Last month, the Federal Communications Commission made a declaratory ruling that peer-to-peer texting systems (P2P) were not considered automatic telephone dialing systems (ATDS) and that they could be used when engaging consumers. Peer-to-peer texting is a form of Short Message Service (SMS) where someone drafts and sends messages to large groups of people. Most companies use P2P texting to collect real-time data with current customers who have enabled or given permission to receive the messages. The ruling determined that if a human drafts the message, then it is not performed by an automated telephone dialing system. Therefore, it does not breach the protections put in place by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA).
You can check out their ruling here.
What does this mean for the world of marketing? It ensures that companies pursuing and implementing Short Message Service marketing with third parties are compliant and that they can continue to reach their mobile user audience.
In just a decade, SMS has grown into a popular method adopted by a wide range of companies to reach out to their customers. There are many benefits to implementing an SMS marketing strategy. Some include:
• Increasing foot traffic
• Increasing sales and customer base
• The ability to instantly reward loyal customers
• Communicating quickly with customers
• Establishing a stronger personal connection with customers
• And much more
According to SlickText, an SMS marketing platform, SMS has a 98% open rate, with 95% of text messages read within the first five minutes. Those numbers are astronomical compared to email, which only receives an open rate of 21% on average across industries. SlickText also uncovered that 70% of Americans want to receive offers from their favorite companies and brands to their phone, with 22% forwarding messages to friends and family.
Those are substantial numbers that prove text messaging and mobile usage aren’t going to slow down anytime soon. In fact, reports have projected that by 2025, 6 billion people will send and receive SMS messages. That will be roughly 74% of the population at that time! For now, in 2020, 85% of people say they prefer to receive text messages over a phone call or email. And with the average person checking their phone around 85 times per day, creating an SMS marketing campaign will ensure your customers will never miss out on an update or offer from your company, and in turn, you’ll watch your return on investment grow.
Contact us today and let’s get to work on building you the most optimal SMS strategy for your organization.
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