Salesforce Marketing Cloud Data Views: _SMSMessageTracking (MobileConnect)

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The _SMSMessageTracking data view in Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC) provides a comprehensive record of all SMS interactions sent or received via MobileConnect. This data view is crucial for auditing, reporting, and analyzing SMS campaign performance, whether using dedicated or shared short/long codes.

In this blog, we’ll break down every field in _SMSMessageTracking, outline its use cases, and provide SQL queries to help you monitor SMS activity, troubleshoot delivery issues, and optimize engagement.

What is the _SMSMessageTracking Data View?

This data view tracks each SMS message sent and received by your Marketing Cloud account. It includes mobile numbers, message text, send/delivery statuses, timestamps, keywords, journey IDs, and campaign identifiers.

Key Benefits of _SMSMessageTracking Data View

  • Detailed Send/Receive History: Tracks every inbound and outbound message.
  • Journey Attribution: Connect SMS messages to Journey Builder activities.
  • Delivery Analysis: Know which messages were delivered, undelivered, or failed.
  • Troubleshooting Support: Use metadata like SendID, SMSJobID, and InvalidationCode for debugging.

Fields in _SMSMessageTracking Data View & Their Uses

FieldTypeDescription & Use Case
MobilePhoneMobile number of the subscriber. Core for personalization and filtering.
SubscriberKeyTextExternal ID for the subscriber. Used for joining with other data views.
SubscriberIDNumberInternal ID for the subscriber.
MobileMessageTrackingIDNumberUnique ID for message tracking. Useful for audit trails.
EIDNumberEnterprise ID. Used in multi-tenant setups.
MIDNumberMember (Business Unit) ID.
MessageIDNumberInternal message ID for the SMS.
KeywordIDTextID of the keyword used in the message.
CodeIDTextUnique identifier for the short/long code.
ConversationIDTextUsed to track message threads.
CampaignIDNumberID of the SMS campaign tied to the message.
SentBooleanIf the message was sent. (1 = true, 0 = false)
DeliveredBooleanIf the message was delivered successfully.
UndeliveredBooleanIf the message failed to deliver.
OutboundBooleanTrue for messages sent from SFMC.
InboundBooleanTrue for messages received by SFMC.
CreateDateTimeDateTimeWhen the message record was created.
ModifiedDateTimeDateTimeWhen the record was last updated.
ActionDateTimeDateTimeActual timestamp of delivery or failure.
MessageTextTextContent of the SMS message. Important for compliance reviews.
IsTestBooleanTrue if the message was a test.
MobileMessageRecurrenceIDNumberID of the recurrence schedule (for recurring messages).
ResponseToMobileMessageTrackingIDNumberTracks responses to specific messages.
IsValidBooleanTrue if the message is valid.
InvalidationCodeNumberReason for message invalidation.
SendIDNumberSend identifier for the message.
SendSplitIDNumberID if the message was part of a split test.
SendSegmentIDNumberSegment tied to the SMS message.
SendJobIDNumberJob ID of the send.
SendGroupIDNumberGroup ID of the send.
SendPersonIDNumberInternal reference to the sender.
SMSStandardStatusCodeIdNumberDelivery status code from SFMC.
DescriptionTextStatus code description.
NameTextInternal message name.
ShortCodeTextShort or long code used for the send.
SharedKeywordTextShared keyword involved in the message.
OrdinalNumberUsed for multi-part messages (0, 1, 2…).
FromNameTextSender name (max 11 characters).
JBActivityIDTextJourney activity ID that triggered the send.
JBDefinitionIDTextJourney ID that the message was sent from.
SMSJobIDTextUnique ID for each SMS job.
SMSBatchIDNumberBatch ID linked to the SMS job.

When and Why to Use _SMSMessageTracking Data View?

When to Use?

  • When tracking SMS delivery status across campaigns.
  • To audit messages sent via Journey Builder or campaigns.
  • When identifying failed or undelivered SMS messages.
  • To analyze content, time, and behavior trends in MobileConnect.

Why Use It?

  • Delivery Optimization: Ensure messages are reaching users.
  • Troubleshooting: Find out why messages failed.
  • Engagement Monitoring: Understand who responded and how.
  • Campaign Analysis: Track performance of SMS sends by campaign or journey.

10 Example Scenarios and Queries

1. Retrieve All Delivered Messages in the Last 7 Days

SELECT SubscriberKey, Mobile, MessageText, ActionDateTime 
FROM _SMSMessageTracking 
WHERE Delivered = 1 
AND ActionDateTime >= DATEADD(day, -7, GETDATE())

Use Case: Confirm successful sends.

2. Find Undelivered Messages and Reasons

SELECT Mobile, MessageText, InvalidationCode, Description 
FROM _SMSMessageTracking 
WHERE Undelivered = 1

Use Case: Troubleshoot delivery issues.

3. Total Messages Sent by Keyword

SELECT SharedKeyword, COUNT(*) AS TotalSends 
FROM _SMSMessageTracking 
WHERE Outbound = 1 
GROUP BY SharedKeyword

Use Case: Measure campaign performance by keyword.

4. Messages Sent from a Specific Journey

SELECT MessageText, ActionDateTime, JBDefinitionID 
FROM _SMSMessageTracking 
WHERE JBDefinitionID = 'xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx'

Use Case: Attribute SMS traffic to a journey.

5. Join with Subscriber Data by SubscriberKey

SELECT s.SubscriberKey, s.EmailAddress, t.MessageText, t.ActionDateTime 
FROM _Subscribers s 
JOIN _SMSMessageTracking t 
ON s.SubscriberKey = t.SubscriberKey

Use Case: Build a full view of multichannel subscriber engagement.

6. Find Test Messages

SELECT Mobile, MessageText 
FROM _SMSMessageTracking 
WHERE IsTest = 1

Use Case: Exclude tests from performance reports.

7. SMS Messages by Short Code

SELECT ShortCode, COUNT(*) AS Total 
FROM _SMSMessageTracking 
GROUP BY ShortCode

Use Case: Identify which codes are used most.

8. Track Multi-Part Message Distribution

SELECT Ordinal, COUNT(*) AS MessageCount 
FROM _SMSMessageTracking 
GROUP BY Ordinal

Use Case: Analyze multipart SMS usage.

9. Messages Received by Subscribers (Inbound)

SELECT SubscriberKey, Mobile, MessageText, ActionDateTime 
FROM _SMSMessageTracking 
WHERE Inbound = 1

Use Case: Audit user responses.

10. Retrieve Failed Messages by Campaign ID

SELECT Mobile, MessageText, CampaignID, Description 
FROM _SMSMessageTracking 
WHERE Undelivered = 1 
AND CampaignID IS NOT NULL

Use Case: Evaluate performance of a specific SMS campaign.

Conclusion

The _SMSMessageTracking data view is your SMS performance powerhouse in Salesforce Marketing Cloud. It gives you full visibility into send and receive activity, delivery results, and SMS journey attribution. Perfect for marketing teams running SMS campaigns through Journey Builder or MobileConnect campaigns.

Use it alongside _Subscribers, Journey views, and campaign data to unify mobile and email insights into a powerful engagement dashboard.

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