What you don’t know can hurt you, and the mobile world’s fast-paced SMS marketing platforms are only growing in size. Text message marketing is incredibly effective—but it’s also incredibly fragile. If you’re harnessing a new SMS strategy, keeping compliancy in mind will help your brand survive—even thrive.
As the business world adapts to text messaging marketing, those capable of hitting the customer’s “sweet spot” without breaking compliance and trust are revered. Check out the biggest compliance issues SMS marketers look out for, and how to avoid them:
Compliancy Issue One: Not Understanding Regulatory Background
The US CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 is a great place to start. The act is connected to commercial MMS and SMS programs subjected to opt-out consent, and it offers a solid rundown of un-subscription requirements. Covering email primarily, the US CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 has been adopted by many SMS marketers.
If you don’t understand the US CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, you’re setting yourself up for failure. The 2003 act acknowledges the Federal Communications Commission’s warrant over mobile messages as new guidelines develop. Many modern marketers urge their SMS teams to fully understand the basic guidelines.
Compliancy Issue Two: Opting-In Consumers Twice
It happens, and it happens all too frequently. Multidimensional mobile marketing campaigns target consumers on multiple levels, impacting their lives via SMS, email, social media and even web browsers. Each carries an opportunity for opt-in text service subscription, but not every channel should be used to its fullest potential.
Don’t accidentally opt-in your subscribers twice. If they join a program via web form, be sure to remove further opt-in options via email, text or social media. If you do, double sign-ins will occur. Even worse: A consumer unsubscribing from your service won’t be happy when they still receive texts.
Compliancy Issue Three: Not Honoring Opt-Out Requests in 72 Hours
Opt-out requests should be heeded immediately, but they should never exceed the 72-hour mark. Three days after receipt of opt-out requests, your consumer should be completely untied from all engagement. Mutually beneficial and respectful subscriber relationships occur when compliance is a “yes or no” deal. Don’t hold a customer’s SMS outreach active too far after an opt-out has occurred.
Compliancy Issue Four: Not Extending Opt-Out Policies to Social Media Users
Social media has become a near-integral component of SMS
marketing. Social networking offers rapid adoption of deals, amenities, in-store options and even business options. Currently, 79 percent of Fortune 500 companies use Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn as integral communication resources. Modern business makes such interactions almost necessary.
Any SMS opt-in campaign should extend to social media offers, and any compliance checks should, too. If your subscribers alter or remove their SMS subscription, they should immediately receive the option to extend the decision to social media. Any deals, services or offers exclusive between both platforms should be altered accordingly.
Compliancy Issue Five: Considering Approval as Blanket Approval
A “yes” doesn’t extend to all services, and you shouldn’t implement any service not disclosed within initial agreement terms. Opted-in consumers are already wary of opt-in services, and anything seemingly hidden will turn them away immediately.
Additionally, blanket approval can make opting out difficult. If consumers opt-in for location-based offers, and if you’ve awarded them with additional e-commerce options, they’ll be upset to see such options existing after opting out. It breeds distrust—even if the consumer benefits from offers.
Compliancy Issue Six: Not Displaying Privacy Policies
Your SMS campaign should contain explicit details. Any program terms, privacy policies and secondary policies should be stated upfront, and consumers should be frequently reminded of policy guidelines and limits.
Text-based offers often exist for a long time, and policies can change quite a bit. As new technology develops, new business practices are adopted and company policy changes, text offers will adapt. Your consumer deserves total disclosure, both before and during your campaign.
Compliancy Issue Seven: Not Being Up to Date with Industry Titans
Both Microsoft and Facebook have become incredibly wary of privacy issues, and their decisions guide marketing’s boundaries. Staying up to date with both is vital to your opt-in strategy’s success, as you’ll be capable of following the industry’s big decision makers.
One of Facebook’s Safety Advisory Board members, Parry Aftab, suggests such titans offer ironclad privacy guidelines to follow in the opt-in age. Such sites don’t provide personally identifiable information unless consent is given. In the texting world, social media is a golden standard sibling to watch closely. As the marketing world shifts and molds itself to the modern consumer’s wants and needs, new strategies and ideologies will grow.
