10DLC, Twilio, and Carrier Updates on Texting: What You Need to Know

Overview

In 2020, we saw a massive increase in peer-to-peer texting for progressive voter contact. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, campaigns and organizations were able to safely communicate with voters through text to alert them of volunteer opportunities, vital voting information, and candidate stances on the issues. 

In response to this increase in texting activity, the cell phone carriers, including T-Mobile, and others, have begun filtering peer-to-peer text messages more comprehensively than before. To address this shift, Impactive is partnering with our text provider, Twilio, to help ensure that our clients can deliver all of their intended messages. These updates will not only help decrease filtering vital messages, but will also ensure we do our part to combat misinformation and protect voters and consumers.

We know there's a lot changing quickly in the SMS texting landscape right now and it's hard to keep track of the latest information. So we've collected some of the key updates you need to know here so it's easier to keep track. We'll be updating this list regularly as we gather more information.

Key Updates

• To ensure that all of Impactive’s clients can safely deliver their messages via text, we have begun registering all of our clients with Twilio. To do so, we will ask for clients to share their registered organization name, employer identification number, and a few other pieces of information. To register, simply visit your campaign admin > Actions > Peer-to-Peer and fill out the 10DLC registration form:
• After sharing this information, you will become a fully verified “brand” with Twilio. This is different from your actual texting program which will be consider its own "campaign". Campaigns will also be registered separately under certain categories.
• The purpose of this registration is so that Twilio can work with the Carriers to determine a “trust score” for your brand and campaign. This score will determine how many messages you are able to send per day and this limit will also depend on which carrier you are sending messages through.
• Most of the texting campaigns of our clients will fall under either the "Charity" or "Special Use Case" categories. Right now, the regulations for the "Special Use Case" category are still being defined so we don't believe any additional limits to messaging will be applied at this time. You can learn more about the different categories on Twilio's website here. These limits can be anywhere from 5K - 200K messages per day per carrier.
• However, there is a way to increase that limit if you qualify to register with Campaign Verify. Campaign Verify is a non-partisan non-profit service provider working with digital and telecom services to combat spoofing. By registering, they will provide you with a token that you can send to Impactive which will allow Twilio and the Carriers to recognize your traffic as legitimate and increase your messaging limits and reduce any unwanted filtering. We realize there is an application process for registering with Campaign Verify and that it could take a few weeks to get this token, but this won't block any texting and we'll be able to upgrade your account with the token as soon as it's available.
• In order to avoid any interruptions of service, it will be important to comply with Twilio’s Acceptable Use Policy in regards to opt-ins and opt-outs and ensure high quality delivery rates.
• Impactive will be adding additional safeguards to your campaigns to protect you from mistakenly messaging disconnected numbers or otherwise inadvertently negatively affecting your trust score.

What happens if I don't register my brand with Impactive?
We promise not to deactivate your account or limit your texting, however, we cannot extend this promise on behalf of Twilio or the Carriers. Unfortunately, we believe that the registration process is here to stay and if you do not register for any reason, you will most likely have a lower trust score and lower daily messaging limits. Should you encounter any additional limits applied to your account, we can work with you to make your case to Twilio and the Carriers and adjust your trust score and limit to appropriately fit your use case.

Register your brand with Impactive by visiting your campaign > Actions > Peer-to-Peer and filling out the 10DLC registration form.

What happens if I don't apply for a Campaign Verify token?

If you are uneligible to register with Campaign Verify, your account will not be negatively affected. We are continuing to work with Twilio and Campaign Verify to push for increased recognition of all our different types of clients and use cases. If your application is rejected for any reason or you choose not to apply for a Campaign Verify token, your account will likely suffer from lower daily messaging limits and potentially a lower trust score. Again, this is not Impactive's choice or really under our control and this is something you will see whether you use an open source texting software or another vendor to send text messages. These daily limits can be anywhere from 5K - 200K messages per day per carrier. Again, we are working on getting "Special Use Cases" recognized and exempt for unlimited messaging.

Apply for a token with Campaign Verify

Will our P2P price increase as a result of the registration?

No! At the moment, Impactive has any fees covered with regard to carrier registrations. You will not see any increases in costs.

Impactive 10DLC Safeguards

Impactive protects campaigns with built-in safeguards to prevent mistakes and user error and minimize complaints. Some of these safeguards are listed below:

• By default, Impactive does not allow multiple outbound texts to be sent to the same number within a 6-hour period. This can be turned off by administrators but we recommend leaving it on.
• Impactive uses the Twilio API to look up all uploaded phone numbers and skip landlines and disconnected numbers to both save campaigns money and keep their error rates low.
• Impactive automatically keeps track of opt out keywords such as STOP, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE, and others, so your volunteers don’t have to worry about opting out those conversations explicitly.
• Impactive will automatically alert administrators should its system detect abnormally high error rates or carrier filtering allowing you to adjust your program in real-time and protect your texting reputation.

Additional Guidance and Support

Given this update, the Impactive team will be hosting a series of office hours over the next few months to answer questions and help you make appropriate program adjustments.

Our team will also be closely monitoring peer-to-peer texting patterns from our clients. We may reach out to you in the following cases:

• Twilio alerts us that your texts have been heavily filtered.
• Your lists have too many errors or undelivered messages.
• We have recommendations for improving your peer-to-peer texting program.

Any of these issues could result in the temporary pausing of your peer-to-peer texting capabilities.

Please reach out to us at support@impactive.io with any questions.