Cell phone carriers (AT&T, Verizon, etc.) have introduced a variety of texting compliance regulations in recent years to reduce the amount of spam text messages that Americans receive. These regulations, sometimes referred to as "10DLC", mean that it is vitally important to craft your texting scripts in adherence with script requirements.
It is your responsibility to ensure that your texting actions - ALL types, Peer-to-Peer Texting, Broadcast Texting, and Automated Texting - adhere to the requirements stated below. Non-compliance with these requirements will incur consequences, which could include higher filtering rates on your texting actions, a temporary audit and suspension of your texting privileges by either Impactive or our underlying messaging provider, Twilio, and even a full ban of your texting "brand" by carriers (meaning that your organization could struggle to send texts via any other texting vendor in the future).
Script Requirements for Texting
The following requirements are mandatory for all initial scripts used in Peer-to-Peer Texting, Broadcast Texting, and Automated Texting:
Identify the sender of the message - both the individual and the organization.
Every initial message you send should identify both an individual sender (usually the name of the volunteer/staffer sending the message - whether hardcoded as a specific name, or using an Impactive dynamic variable for the user's name) and the organization.
It's important that the organization identified is the registered brand name (or very similar) of the organization that originally completed 10DLC registration. To be clear, this means that you should never be naming a different, non-registered organization in your texting scripts. (It's okay to abbreviate or slightly change your organization name from your IRS registered name - for instance if your registered entity name is technically "Committee to Elect John Smith" but your texting scripts say something like "This is Mary from John Smith for Congress," that's okay.)
For example:
"Hey {{first_name}}, it's {{user.first_name}} with Impactive! Thanks for reading our article on 10DLC best practices. Stop 2 Quit"
Include opt-out instructions (STOP language).
Every initial message you send should include opt-out instructions, usually at the end of the message; there are a wide variety of acceptable formats, but your options include phrases like "Reply STOP to Unsubscribe" or "Stop 2 Quit".
For example:
"Hey {{first_name}}, it's {{user.first_name}} with Impactive! Thanks for reading our article on 10DLC best practices. Stop 2 Quit"
Note that the phrase "Stop2Quit" with no spaces is no longer deemed compliant by carriers; instead, use spaces, i.e. "Stop 2 Quit".
Impactive DOES NOT automatically add opt-out language to your texting scripts (in order to allow clients to customize that language and how it fits into their message). It is your responsibility to add opt-out language to each and every initial texting script (Peer-to-Peer or Broadcast or Automated) that your organization sends.
Additional Recommendations for Texting Scripts
The following recommendations are not mandatory, but are merely recommended to keep in mind; adherence to these best practices may improve your deliverability rates for Peer-to-Peer, Broadcast, and Automated Texting.
Use caution when sending links in initial messages.
It is possible to send links in initial messages, but be aware that this is one factor that can sometimes cause higher carrier filtering. If you're experiencing high carrier filtering on an initial message with a link, you can try a couple of things:
Instead of using a shortened link (via Impactive's link shortener or Bitly/similar), try using a link that includes a regular domain - like the original Mobilize link, a link from your website, etc. Shortened links, with their unusual domains, sometimes appear more spammy to mobile carriers.
Move your link into a follow-up message rather than the initial message.
We recommend only sending links when they're specifically needed to achieve the goal of the texting campaign, and you feel confident that potential lower deliverability will be made up for with increased engagement.
Use caution when adding images to messages.
It is possible to send images or GIFs in initial messages (which will make that message an MMS message, rather than SMS), but be aware that MMS messages often have higher filtering and lower deliverability than SMS messages with no attachments - even when the text of the message is the same.
We recommend only adding images when they're specifically needed to achieve the goal of the texting campaign, and you feel confident that potential lower deliverability will be made up for with increased engagement.
Use more than one initial script, i.e. A/B testing.
You can create more than one initial script in your texting action; Impactive will automatically randomize the scripts sent out to contacts, i.e. A/B testing. Using more than one initial script reduces the number of identical messages coming from your campaign all at once, which can lessen carrier filtering.
These scripts can be extremely similar, with only minor differences - for instance, change one word here or there, change punctuation, etc.
Make sure landlines and any other invalid numbers are scrubbed from your contact list before uploading.
Impactive automatically attempts to suppress messages to any landlines or disconnected numbers on your contact list (it's one of our built-in safeguards), but you can help further minimize the chance of attempted messages to invalid numbers by doing your own scrub before uploading your list.