Messaging Best Practices - NORAM SMS / MMS

Best Practices for Message Content

Bird recommends the following best practices when creating your SMS or MMS content and choosing your source phone numbers. High quality, well-formatted content is more likely to be opened and read by an end-user and less likely to be mistaken as spam by users and mobile operators. We may review any message content as part of an account review.

These best practices make messages more valuable to users and less likely to trigger real-time content analysis / spam filters from flagging messages incorrectly as spam.

• Your Business (Brand) information is related to the Business that is customer facing, that is seen as the Brand related to the message content. Business and brand information should match your CP-575 letter and your online presence, such as your branded website.

• No number sharing between multiple businesses. Do not use the same number originator for different customer-facing businesses. It is not allowed. And it will result in registration rejection or message blocks and filtering.

• Use one recognizable business URL domain name: each messaging program should be associated with a single business’s web domain. Although a full domain is preferred, a branded short URL may be used to deliver custom links. This adds continuity with the user to improve brand awareness as well as it increases confidence in the link. Public URL shorteners are not allowed.

• Direct consent: you should collect the user consent yourself for each of your messaging use cases, and not use consent acquired from a third party. The user is expecting a relationship with the business they interacted with. This will be reviewed during registration and it should be clear in your SMS Privacy Policy.

• Set expectations on message frequency: you should set the proper expectation with the user on how many messages they can expect to receive. This message frequency disclaimer is mandatory in the call-to-action / opt-in flow and in the Confirmation Message. Eg: if you are sending 5 texts a month, then disclosing “5/msg a month” on the call-to-action or Opt-in Confirmation message will result in a positive user experience.

• Business name in every message: you should include the end-business name (brand) within the message to ensure that the user knows who they are interacting with and not attempt to hide the identity of this business.

• Ending Messages with STOP instructions: to ensure that the user feels that they have control to remove themselves from text message communication, you should end your messages with the Opt-out keyword STOP. Eg: “_____. STOP to opt out". You are expected to send STOP instructions often, at least once a month for recurring messaging programs. Make sure to add STOP instructions in all your samples for number registration.

• Respect and honor OPT-IN and OPT-OUT requests. And provide a response to STOP and HELP keywords at a minimum.

• Use natural language: you should use natural language in your messages, which means that you do not use non-standard spellings. For example, “H! h0w ar3__you do1ng?” is a nonstandard spelling.

• Example compliant Text Message Opt-in Language: “[ ] By submitting this form and checking this box, you consent to receive [use case type] text messages from [company name] at the number provided. Consent is optional and not a condition of purchase. Msg & data rates may apply. Msg frequency varies. Unsubscribe at any time by replying STOP or clicking the unsubscribe link (where available). HELP for assistance. Privacy Policy [link] & Terms [link].”