How to get a sms short code? If you’ve ever subscribed to a brand’s text messages or SMS marketing updates, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that the messages don’t appear to be from your friends or family. You may notice the phone number the message is sent from is shorter than you’re used to seeing right away. You may already know this, but these short numbers are really referred to as “short codes,” and they have a use in SMS marketing. They’re a fantastic way for a company to communicate with a large number of users via targeted and customised text messages. The benefit for marketers is that SMS marketing automation, which supports quicker scaling of owned marketing channels, has made integrating an SMS strategy into an existing digital campaign easier.
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What is a short code text or an SMS short code
A business may send its clients more text messages in less time by using an SMS short code, which is a five-or six-digit number. When they get the SMS, the client will see the short code as the “from” number, just like they would if a friend or member of their family contacted them directly. Short codes are ideal for marketing efforts since they are easy to remember and have fewer characters than a conventional phone number. Short codes can also be vanity numbers, much like lengthy, 10-digit vanity numbers. In order to make it simpler to remember, vanity numbers use the numerical keypad on phones to spell out words. For instance, Pepsi may have the five-digit vanity number 73774, which on your phone’s numeric keypad spells out “Pepsi.” An illustration of a text messaging keyword campaign is when a company asks you to text “[keyword]” to “545667.” This enables the company to identify the direct response-generating marketing initiatives and those that aren’t. These kinds of campaigns may be used by businesses to invite people to participate in a contest, sign up for SMS updates, or learn more about the company.
Why text with a short code, and how do you validate codes
You might be unsure about whether short codes are appropriate for your company and what advantages they have over ordinary phone numbers. Compared to a conventional 10-digit number or 10-digit long code (10DLC), SMS short codes offer the following advantages:
- Short codes are concise and easily recalled. They can be applied to a variety of aspects of your business, such as the internet, print, radio, and offline media. How to get a sms short code? Additionally, it is simple to design several phrases so you can determine which marketing channels are effective.
- They clearly belong to a company. When someone reads a message from a short code, they are aware that it is not from a friend but rather from a company or organization.
- Users may search for short numbers in an SMS short code directory, which can offer your text marketing efforts more credibility.
- Compared to standard 10-digit numbers, short-code text messages arrive significantly faster. Only one message may normally be sent per second using long code messages. It can take up to three hours for every text message you send to a list of 10,000 recipients to arrive! On the other hand, short codes have a maximum message sending speed of 100 per second. It would just take a little more than four minutes to send a text message to 10,000 recipients. The increased speed of short codes is essential if you’re holding a flash sale or limited-time promotion.
- Short codes cannot be used to make or receive phone calls or send or receive faxes (does anybody still use fax?) They can only transmit or receive text messages. Therefore, you don’t need to worry about recipients attempting to utilize it for purposes unrelated to SMS.
A shared short code is utilized by several organizations as opposed to a dedicated short code, which is exclusively accessible to one firm.
Cost reduction is one of the main advantages of shared short codes. The price is split among several companies, which lowers the overall cost per company to utilize the code.
Numerous firms may use a short code, which considerably lowers expenses but also has some serious hazards.
There are several risks involved with adopting a shared short code because it’s possible that thousands of firms may use the same number.
#1. To maintain SMS compliance, you depend on other brands
The shared number might be banned by some or all of the major cellular carriers if one firm engages in criminal activity or utilizes the short code inappropriately. This would prohibit all businesses using that short code from accessing their consumers.
It may be quite expensive for a company to not be able to reach their audience if they rely on text messaging to keep them informed about news, promotions, or even shipment and purchase confirmations.
Learn why a text marketing plan has to be SMS compliant.
#2. Subscribers may unintentionally opt-out
When a consumer opts into texts from many companies using the same short code, including yours, and then tries to unsubscribe from just one of the brands (without providing a specific phrase), they can be unsubscribed from all of the brands’ lists, including yours.
Even though the system will be able to tell that the opt-out request came from the customer’s phone number, it may not be clear which brand to link it to.
Take a look at the screenshot below for an illustration of what this may seem like.
#3. Short-code rules are evolving
Many carriers are actually deleting the ability to send from shared short codes as a result of some of the concerns highlighted above. In reality, in 2019, several carriers started limiting the use of common short codes. Learn more about the prohibition on shared short codes by reading on.
What comes after these SMS short codes
Shared short codes are about to expire. Brands must now use a dedicated short code, toll-free numbers, or 10DLCs since mobile carriers started retiring all shared short codes in March 2021.
But most people don’t consider this breaking news. Major carriers, including AT&T, have stated that they will discontinue the use of shared short codes as early as 2018. Actually, a lot of carriers have already started to limit the usage of common short codes.
How does this affect you
If you use Klaviyo SMS, nothing will change; you’ve had the best user experience ever since you fully avoided shared short codes in anticipation that they would be phased out.
A 10DLC could be a wise choice if you’re just getting started and want to try SMS marketing for your brand because it’s the least expensive option. However, bear in mind that you can have deliverability problems if you have more than 200 SMS subscribers for a single 10DLC. Consider moving to a toll-free number or dedicated short code as soon as your subscriber list exceeds this size.
A verified toll-free number is the ideal choice for businesses that currently have a sizable SMS subscriber base but cannot afford a separate short code. How to get a sms short code? When you check the phone number, toll-free number delivery rates are superior to lengthy number delivery rates.
Getting multiple 10DLC numbers is an additional choice to think about. If you use several numbers, Klaviyo automatically remembers the phone number a consumer initially received a text message from. This implies that even if you’ve established a new primary phone number, they’ll still get SMS from the previous number. By doing this, you may keep your clients from getting SMS marketing messages from your brand that come from many different phone lines.
Sadly, many small companies will no longer be able to afford short codes from their SMS provider because shared short codes are no longer an option. As a result, they will have to use toll-free and lengthy numbers, which are not often provided by SMS service providers.
Also, as carriers try to come up with alternatives to the shared SMS short code, businesses may find themselves without a good, low-cost option.
When carriers shut down shared short codes, if you were still using shared short codes with your existing SMS provider, you would have switched to a dedicated number (either short, toll-free, or 10DLC) to make sure your messages were reaching your subscribers.
Recommended practices for short codes
There are several guidelines you may follow while utilizing short codes to make sure you don’t break any laws and provide your customers with a fantastic experience:
#1.Recognize SMS compliance
Make sure your company conforms with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA), and other messaging authorities. It’s crucial that your SMS campaigns adhere to local laws where you conduct business.
Always respect your clients’ privacy and comply with their requests to opt in or out of receiving communications, whether you transmit from a short code or a long number. Never send unsolicited e-mail or texts.
#2. Use vanity short codes to create unique brand experiences
A memorable phone number that your consumers may text to opt into campaigns, competitions, discounts, and much more can be made with the help of vanity short codes. Because they may be utilized in print ads, billboard campaigns, web campaigns, radio campaigns, podcast campaigns, and other marketing channels, they are frequently worth the extra money. This might assist you in delivering distinctive client experiences via SMS.
#3. Establish your brand with customized SMS messages
Whether you’re messaging from a long or short number, remember to include your brand name in your messages. The majority of individuals don’t add businesses to their contact list (unless they often contact them for customer service, for instance). How to get a sms short code? Customers will never have to wonder where your marketing communications are coming from if you mention your brand in them.
#4. Use keywords when writing short-code messages
The effectiveness of any marketing effort depends heavily on attribution and ROI tracking. To understand SMS attribution, use custom keywords to keep track of the many sources you use to grow the SMS list.
For instance, if you’re aiming to develop your SMS list through a contest or giveaway, you may say “Text FB to XXXXX to get an exclusive offer” on Facebook and “Text ENTER to XXXX to enter our sweepstakes.”
Including short codes in your SMS marketing plan includes
One of the finest methods to interact with your audience is through text messaging, and using short codes is simply one more strategy to do so.
There has never been a better moment to start if you’ve never run an SMS campaign or if you don’t use SMS automation. As mobile phone usage rises, SMS will be useful as one of your own marketing channels.
Consider adopting a short code if you’re deciding between a long and short code for your company’s SMS number since it can offer higher throughput, quicker messaging, and help you improve client engagement.
FAQ
What does the USA SMS code mean?
A five-or six-digit number known as an SMS short code is used to send and receive SMS messages to and from mobile phones. Vanity numbers and random numbers are the two varieties of SMS short codes. While a carrier will generate a random short code for you, you can choose a vanity short code.
What does the SMS marketing short code mean?
When you want people to remember your number quickly, such as during marketing campaigns, lead generation, or promotions, you should use a short code, which is a specific 5 or 6-digit number. Mobile phones can send and receive SMS (and MMS) messages using short codes.
What sort of short code would you use?
Five numbers make up a code. Short codes can either begin with a “3” or a “4”, such as 34001 or 42001. Each short code or short code range is given a specific set of tariffs or end-user rates (a typical range is 34000 to 34009). (EUP).
