Do you want to play a message to callers before forwarding the call onwards? Or do you simply want to play a message and then hang up? You can accomplish this easily by creating a Cloud IVR Announcement.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In this article we will explain how you can create a Cloud IVR announcement in a matter of minutes.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

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To get started, ensure that you have a free Sonetel account<\/a>. If you have one, go to the Voice app section<\/a> in the account settings.<\/p>\n

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Features of a Cloud IVR Announcement<\/h2>\n

An announcement has the following features:<\/p>\n

\n
• A message is played to the caller
  \nPlays an optional welcome message such as “Welcome to XYZ”.<\/span><\/li>\n
• An action is taken
  \nThe call can be either forwarded to some phone number, voice app or SIP-address – or be disconnected.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  You can for example have an announcement saying “Welcome to XYZ. Please hold while we connect your call to an agent” and then send the caller to a regular mobile number.<\/p>\n

  You can create as many announcements as you want for free. However, only accounts with a paid plan<\/a> such as Premium or Business can connect phone numbers to\u00a0announcements.<\/div>\n

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  <\/a><\/p>\n

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  Creating a Cloud IVR announcement<\/h2>\n

  To create a Cloud IVR Announcement now, sign into the Sonetel web app<\/a> and move to the\u00a0Voice apps<\/a> section. If you do not have a Sonetel account, create one free here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

  This is what the Voice apps section looks like in the Account settings.<\/p>\n

   <\/p>\n

  <\/a><\/a><\/div><\/a><\/p>\n

  You can create as many new announcements as you like by clicking on the “+” icon in the upper right corner.<\/p>\n

  When creating a new announcement, select the type “Announcement” and give your new announcement a name.<\/p>\n

  <\/a><\/div>\n

  Click on Create<\/strong>\u00a0to see the edit view for the new announcement.<\/p>\n

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  Cloud IVR Announcement edit view<\/h3>\n

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  <\/a><\/div>\n

  Here are the configuration options for your new announcement:<\/p>\n

  \n
  • Delete
    \nAllows you to delete the entire announcement.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Announcement name
    \nShows the name you gave the announcement while creating it.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • After the announcement
    \nDefine what should happen after the announcement has been played to the caller.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Announcement message
    \nAllows you to listen to the current announcement and message played prior to forwarding the call (if this is the action you choose).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Possible actions after playing announcement<\/h3>\n

    <\/a><\/div>\n

    Here are the possible actions that you can take when the caller selects a menu option.<\/p>\n

    \n
    • User
      \nAllows you to select a team member that you want the call to be sent to. The user’s call settings will define how they receive the call.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Phone number
      \nEnter a phone number – preferably in the +NUMBER format – that the caller should be forwarded to.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Voice app
      \nConnect the caller to another Voice menu, Announcement or Voicemail box.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
    • SIP address
      \nEnter a SIP-address (only for advanced users) that the call should be diverted to.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Disconnect
      \nHangs up the call. This is the default action.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Update messages played<\/h3>\n

      <\/div>\n

      You can update two different voice message in your Cloud IVR Announcement:<\/p>\n

      \n
      • Welcome
        \nThis is the announcement.<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Please wait
        \nThis is played if you define that the caller should be forwarded somewhere after hearing the announcement.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Push the Play button to listen to what the message sounds like now.<\/p>\n

        Push the menu icon (next to the play button) and select Replace audio, if you want to change the recording.<\/p>\n

        If you choose to update a message, you have the following options:<\/p>\n

        <\/a><\/div>\n

        \n
        • Upload audio file
          \nThe file you upload can be in WAV, MP3 format etc.<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Text to speech
          \nAllows you to type a text and have it converted to a recording in the language of choice, using Text-to-speech.<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Record
          \nThe system will call your mobile phone number and ask you to record your message after the beep. After recording, you can listen and re-record before saving.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          If you select the create an audio message using text to speech, you will get an interface similar to the below for entering the text you want spoken to the caller.<\/p>\n

          <\/div>\n

          Using the Text-to-speech function is free with paid plans<\/a> (up to a fair usage limit<\/a>). Free plan includes a limit of 100 free instances of audio generation per month regardless if they are saved or not; additional use is charged at $0.05 per file and started minute.<\/div>\n

           <\/p>\n

          How to connect incoming calls to your Cloud IVR announcement<\/h2>\n

          You can purchase phone numbers from Sonetel and connect these to your Cloud IVR announcement. If you already have a Sonetel account, go to the phone numbers page<\/a>. Otherwise, sign up and select a number here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

          You can also send incoming calls from any SIP-based service provider to your Cloud IVR apps by redirecting incoming calls to the unique SIP addresses<\/a> of the apps.<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          <\/a><\/p>\n

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          Use cases for businesses that already have an IVR<\/h2>\n

          Do you already have a technical solution that includes IVR-capabilities? There are many situations where the ability to quickly set up Cloud IVR Announcements in an external system may be crucial for your business.<\/p>\n

          Here are some use cases:<\/p>\n

          \n
          • Avalanche message
            \nIf you are getting more calls than your equipment can handle, and want to temporarily halt the influx, you can activate a message that informs the callers about the situation, and then hangs up.<\/span><\/li>\n
          • Outage
            \nIf your Internet connection or SIP-system is down, you can play a message to callers about this. After playing the message, you can re-route calls to a landline number or other SIP destination.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

             <\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n

            Photo by Patrick Fore<\/a> and Oleg Laptev<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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