Kaitlyn Orred
As part of AT&T’s new policies and code of conduct, no new short code programs will be activated or approved. The company also announced that all existing shared short codes will be terminated at a future date to be determined. Although the timeline is not yet clear when this will occur, AT&T has specified it would give “appropriate advanced notice” for these changes.
The company's decision was presumably motivated to improve SMS reliability and make better options available in 2019. The likelihood of other mobile carriers (Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc.) following a similar path is very high.
WHAT IS CALL-EM-ALL'S SOLUTION?
During the last two years, we launched a new texting platform that leverages business text messaging from local and toll-free numbers instead of our older shared short code of 292929. The new platform features many product improvements and a better user interface. Today, 96% of our active customers are already enjoying tremendous value from using the new platform. As a result of AT&T’s decision, we have decided to end support for our old platform.
Moving forward, all new accounts created and customers that are currently using a shared short code will be assigned a Toll-Free Number. Customers can also contact us to text enable their local, landline numbers or toll-free numbers they own.
BENEFITS OF USING A TOLL-FREE NUMBER (TFN)?
- High delivery rates and fast, reliable sending
- Contacts no longer need to opt-in to receive messages
- When someone gives you their phone number, you’ll be able to add them in your account and immediately begin to send them text messages from day one
- Engage in 2-way Text Conversations
- If someone responds to you, you'll be able to see the response and easily reply to them, turning a mass text broadcast sent to many people to a 2-way conversation with one contact right in your account
- We make it easier to text
- When you upload a list of contacts, Call-Em-All will now be able to tell which phone numbers are cell phones and which are landlines. We'll let you text the cell phones and have you record a voice message for the landlines. This way you'll know you're appropriately reaching 100% of your contacts.
- Your contacts can still join your texting groups.
- Your contacts can put themselves in your contacts list by texting ‘join’ to your toll- free 800 number.
- Feature enhancements: the ability to personalize messages with custom fields like {firstname} or {appointment date}, the Message Library now supports text templates, and automated opt-outs to keep your contacts from getting unwanted messages!
- A TFN legitimizes your business and adds credibility to your text or voice message
WHAT CAN YOU ANTICIPATE FOR THE FUTURE?
- Call-Em-All is watching and preparing for more industry changes
- We will continue to adopt to the latest technology available
- Mass texting will start using long codes instead of toll-free numbers
- RCS Messaging and the inclusion of exciting new features
WHAT IS AN SMS SHORT CODE?
As one of the most effective ways to interact with prospective and existing customers, texting can help you save both time and money while increasing customer engagement, customer satisfaction and reducing the time that your team has to dedicate to tedious tasks. But it's not like you should be texting all your customers from your personal cell phone -- or a business phone for that matter. You'll need some kind of system to connect you to your audience.
The typical way is to use what is known as an SMS short code, a string of five or six individual numbers that acts similar to a texting-only number. Most of these short code campaigns are opt-in, which means that you would reach out with messaging of your own only after someone had interacted with or tried to contact you first. If you've seen those ads asking viewers to text "info" to 595959, you know what we're talking about.
There are even different variations of short codes. One's known as a vanity SMS short code and the other is known as a non-vanity short code, also sometimes called a generic or random short code. Vanity SMS short codes are typically selected by a brand because of their symmetry, legibility or their ability to be easily remembered. Non-vanity short codes are generally assigned to the brand or company for limited use, and the number doesn't really matter that much.
There are also shared SMS short codes, which can be used across various brands and routed by software on the receiving end, and dedicated SMS short codes that are reserved only for the texting operations of one brand.
WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH AN SMS SHORT CODE?
No matter which type of SMS short code you use, all of them can be used to offer product discounts, giveaways and other special promotions to customers. But the real trick is in the automation of SMS short codes. Instead of sending out messages one by one, short codes allow you to send a high volume of text messages in a short amount of time, something you wouldn't be able to do with a standard telephone number.
Essentially, a short code is pre-approved by the wireless vendor to honor the texting demands needed, which makes them ideal for text messaging campaigns and text marketing. Things like sending discounts to subscribers, sharing reset codes to relieve the burden of customer support, creating surveys for your most ardent supporters, creating a sweepstakes or collecting feedback in a survey are all excellent uses of SMS short codes.
ARE SHORT CODES LIMITED GEOGRAPHICALLY?
Back in the days of landlines, the number you got was limited to a certain geographic area. But now you can take that number with you to another town or even another state, removing much of the need for the geographic boundaries that govern our phone systems. The same pretty much applies to SMS short codes, but it only goes so far as the boundaries of the United States. Outside the country you'll need a separate SMS short code for each national campaign you'd like to run. For example, the Common Short Code Administration governs short codes in the U.S. while the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association is responsible for short codes in Canada.
WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES TO SHORT CODES?
While SMS short codes may have been the only game in town when it comes to mass texting in the past, today, you can do many of the same things you could do with short codes with toll-free numbers. They look just like a typical telephone number, but they're not limited in their messaging capabilities like a standard phone number.