now, purchase the desired phone number from the search results after looking at the details by selecting the Buy option. The purchased phone number will appear on your Messaging Service page as shown below.

Step 5: Create a Webhook to Receive Incoming Messages

After you have purchased the phone numbers, you need to customize your Twilio Salesforce Integration a bit to receive incoming messages inside Salesforce. If you have not configured your Integration for incoming messages your messages will be marked as Failed Error: 3008 and these won’t be synced to your Salesforce. 

So, to see incoming messages, you will need to create a Webhook using TwiML Bin. Follow the below steps to see your incoming messages.

• Go to Twilio Console. Then select TwiML Bins from the navigation sidebar as shown below.

• Next, click on Create New TwiML Bin and then enter the following command. 

<Response></Response>

After this, click Save and copy your TwiML Bin’s URL

• Next, go to Messaging Service and select Integration, check the Send a Webhook button. Paste your TwiML Bin URL into the Request URL field and click Save as shown below.

Step 6: Select Messaging Service in Salesforce

Now, that you have set up your Messaging Service, next you need to select the Messaging Service. You can do this by going to the Twilio Configuration page in Salesforce and select the Messaging Service. After this, click on Validate Credentials as shown below.

Step 7: Add Users to Twilio Permission Sets

In this final step, you need to specify permissions that others users can access. Twilio allows two Permission Sets:

• Twilio User: A Twilio User can send, view, and access all the features of the Twilio package, except configuring or modifying Twilio API credentials.
• Twilio Administrator: The Twilio Administrator can view and configure Twilio API credentials.

Follow the steps below to add Permission Sets:

• Go to Setup and search Permission Sets in Salesforce.
• Next, click on the permission sets you want to assign
• Now, click on Manage Assignments on the Permission
• Next, assign the Permission Set to your desired user by clicking on the Assign button

Key Features of Twilio Salesforce Integration

Twilio Salesforce Integration supports both inbound and outbound calls from Salesforce. Along with this, the Integration supports other key features such as:

• The Twilio Salesforce Integration supports native digital engagement that allows you to interact with your customers on various communications APIs, such as Voice, Web Chat, SMS, and WhatsApp
• This Integration also allows you to personalize your Salesforce Object (case, lead, contact, or other custom objects) and blend it with other channels.
• Moreover, this Integration supports pre-built native features like click-to-dial, screen pop with search capabilities, context switching, activity logging, and many more.

In case you want to launch Twilio Flex Salesforce Integration in Salesforce Lightning, refer here.

Benefits of Twilio Salesforce Integration

Now, that you have gained a deeper understanding of key features as well as the steps to set up Twilio Salesforce Integration, let’s learn some of the key benefits of this Integration.

• Twilio Salesforce Integration allows you to communicate with your Leads and Contacts both inside and outside of Salesforce.
• This Integration allows you to manage your notification, calls, SMS effectively. Moreover, it allows you to easily schedule your outgoing text messages.
• Twilio supports a Twilio API which makes your workflow easy, as you can customize and extend your Integration features with it.
• The Integration of Twilio with Salesforce helps your business to send personalized messages reliably to your Leads. In addition, it provides notifications regarding delivery status along with a group inboxing feature to manage your texts effectively.

Significance of Twilio Salesforce Integration

Salesforce’s major goal is to provide clients with personalized services. By integrating with Twilio, they are making this goal a step further by utilizing the services supported by Twilio for Salesforce. Twilio Salesforce Integration helps your business identify the leads that you need to communicate with in order to close the deal. 

This will aid you in deciding whether or not to send these leads an SMS with a highly persuasive message, or a call-to-action to contact your organization. Hence, this Integration allows you to personalize and convey messages to your customers, making them feel unique.

See how to enhance your data integration strategy with Redshift, including connecting Twilio data efficiently. Discover our detailed resources here.

Conclusion

In this article, you learned the key features of Twilio and Salesforce. Moreover, you understood the significance of Twilio Salesforce Integration. You also learned the steps to set up this Integration. In addition, you explored the key features and benefits of Twilio Salesforce Integration.

You now will be able to receive the best of both the telecom and digital worlds as Twilio and Salesforce join, allowing you to further integrate, automate, and personalize your business communication. Sign up for a 14-day free trial and migrate data from 150+ sources like Twilio and Salesforce.

FAQs