With the introduction of Tokens at BONZO, understanding message sizes and throughput has become a more exciting topic. Tokens have opened the door to unlimited prospects within your BONZO account while offering a more personalized understanding of your messaging use. Since tokens correlate to the number of message segments sent via automated outreach, breaking down messaging segments and throughput options becomes hugely beneficial.
Understanding Messaging Segments
Definition: A message segment is a file containing a limited size of message information (i.e. think of it as envelope or vessel for your message). Once your message reaches this information cap (you need a bigger envelope), it becomes two segments, and so on. There are a few factors that determine how many segments a message is going to end up being. The simplest way to find out is using a segment calculator, which we have built into your BONZO account! Every time you create a message that uses tokens, you will see how many tokens (correlating to the segments) it will cost.
Bonzo will calculate the segment length before you save or send a message.
But let’s say you want to adjust the segment amount used. This is helpful when creating campaigns or broadcast messages going to large numbers of recipients. Adjusting message size can allow you to maximize your daily throughput and ensure greater deliverability of your messages.
For a message with basic text only (SMS), one message segment is limited to 160 characters. A message header must be used when your message is longer than 160 characters, leaving 153 characters per segment (i.e. "Message 1/2")
When an emoji is used, the encoding used to send the message changes. This new encoding allows for 70 characters, including emojis, to be sent per segment or 67 characters per segment when multiple segments are sent.
A few nuanced situations are as follows:
Accented characters such as à, ñ, and ö can take a lot of Unicode bytes in one message segment, so be mindful when using them. However, other accented characters such as á, í, or ú don’t seem to affect the segmentation the same way.
Smart quotes are sometimes referred to as “curly quotes” because of how they look. Try not to use smart quotes if it can be avoided. Instead, use the simpler “straight quotes” such as [” “] and [‘ ‘].
Non-GSM spaces are usually a result of copying and pasting. Not all mobile phones and carriers support non-GSM characters, so this will negatively affect how your messages are displayed and segmented. Non-GSM spaces are not always easy to detect, so you can use a tool, such as M-Zone’s Unicode Detection Tool, to find them.
MMS is not limited by characters but by file size. 450kb is the safe limit for sending. MMS are sent separately from SMS to avoid confusion in segmentation.
Understanding Throughput
Definition: a term used to describe how many messages can be sent per second (or in another given time frame). It's frequently referred to as TPS (Throughput Per Second)
All accounts on BONZO are provided with the standard 10DLC throughput limits for respective carriers. Understanding messaging throughput is helpful, as exceeding it can cause dropped messages and delays in message delivery. The limits are as follows and are implemented strictly by the carriers:
AT&T: 240 Transactions Per Minute (TPM), 150 MMS TPM - this throughput limit is applied at the user level
T-Mobile: 2000 messages/day - this throughput limit is applied at the team level
Verizon and other major carriers do not share their throughput limits but are expected to be slightly higher than AT&T and T-Mobile’s standard throughputs.
Additional Vetting
If the throughput above isn’t enough for your business’s needs, you can apply for additional vetting. This additional vetting can be purchased for a one-time fee of 20k tokens. The Campaign Registry, a third-party provider, will do a deeper vetting of the information you have already provided and give your company a “Trust Score” to determine the throughput and volume apportioned to you.
Vetting "Trust Score"
Additional Vetting doesn’t guarantee that your carrier throughput or daily volume will increase.
While the exact algorithm used for generating Trust Scores is not known publicly, particular criteria having a significant role in your score are as follows:
Corporate Registration Data - validating business license, professional license, company website, etc.
Business Information - Age of business, size of business, information authenticity
Legal Histories - legal activity connected to business or stakeholders
Consumer Complaint Checks
Third-Party Compliance, Complaint, and Threat actor histories through Market Monitor, SpamResponse, PhishFeed, and Threat Detect
Upon completion, a “Trust Score” will be reflected in your profile, along with your new throughput ceiling.
Continued Education
If you find yourself continually approaching your throughput limits, or you would like to consider more efficient ways to send large message batches, there are a few ways you can adjust your segment usage.
Limit unnecessary character use - In the above section, there is a list of special characters that can take up more space than you might realize. Check for these if you think your messages are appearing longer than they are.
Use Emojis wisely - Emojis limit a segment length to 70 characters instead of the standard 160. If you have a message with one emoji that is 71 characters long, consider editing the message down or removing the emoji (Emoji’s are definitely worth it though ;))
URLs - Use proper business URLs that take a customer directly to the intended link. Business URLs are often shorter than full-length URLs and can save some space.
Consider symbol use - Not only can symbols take up multiple characters without you knowing it, but too many symbols, especially consecutively, can cause carriers to filter your message as suspected spam.
Get personal! - Oftentimes, a message built for a large group can come across as robotic and include excessive information. Try messaging conversationally and avoid excessive text and spam flags.
Utilize Tokens to optimize messaging content and influence throughput, maximizing the benefits for your automated outreach in your BONZO account.