Do you want to make it easier for your subscribed customers to hear from you? Short code texting should be right up your alley. Short code texting is a 5- to 6-digit phone number through which you can send subscribers text messages.
It is also most commonly used for campaigns like the text to join opt-ins “Text JCAFE to 222456” and text-to-vote “[Program keyword/title] [Name of Contestant] to 123789”. Does that ring a bell with you? If you’re familiar with these campaigns, then you’re off to a great start.
Fortunately getting your own short code in the US is quick and simple. So, here is a step-by-step guide to sending short code text messages.
Establish your campaign goals
What’s great about short code texting is that it has wide applications. From marketing, advertising, promotions to public information, you can assign a specific short code for each campaign.
The first step is to set your SMS marketing campaign goals, determine the best call-to-action or keyword for it, and assign a short code where all info should come through.
For example, if you want to generate more leads, run a contest with a prize they can’t say no to. Think of a keyword and short code that participants can text to join officially. Lastly, advertise this across all your media platforms.
Lease a short code
Go to a US short code directory site to check out all available numbers for sale or lease. When applying for a dedicated short code, expect to be asked about your campaign goals before the administrators can assign anything to you.
Set it up
Upon approval, you can then start setting up your short code on your SMS marketing platform. You can also ask for some help from a short code aggregator if the process gets difficult at some point.
Tracking and monitoring
Keep track of your campaigns to ensure all efforts are delivering good results as they should be. If you’re running a contest, you would want to know how many entries you have been receiving via short code texting so far. Compare the results with the entries you receive from other media channels like social media, website, or email within a certain period of time.
Short codes are the 5-6 digit numbers used for sending and receiving mass text messages on cellular networks. If you’ve ever seen a message like “Text YES to 54321”, that’s a short code.
The two main types of short codes are shared and dedicated. Shared short codes are shared across multiple companies who send and receive messages with different keywords, but a dedicated short code allows you to use whatever keywords you like and text from your own unique short code.
Anyone can start sending short code text message right now! Just sign up for a free account with an online texting provider such as Express Text, upload your customers phone numbers, and send your first bulk SMS!
You can sign up for a no-obligation free trial with companies like Express Text, and get started with limited texting functionality for free. As your marketing campaigns and business needs grow, you can scale up your account to get more features.