High-quality, well-formatted content is more likely to be opened and less likely to be mistaken as spam by recipients and carriers. Follow these guidelines to make sure your SMS content meets the standards for great messaging.
Messaging Length/Segments:
SMS (Short Message Service) - standard text messages are measured in “segments.” 160 characters or less is equivalent to 1 segment. However, not all characters are the same:
Accented characters such as à, ñ, and ö can be counted as more than one ‘character,’ so be mindful when using them. However, other accented characters such as á, í, or ú don’t affect segmentation.
Smart quotes are sometimes referred to as “curly quotes” because of how they look. Try not to use smart quotes as much as you can. Instead of [“ ”] or [‘ ’], use the simpler “straight quotes” such as [" "] and [' '].
Emojis limit the message length to 70 characters because the message must now be sent in a different type of encoding, which takes 16 bits to encode each character rather than the 7 used generally.
MMS (Multimedia Message Service ) - not limited by characters but by file size. 450kb is safe limit for sending. Try sending media as links to prevent extra charges of MMS.
If your account has been moved to our tokens-based communication system, Bonzo will calculate the segment length before you save or send a message.
Messaging Throughput:
Once you're account is fully verified you have the following quotas assigned to your number: AT&T: 240 Transactions Per Minute (TPM), 150 MMS TPM T-Mobile: 2000 messages/day
Messaging throughput is helpful to understand as it can cause dropped messages and delays in messaging delivery. The quotas above do not mean that you cannot message recipients who use other carriers, these are just limits that these carriers have published.
If the throughput above isn’t enough for your business’ needs, you can apply for Additional Vetting (CSP) in the verification section of your Communication's Tab for 20K Tokens. This includes third-party vetting from a company in association with The Campaign Registry (TCR) to establish a ‘score’ determining the throughput and volume apportioned to you. Read here for a detailed breakdown of the possible scores and requisite throughput.
Additional Vetting doesn’t guarantee that your carrier throughput or daily volume will increase.
Regardless, Bonzo leverages ‘smart queueing technology’ that auto-tracks approved throughputs/rate limits and auto-manages traffic going to each Carrier to maximize texting ROI potential. Smart queueing prevents you from exceeding messaging API throughput capabilities to avoid dropped or blocked messages while sending as quickly as possible—ensuring your message delivers before your competition
Broadcast vs. Campaign Messaging
There’s no shortage of ways to communicate with your prospects in Bonzo. Two of the most common are Broadcasts and Campaigns. While there are many differences between the two methods of communication, let's focus on the throughput aspect here.
Broadcasts - when sending messages via Broadcasts, your character limit is capped at 160—or one “segment.” This is to guarantee delivery of bulk messaging. Since broadcast messages are sent as quickly as our API will allow, a character over 160 would double segment count, risking carrier filtering
Campaigns - Bonzo doesn’t limit campaign character count. This is because campaigns are often sent to a specified group of people as they’re added—not all at once. Since the group is limited and messages staggered, the chance of filtering or queuing delay is highly unlikely.
Send messages in smaller groups when possible; messages sent in batches of <=250 segments at a time is a good rule of thumb
Warm Up Your SMS Reputation
When you lease a new number for your SMS marketing, or move from another provider, you need to warm up your sending number reputation to avoid carrier violations.
Warming up your sending reputation is the process of re-introducing the new number to your recipients and establishing a positive reputation with the carriers. This allows your recipients to understand what number you send from and the type of content you send.
Warm up your sending numbers slowly. Remember, new numbers are unknown to recipients and may lead to the prospect opting-out of communicating with you. Too many opt-outs will cause your message to get flagged as a carrier violation. Moreover, when carriers see your text messages for the first time, it’s best to keep your messages simple and concise. Most importantly, don’t use links or any sales language.
Bonzo requires all Members to limit Opt Out rates to below 5%. Opt outs in excess of this can damage your “sending number reputation.”
Warm up your new Bonzo number by communicating with your friends and family. These are people who won’t (or shouldn’t ) opt out of your communication— improving your sending.
Continued Education
These below info. can help make your messages more valuable to prospects and less likely be flagged by carriers
As a general rule, carriers don’t pre-approve or whitelist messaging content. A carrier may review any message content as part of an account review.
If the message is reviewed by a third party, out of context, it should appear to be a transactional, application-to-person message, originating from a specific request by the end user.
In general, message CONTENT should INCLUDE 3 things:
Your name and your organization’s name
A reference to the reason the message is being sent
A STOP or opt-out message
A “STOP” message should be on all messages sent prior to receiving a response from a prospect. The prospect must, regardless, opt in prior to being contacted.
In addition:
Use natural language; standard spellings, grammar, and punctuation
Set expectations for message frequency. If you plan to send five texts a month, disclosing “5 messages a month” on the first interaction leads to a better user experience.
Example: Good Content
Hi, {Name}, and thank you for requesting more information from {CompanyName}. Reply STOP to opt out.
{Name}, it’s Jim from ABC Mortgage, I saw you asked me to provide you a quote—I’d be happy to!
Message CONTENT should AVOID:
The words “Free,” “Offer,” “Winner,” or other promotional language requests for action without specifying context.
Generic, or public URL shortener links (i.e. https://bit.ly/application). If your messages contain links, use a URL in a domain that your business owns and that aligns with the brand or campaign from which you send the message, and use full URLs when possible.
Further, URLs included in your messages should avoid multiple redirects. Message recipients might flag a message with multiple redirects as a phishing attempt, which might result in the suspension of your campaign.
In addition:
Marketing messages must be truthful, not misleading and, when appropriate, backed by scientific evidence in order to meet the standards set by the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Truth In Advertising rules.
Example: Bad content
Download our app {appname} now to get $20 in free credits https://appstoreurl.com/myapp
Following these guidelines will ensure that your SMS content meets the standards for great messaging, enhancing effectiveness and deliverability.