Set up a short code opt-in sequence of messages
Set up a short code opt-in sequence of messages
1. Sign up for an account with an SMS service provider like SlickText, Tatango, or MessageMedia and get a dedicated or shared short code assigned to your account based on your business goals and objectives.
Dedicated short codes are exclusive to your company, whereas shared short codes are shared between different businesses. Based on considerations such as your business goals and objectives, decide on a short code type for your business and have your SMS service provider set it up for you.
2. Decide on how many messages you will send a week, and create a welcome message for new subscribers to let them know what to expect.
Make sure you let new customers know about what to expect when they sign up in the first message.
3. Choose and set up an opt-in keyword for your business to allow new users to subscribe to your SMS list, and add it to your welcome message.
Your opt-in keyword is what users will need to text to your short code to subscribe to your SMS text list. If you run a retail store, such as a pizza delivery service, and you choose a shared short-code, be aware that someone may have already selected the keyword Pizza for that short code. In this case, you will not be able to use Pizza as your opt-in keyword. See your SMS service provider documentation for instructions on how to choose and set up an op-in keyword, or have them set it up for you.
4. Create and write a list of messages and offers you want to send to your subscribers based on your business goals, sticking to a limit of 3-5 messages per week.
For example, if you sell garments, then you may want to send offers related to upcoming promotions and discount codes. Limit messages to 3-5 messages per week to avoid the chance of irritating your subscribers with too many messages.
5. Set up the automation in your SMS service provider account, including your chosen Keyword, Trigger Event, Message Name, Message Content, Delay, and any other details you want to customize.
How you do this depends on the SMS service provider you use, but you’ll generally need to: Navigate to the Automations section on your dashboard. Create a new automation. Select the Keyword for your short-code. Select the Trigger Event. For example, you could set the messages to trigger when a new user subscribes to your SMS list. Enter the Message Name, Message Content, and Delay for the message. For example, you could send the message a few minutes/hours/days after a user subscribes to your SMS list. Save the message and repeat the process for all the other messages in your campaign.