Digital Communication offers two versions of text messaging; Operational and Marketing text messages. The primary distinction between the two is around how opt-ins are handled. Opt-ins are an important part of text messaging. With text messaging the regulations that govern them (e.g., TCPA) and their carriers require that a person has opted in to receive text message even if it's transactional. (This is different from emails where CAN-SPAM allows you to email without the person having to opt-in as long as you have a opt-out option of marketing email. And doesn’t require an unsubscribe for transactional/operational messages)
For a step by step guide to implementing text messaging, please refer to our Implementation Guide.
Operational/Transactional Text Messaging
With our operation/transactional text messaging service, you would handle the opt-ins through a process outside of the text messaging service. Some examples of the how the opt-ins can be gathered are:
- Online Banking interrupt page asking if they want to enroll in operational text messaging
- new Customer/account opening process that has a opt-in for text messages
- new loan documentation has an opt-in for late payment reminders, etc.
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Marketing Text Messaging
With our marketing text messaging service, you decide the type of information you would like to text and you define a word (keyword) that the individual would use to opt-in or opt-out of messages. Most of our clients only use one keyword and use this for all Marketing text messages. However, some prefer to segment the communications. Examples of keywords include:
- Rates or Offers – used to give information about bank product promotions
- Note: The carriers have forbidden the use of text messaging for loan marketing, so this would be deposit product promotions, new services that are not loan related, etc.
- Events – used to give information about community events, classes/webinars, etc.
- We have a client who is a sponsor for a sporting team in their community, they use a keyword related to that sporting team (e.g., Bears, basketball, etc.) and they notify people of promotions related to the team.
- ClientName – this is an example of a keyword you might use if you want to have a very broad keyword to represent anything for that Client.
When you use a keyword, you would let your customers know about this through signs in the branch, information on your website, email to your customers, etc. This would essentially say: Text “<keyword>” to <888.555.1111> to receive text messages about <x>. Message rates apply.
An individual would text the keyword “Gateway” (or whatever keyword you decide) to your mobile toll-free number that Marquis would assign. They would get a confirmation of being enrolled and then the next time you send a text to the people enrolled in that keyword, they would get the text. Each keyword would be paired with an opt-out keyword allowing the individual to un-enroll from the text notifications for that keyword.
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Article Reference: DCP11A, DCP11B