This post highlights eight best practices for leveraging MMS messages as part of your mobile marketing strategy.

MMS. vs. SMS: What’s the Difference?

Before covering the best practices, let’s take a quick look at the differences between MMS and SMS messages.

• Short Message Service (SMS): SMS is a service for sending short text-based messages of up to 160 characters to mobile devices. SMS messages are the standard, text-based messages that just about everyone uses and is familiar with.

• Multimedia Message Service (MMS): MMS messages are handled by the same native apps used for text messaging. The key difference is that MMS can include multimedia such as pictures and animated GIFs. MMS messages also don’t have a standard text limit, allowing for longer messages of up to 1600 characters.

Make sense? OK, let’s dive in!

1. Get the Opt In

First things first: marketers must get permission before sending MMS or SMS messages to a customer, as well as keep track of opt-in and opt-out requests. The good news is that if you’re already using SMS marketing, you can also send MMS messages to your opted-in audience.¹ 

2. Use MMS Selectively

Some messages are a better fit for MMS marketing than others, so it’s important to consider your goals and the type of content you plan to send. 

SMS messages are great for simple transactional messaging, time sensitive updates, and other concise information that requires less than 160 characters of text. Whereas MMS is well suited for promotions and creative marketing messages that rely on visuals to engage your audience. If you’re not sure which works best for your message, the way to find out is to test, test, test!

3. Time it Right 

You’ve heard the adage: send the right message at the right time. It’s especially true for text messages, because most people read them within just a few minutes.

Automation is key to timing your SMS messages right. With intelligent automation and event triggers, you can respond to specific user actions with messages that are relevant and useful. For example, by sending a welcome coupon after a customer’s first interaction with the brand or delivering a loyalty card immediately after sign-up. You should also ensure you’re respectful of factors like time zones and holidays.

4. Rightsize Your Images

Although MMS messages don’t have a standard text limit, you’ll need to be mindful of media file sizes. Large images take longer to load or may not load properly depending on the device and other factors. With Airship, you can add images to MMS message content or templates of up to 2MB for JPEG or 1MB for PNG or GIF files, however, as a general rule we recommend keeping those files under 650KB.

5. Test & Optimize

As with all marketing channels, testing and optimization are essential to making every MMS marketing message and customer experience the best it can be. With robust A/B testing, you can run experiments with different variations of your MMS messages, determine which ones perform best and optimize your campaigns.

6. Take a Global View 

Knowing where MMS is most effective and where it’s not can save your company money and optimize your MMS spend. Your customers in Europe may not respond to your promotional messages in the same way as customers in the United States. That’s why it’s important to not only localize your MMS but to also optimize the content by country.¹ 

7. Use SMS Keywords 

When a brand encourages customers to text them a word or phrase like LOYALTY or SAVE to participate in a promotion or sign up for a loyalty program, they’re using SMS keywords. With SMS Keywords, you can identify and act on specific text in SMS messages that your users send you. Those handy keywords work in MMS messages too, and make it easier for customers to respond to your calls to action and stay connected with your brand.²

8. Use Fallback Text

While a majority of phones are capable of receiving MMS messages, a small percentage cannot. Fallback text ensures that users who can’t view the original MMS message still receive a message that makes sense. Read more about how it works in Airship’s documentation.

Airship’s customer engagement platform gives you everything you need to use MMS and SMS to create better, deeper and more valuable connections with customers. Orchestrate your text campaigns as part of a multi-channel engagement strategy, segment your audiences, manage opt-ins/outs, schedule personalized messages, monitor performance, and more—all in one convenient package.  

For more insights and ideas, check out our SMS playbook. And if you’d like to learn more about using MMS in your strategy, get in touch!

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1. Airship MMS is currently available in the United States only. 

2. Current U.S. regulations require that SMS are two-way, allowing for the end user to respond to marketing SMS or MMS. In other regions this is not required and messages can be one way. Make sure to check for regional/local regulations.

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As daunting as SMS compliance requirements may seem, when done correctly, SMS can be a powerful messaging tool to reach and engage with your customers.

Here are some features and processes we have included as part of our SMS offering that you can use to help you start your SMS marketing strategy.

Some Background on SMS Regulation

Meeting regulatory requirements and maintaining best practices to support customer relationships are critical for brands that use SMS in their marketing mix. Regulations such as the U.S. Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA), the Canadian Anti-Spam Law (CASL), and the EU Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications (the ePrivacy Directive), include strict requirements for sending SMS marketing messages. 

Additionally, industry guidelines, such as the Mobile Marketing Association’s Consumer Best Practices for Messaging and the wireless industry association CTIA’s Short Code Monitoring Program should be carefully considered when implementing SMS campaigns and activities.

Under the TCPA, and other laws, a business must provide clear and conspicuous information about its practices and get the recipient’s express written consent to receive text messages before sending an automated message. Businesses should check for the legal age of consent based on where the recipient is located. If a business is using a purchased phone list, consent and opt-out requirements still apply.

Airship Supports Two Opt-in Methods for SMS:

Double Opt-In for Mobile Phone Opt-In– In response to a call to action from the brand, a consumer texts “JOIN” from their mobile device. This triggers Airship SMS to send a double opt-in request (with adjustments made if requested by the brand)

Double Opt-In for Non-Mobile Phone Opt-In – To initiate a double opt-in when a consumer opts in to receive SMS messages via a website, app, paper form or any means other than sending a text from the mobile phone, the brand provides that opted-in phone number to the Airship platform. This triggers Airship SMS to send a double opt-in request. The consumer doesn’t get added to the opted-in list until they respond with a “Y.” Once added to the list, Airship SMS sends an automatic confirmation alert.

Airship also gives brands options to send SMS to their managed opt-ins:

Uploaded to Airship SMS via API –After the consumer opts in to receiving SMS messages, the phone number and opt-in date/time are then passed to  Airship, and  Airship SMS tracks the opt-in date/time in our database along with the phone number.

Uploaded to Airship via CSV File – After the consumer opts in to receiving SMS messages, the phone number and opt-in date/time are then passed to  Airship by the brand via the  Airship Message Composer, and  Airship SMS tracks the opt-in date/ time in our database along with the phone number.

Transactional Messages – Transactional messages are messages that are closely related to the service being provided, such as delivery updates for a package or appointment reminders. Once the consumer provides the brand with legally appropriate consent to receive transactional messages, the brand triggers sending the transactional message by providing the phone number and opt-in date to  Airship SMS via our API.

The Option to Opt-out Is Just as Important as the Option of Opting In

 Airship supports these opt-out methods for SMS:

Mobile device originated opt-out request: When a consumer texts the brand with a keyword like STOP (or any of the other opt-out keywords specified by law or best practices), Airship SMS automatically responds with a confirmation and adds an opt-out date/time to our database (example message below, marketers can tailor the content of this opt-out confirmation message to fit their workflow and brand requirements):

{Brand Name}: You have opted-out and will no longer receive messages. Reply HELP for help

Airship does not send messages to any numbers that have opt-out dates associated with them. If the consumer decides to opt in again, the Double Opt-In or Brand Managed Opt-In methods described above will register a new opt-in date.

Opt-out via website or app: If a consumer changes their preferences in a Preference Center—or in some other way via the brand’s website or app—the brand must pass the opt-out information to the Airship platform using the Airship API. Airship then adds the opt-out date/time to our database.

Carrier deactivation handling: Mobile network operators in the USA (like AT&T, Verizon, etc.) provide Airship with a list of deactivated phone numbers on a daily basis (i.e., consumers who have disconnected service with that operator). Airship SMS automatically uninstalls these numbers (removes them from our database entirely) so that the brands don’t inadvertently message the wrong person if that number gets reassigned. 

Some Things to Keep in Mind:

Make sure to maintain all consent records that provide relevant details.  Airship makes it easy to do with reports that give brands the ability to view opt-in and opt-out status for consumers who have provided consent to receive SMS messages from the brand. It’s also important to drill down to see details — and/ or stream opt-in and opt-out events into other business systems.

Make sure to do your research. In addition to country-specific laws and regulations governing SMS messaging, industry groups have published best practice guidelines for companies engaged in text marketing. These include the Mobile Marketing Association’s Consumer Best Practices for Messaging and the wireless industry association CTIA’s Short Code Monitoring Program.

Please note that the above content is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to and should not be relied on as legal or compliance advice. Please consult with your organization’s legal counsel or regulatory compliance team for compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

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The post SMS Regulatory Compliance: What You Need to Know About Text Messaging appeared first on Airship.

As the one year anniversary of GDPR comes to pass, it’s a reminder that understanding regional regulations cannot be ignored as you take your customer engagement strategy internationally.  Here are some things that brands must know to create a global SMS strategy.

SMS in the US & Canada

In the US and Canada, it is required for all commercial text messages to be bi-directional (meaning two-way), specifically to allow the mobile user to text in to express their desire to opt out of further SMS communication.

Most commercial SMS originates from a short code, a 5-6 digit number that is leased and then certified with the carriers to send and receive promotional and informational/transactional text messaging. Long numbers (traditional ten digit phone numbers) can also be used to send and receive text messages, however, there are limitations on throughput and are not the carrier preferred method for sending A2P SMS.

Companies in North America will also need to comply with regulations like the TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) and the CASL (Canada’s Anti Spam Law) in order to use SMS to provide meaningful, important and oftentimes time-sensitive information to their customers.  

SMS in EMEA

Countries in EMEA have more options on how they can send commercial SMS to their customers.  Unlike the US and Canada, there are several countries that allow one-way commercial SMS to be sent.  

Depending on the specific country and in combination with the carriers within that country, A2P SMS can be sent to a mobile subscriber from a settable sender ID. A settable sender ID is typically a “friendly name,” such as the brand/company name or product name.  

EMEA has its own set of regulations to comply with, most famously GDPR. Additionally, EU-based companies will need to comply with local implementations of the E-privacy Directive, which regulates electronic communications such as SMS, including the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations in the UK.

Taking Your SMS Global

Your customers in Europe may not respond to your promotional messages in the same manner as customers in the United States.  That’s why it’s important to not only localize your SMS but to also optimize the content by country. Knowing where SMS is most effective and where it’s not can save your company money and optimize your SMS spend.

It’s also crucial to know how your performance will change as you go global.  A Tier 1 Aggregator in the US may not be able to deliver the same throughput and reliability as you expand globally.  Understanding where your SMS performance is optimized and where it’s not can help you get the most out of your SMS.

All of these factors make it all the more important to have a knowledgable partner for your global SMS strategy. Your SMS partner should know what is and isn’t allowed for sending an SMS message within or into a specific country, what it means to be compliant with the local laws and regulations and the best practices for optimizing your SMS globally.

Please note that the above content is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to and should not be relied on as legal or compliance advice. Please consult with your organization’s legal counsel or regulatory compliance team for compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

To learn more about SMS check out our other resources or reach out us to here.

The post What You Need to Know to Create a Global SMS Strategy appeared first on Airship.

In addition to the many reasons shared short codes are not our favorite, AT&T recently announced that they are discontinuing support for shared short codes. They no longer will approve new SSC, effective immediately, and have plans to end support on existing SSC this year. We predict other carriers will make similar moves.

So if you’re in the midst of deciding whether to use a shared short code — or whether to migrate from a shared short code to a dedicated code — here are some reasons to consider avoiding them.  

Shared Short Codes Are Risky, Limiting & Create Negative Customer Experiences

What is a shared short code? Shared short codes (SSC), are a special category of short codes which are used to send A2P (Application to Person) SMS, text messages from a brand to a consumer. They are called shared because they are used by more than one brand to interact with their customer base.

Using an SSC can provide cost savings because the monthly lease for a short code is split across the various brands that use it, but the savings come with risk and limitations that keep SSC from actually being cost effective.

One Bad Actor Can Shut You Down

Because you are sharing the code with other companies, their decisions on how they handle their SMS messaging can have an impact on your brand reputation, and even result in an abrupt termination of the short code by the carriers.

For example, if one brand sends a message violating the carrier’s guideline or sends content that violates compliance, the carrier can shut down the short code, affecting all brands who share that short code.   

Shared Codes Can Confuse Customers

Having different brands using the same short code can be pretty confusing for the consumer. On a user’s phone, the short code will appear as one phone number but include messages from different brands. This is just bad UX that can lead to customers mixing up messages and brands.

The Keywords You Want Might Already Be Taken

For SSC, keywords are available either on a first-come-first-serve or may have to be reserved/vetted with the service provider.  For example, there may be multiple brands sharing the short code who want to enroll people into a rewards program. If one brand selects JOIN as their keyword, then any other brand using that short code will have to use a different keyword for their rewards sign-up, like REWARD or NEW. Keywords can become important for attribution and segmentation, so it’s important that you choose and use the right keywords for your SMS marketing.

Keyword Confusion Can Create Unintended Opt-Outs

Did you know that when you share short codes, you’re also sharing the opt-outs?  When a user texts STOP (or any other mandated stop-keywords, i.e, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE, QUIT, END) the result is that the mobile number is opted-out to receive further text messages from that specific short code.  This means that if each brand using the short code lost an opt-in, since the opt-status is maintained at the short code level.

Shared Codes Mean Your Brand Is Not the Main Point of Contact for SMS Support

Because the code is shared among several brands, the HELP and STOP messages cannot contain brand-specific information. Instead, content has to be generalized — and in most cases, the service provider will be the main point of contact for questions or support. This forces brands to rely on the user’s mobile service provider to deliver customer support for any technical issues.  In our view, something important as customer experience should not be handed off to a company that’s not as invested in your relationship with customers as you are.

Dedicated Short Codes Reduce Risk & Create Strong Customer Experiences

So what’s a better alternative to shared short codes? Dedicated short codes. As their name indicates, dedicated short codes are SMS codes owned only by one brand and cannot be shared.  

With dedicated short codes, brands can set up as many keywords as they like. The customer experience is more streamlined. It also eliminates any confusion about which brand a customer is interacting with. And there’s no risk of unintentional opt-outs, which means your SMS engagement channel is more reliable.  

As an additional benefit, dedicated short codes can be made into vanity codes, a personalized code for your brand. For instance, 54657 for Kohl’s (the numbers spell out the name in the telephone keypad) and 827538 for Target. Dedicated short codes like vanity codes can help set your brand apart from others.

It’s Time to Migrate from Shared to Dedicated Short Codes

To sum up: we highly recommend migrating from SSC to dedicated short codes. For more information or any assistance in migrating from a shared to a dedicated short code, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

The post Should I Use a Shared Short Code in My SMS Marketing Strategy? appeared first on Airship.