Adding text messaging (SMS) to your marketing mix is a powerful way to provide real-time updates, grab attention, and drive business or nonprofit results. But figuring out how to integrate it into your existing strategy can feel overwhelming.
In this webinar, you’ll:
Get inspired with real-world examples for businesses and nonprofits
Learn how to build and expand your text subscriber base
Discover foundational strategies and best practices to send text messages that drive results
What is SMS Marketing?
SMS stands for Short Message Service and is more commonly known as texting. It's a way to send text-only messages of up to 160 characters between phones. We are partnering with a third-party to provide an SMS messaging service in accounts.
How do I include the SMS marketing tool in my account?
You will first need to add SMS to your account plan. We recommend reading our article outlining the guidelines for using SMS. Some really important steps need to be taken before beginning the registration process and help you get started faster:
Create an SMS privacy policy and terms of service. You don't need these readily available when registering, but they are required to be added to your account before sending your first SMS campaign. We provide some templates to use but we recommend consulting with your legal counsel to ensure that you're compliant with any applicable regulations for your state or industry.
Have your EIN (employer identification number) handy. If you don't have an EIN, you cannot use the SMS tool.
Once you are ready, you can register for SMS within your account.
We suggest checking out our free webinar on Getting Started with SMS Marketing.
How much is the SMS marketing add-on?
The add-on starts at $10 a month to send up to 500 messages a month. If you send more messages than your selected tier, you’re charged for the corresponding tier, similar to email marketing. See more on how billing works for SMS marketing.
Are there any rules/regulations we need to be aware of prior to adding on SMS marketing?
It’s important to note that SMS-prohibited content is stricter than email. You can see a full listing of prohibited content on our SMS Guidelines article in the Knowledge Base.
A privacy policy and terms and conditions (T&C)/terms of service (TOS) are required to register for SMS marketing as well.
Can I import my contacts’ phone numbers and send them messages?
You can import a list of SMS contacts’ phone numbers only if you have previously sent texts in the past using a text messaging service and gave consent to receive texts from you.
How can my contacts opt-in to receive messages from me?
Since CASL and anti-spam legislation include SMS marketing, your contacts will need to opt in. We have a template available in the template picker to invite your email subscribers to opt in to receive messages from you.
You can encourage new contacts to subscribe to receive messages when enabling SMS opt-in for a Lead Generation Landing Page. This will automatically insert a field for new contacts to provide their phone number and confirm they will receive messages from you, while also linking to your SMS privacy policy.
If a contact opts out of receiving texts, will it also remove them from our email list?
Text and email are separate. When someone unsubscribes from an email, they are only unsubscribing from receiving emails and when they unsubscribe from texts, they only unsubscribe from texts. Contacts can be subscribed in both places but they would have to unsubscribe from each. Just like how emails have an unsubscribe link, your SMS messages include a STOP message which will remove them from the texting list.
Can I send automated birthday text messages to my contacts?
Absolutely! This is a great way to make their day even more special. Use the Automated Path Builder to create a birthday path that will trigger a text on their birthday if they have given you this information.
Note: the Automated Path Builder is not available in all plans and you may need to upgrade to see this feature. For more information, please see the Plans & Pricing page in your account.
Any ideas to use SMS marketing for a nonprofit?
SMS marketing is a great way to communicate with your supporters and even volunteers. Build excitement for an upcoming event and send out important notifications to volunteers with opportunities for participation. Read our blog article on SMS marketing for nonprofits.
