SMS marketing best practices

Use SMS marketing from Constant Contact to reach your contacts in a more personal way and convert abandoned carts into sales, while staying compliant

Important: Our SMS marketing tools are only available to US customers (excluding Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands) with a valid 9-digit Tax ID Number (TIN), or an Employer ID Number (EIN) for businesses assigned by the IRS. For sole proprietors who are the only employee, they do not need to enter Employer ID Number (EIN). Contacts with phone numbers from Puerto Rico can join your list and receive text messages. Learn more.

Getting started with SMS marketing? Here's how to make your SMS messages stand out from the crowd, meet compliance standards, and effectively promote your organization:

• Make your brand apparent
• Stay compliant
• Set up content for success
• Promote responsibly
• Try the SMS feature

Be a better marketer: Want to learn more about SMS marketing? Check out SMS Text Message Marketing Best Practices to Build Relationships and Increase Sales!

Make your brand apparent

When filling out the "Sender information" section during the SMS registration process, we automatically pull in your "Organization name" from the "Organization details" section in My Account as the default sender name. This name appears in your outgoing text messages and can only be changed before completing registration.

Contacts who opt in to receive SMS messages are much more likely to read them if they immediately recognize who sent them. Make sure your Sender name is closely tied to the face of the organization your contacts are used to seeing, so there's no confusion when they receive your text messages.  For example, use the same name that they see on your website or on the sign over your door.

Please note that:

• Once you have completed SMS registration, you won't be able to edit your sender name.
• Emojis and special characters are not supported in a Sender name.
• Your Sender name contributes to your message’s character count.

Stay compliant

To send SMS messages to your contacts, they must opt into SMS marketing. Phone numbers you have on file for your existing contacts are not automatically considered opted in. Once your SMS registration is approved, we automatically create an SMS-enabled Sign-up Landing Page for you, allowing you to begin collecting new SMS contacts and requesting permission from your existing contacts to send SMS messages.

S.H.A.F.T. and prohibited SMS content in the US & Canada

For those in the US and Canada, prohibited content topics are subject to stricter regulations, guidelines, and industry standards. Before drafting your content, check out the prohibited content section in our article: About Constant Contact’s SMS tool.

Please see the CTIA's Short Code Monitoring Handbook for more information about S.H.A.F.T. and prohibited content.

Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in the US

For those in the US, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) requires businesses to get prior consent in order to send text messages to customers for marketing purposes. Collecting SMS contacts through an SMS-enabled Sign-up Landing Page, and inviting your existing contacts to opt into SMS through our specially designed email template are the best ways to ensure that all your SMS contacts provide express/explicit permission to receive SMS messages from you.

The TCPA also prohibits the sending of marketing messages during quiet hours. Quiet hours for SMS marketing messages are between 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.  We prevent you from sending or scheduling SMS messages within this timeframe.

Please see Title 47, Chapter 5, Subchapter II, Part I, § 227 of the U.S. Code for more information about the TCPA.

Set up content for success

Content

Keep your content relevant and timely. Most recipients open SMS messages almost immediately, so your message should be timely, accurate, and relevant, and make sense for your particular campaign and organization.

Message length

Each SMS message has a 1950-character limit and is split into multiple text messages (or segments), each with a 160-character limit or a 70-character limit when an emoji is included. The individual text messages are recombined to appear as a single text message on your contacts' devices. 

If possible, it's best to keep your messages short and concise as a 160-character message, since:

• The individual text messages that make up your SMS message each count toward your monthly message limit for your billing.
• Your contacts are more likely to engage with a message when it is to the point and provides meaningful information.
• Mobile carriers have spam-blocking measures and sometimes flag multiple messages sent at once, even if they are legitimate. When messages longer than one segment are marked as spam, they won't be delivered, affecting your ability to stay in touch with your contacts via SMS.

Links

When creating SMS messages, be aware of the character limit to help you stay within your monthly message count. To maximize your space within the character limit, links are automatically shortened. To provide you with the most accurate statistics, each SMS message is limited to one link, even if it spans multiple segments. Please note that shortened URLs can result in higher bounce rates.

Avoid using variables in your links. For example, creating an SMS message that includes "Visit our website at www.mycompany.com/[[FIRSTNAME]]" will result in an error and prevent the SMS from being sent. Variables can still be used within your messages to personalize them. For example, sending "Welcome [[FIRSTNAME]], we're happy you're here!" is just fine. 

Clear call-to-action for abandoned cart messages

When using automated customer journeys, messages for abandoned carts should include a clear call to action that states the message's purpose. By default, our 'abandoned cart' templates have all the text and links you need. If you decide to edit the template messages, be consistent with the call to action and ensure it does not detract from the message's purpose.

For more information, please refer to our guidelines on using SMS marketing for abandoned cart text message restrictions.

Promote responsibly

When you're upfront about how you use SMS in your marketing, it makes it easier for people to opt in and ensures those who do opt in genuinely want to be on your SMS list.

• Set clear expectations - Explain how often your contacts can expect to hear from you through SMS messages, and the situations where you would use them over other communications, like email and social media posts.
• Include disclaimers - Your promotional materials should include links to your terms and conditions, privacy policy, your contact and support information, text commands, like "Help" or "Stop," and information on when to use them, and the phrase "Msg & Data rates apply."
• Share opt-out information - It may seem counterintuitive, but letting your new contacts know they're not signing up without a way to revoke their permission can encourage sign-ups.
• Use incentives wisely - Putting the customer first and making them feel valued creates stronger relationships. This doesn't always mean coupons or discounts! You can also provide exclusive information, special access, or services that make sense for your organization.

Try the SMS feature

To access the Campaign Editor and get started with SMS, complete the following steps. 

1. Click Channels > SMS.
   
   
    
2. Click the Try SMS button in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
   
   
    
   If you have the SMS add-on or SMS in your plan but haven't yet registered, you can still create, preview, and try out the SMS features. Click Create an SMS.
    
   
    
3. Click the pencil icon to rename your SMS campaign.
   
   
    
4. In the Campaign Editor, begin typing your message, browse emojis, access personalized contact fields, and use the AI Generator. 
   
   
    
5. In the Campaign Name field, give your SMS message a unique name that you can easily recognize in your account later. Your contacts never see this name.
6. Click Save.
   
   
    

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