9 tips to prevent your SMS from being marked as SPAM

Setting up quality marketing communication is an essential basis for reaching the target customer. Most companies in marketing place a lot of emphasis on social networks and e-mail communication, which is certainly not a mistake, but SMS marketing is one of the most effective methods of communication. According to statistics, 90% of SMS messages are read within a few minutes of receipt. We all use mobile phones these days and the response to new notifications is immediate.

But everything has its downside, and unfortunately, this method is often misused for sending fraudulent SMS, which leads to operators being more wary of bulk sending. It may therefore happen that your SMS messages will be marked as SPAM, especially if you send a large number in a short period of time. In extreme cases, your phone number may even be blocked.

These scenarios can be avoided. We have summarized for you 9 tips on how to avoid falling into spam and make the most of SMS marketing.

1. Collect data consciously

Send messages to customers who subscribe themselves. Whether, for example, by confirming the subscription in the order process on your e-shop or through various forms designed to collect contacts on your website.

2. Start slowly

If you are new to SMS marketing and have a new sender ID registered, start sending text messages gradually. You gradually increase the number of SMS messages you send per day, thereby creating a history with the operator that will support your credibility. For example, you can start with 50 SMS sent on the first day, 100 SMS on the second day and gradually increase according to your needs.

3. Inform the customer about the changes

If your ID needs to be changed, it is better to inform the customer. If he is aware of the change, he will not consider the new sender a potential threat, and the probability of blocking will be reduced many times over.

4. Frequency of messages sent

Too much of everything is harmful, and this is doubly true for SMS marketing. You can discourage the customer with a higher sending intensity, and thus they will mark you as SPAM or unsubscribe. You definitely want to avoid this, and therefore choose a lower frequency of sending messages at the beginning, which you gradually increase. Every business and target of SMS messages has a different purpose and therefore it is necessary to set and test the frequency that will suit your target group. However, one important rule applies to everyone. Never send more than 1 SMS per day! You can test with the number of 2-4 messages per month, then adjust the number according to the response and monitor the development further.

5. Identify yourself

The message you send should have basic information. It seems obvious, but at first glance you should be able to tell who is writing, so the presentation is on point. In our application, you can use sending with the sender name GoSMS, in this case you will definitely not make a mistake. We are a well-established company and our clients' customers are already familiar with this name. Another option is to choose your own number, where your introduction is required. The third option is the name of the sender itself. For large campaigns, this form is the best way to be identified and has a professional effect on customers.

6. Concise and error-free

The content of the message should be brief but to the point. We recommend sticking to a maximum of 160 characters including spaces, which is the length of 1 standard SMS message. In general, shorter texts are more positively received by the customer. The text should not appear robotic, it should be free of spelling and grammatical errors. In order not to end up in the operator's spam filter, be sure to vary the content of the message and do not stick to one template. Avoid using too many emoticons and special characters when formatting. The message should appear serious and textually understandable for everyone. Another thing that could send you to the spam box is the use of capital letters (eg VIP, FREE, GIFT) and therefore it is better to avoid such wording.

7. Beware of links

You will certainly want to redirect the customer with a message to more detailed information, for example to your website. In the case of links, the customer is more careful after all. Fraudulent SMS prompts to open a link, which is usually a mistake in this case. Show the customer that the click through to your website is relevant. One of the main rules is to stick to shortened URLs, long links don't look trustworthy. Always use a secure link containing "https://www" to prevent spam filters from blocking you. Tell where the link leads already in the message.

8. Opt-out option

Give customers a clear option to opt out of SMS messages. You will prevent the customer from contacting the operator and you will be blocked.

9. Feedback

You can verify the effectiveness of your messages by asking for feedback, for example: Answer "YES" for more information.

We hope that our tips have helped you to prevent your SMS messages from being marked as SPAM.