Almost everyone in the world has a phone and can therefore easily be reached via SMS campaigns. It is a very efficient way to reach your customers directly anywhere in the world. However, there are many rules for sending Campaigns. In this article we explain these rules.

Product

• Mobile Marketing Cloud

Resolution

1. Don’t send SMS Campaigns without consent

Make sure that everyone you send an SMS campaign has given their consent. This can be included in your Terms & Conditions. However, we recommend offering a registration option when finishing an order or fulfilling a form for example.

2. Make sure a recipient can opt-out from your messages

This is something that is generally known but often not properly observed. Some countries have stricter regulations than others and there are even operators who have created their own rules and standards. Learn how to manage opt-out here.

3. Sending campaigns with your own name / sender ID

It’s possible to send campaigns with your own name, but not in every country. First of all, it is important to know that the sender ID has to be between 3 and 14 digits or 3 and 11 characters. In some countries there are other rules, find out more in: Is it possible to set my own sender ID?

4. An SMS can contain a maximum of 160 characters

If your SMS contains more than 160 characters an extra SMS will be added to deliver the full message. This means that sending your message will be 2 times more expensive. So make sure you make good use of the maximum number of characters. Read more about the character limits & effects on pricing.

5. SMS pricing

Each country has its own SMS prices. For example, in the Netherlands you pay € 0.0832 and in Spain € 0.0666 per SMS. In addition, you have to keep in mind that you’re paying per SMS sent, not per SMS delivered. We will send every SMS that you submit with us, even if this is to an unreachable number. That’s why it’s very important to create a valid list of contacts. Find an extensive price list here: https://www.cm.com/products/pricing/sms/

6. Use the editor to send a campaign

The Mobile Marketing Cloud has an easy intuitive interface with the Campaigns tooling to design, schedule and send a full SMS campaign. Learn how.

7. Use branded shortlinks for improving conversion rates

Branded links allow you to shorten, share, manage and analyze links to your content in any of your campaigns. Moreover, your deliverability can improve drastically as your domain is trusted by your audience.