Short Codes have long been a staple in the world of Text Message Marketing, giving businesses access to the most premium Mass SMS Route made available by the carriers. These 5-or-6 Digit phone numbers are specially provisioned for business-texting purposes with the Short Code Registry giving businesses access to a marketing phone number alongside premium service capabilities.
Why Use Short Codes?
- Short Codes are most famously used for text-to-enter campaigns, which have been a staple of TV, Billboard and Radio advertising for decades.
- These have never gone out of style since carrying a message over a text message carries a 98% read rate – a means of communication that is only amplified in the presence of a Short Code.
- Short Codes more easily create brand associations (i.e 40404 with Twitter)
Due to the controlled and highly regulated nature of these specialized phone numbers, there’s a bit of a curtain behind them and what they actually are for the majority of consumers. We find that businesses are often confused about the actual benefits of these codes, and maybe a little lost about some broad changes in our industry over the past few years.
Need a Recognizable Texting Number?
It goes without saying that the presentation of a 5-or-6 digit phone number has some inherent presentation benefits over your run-of-the-mill 10-digit numbers. Even the act of typing the number improves the odds a consumer opts-in for a texting campaign
It seems almost obvious that the short length of these phone numbers plays well with forms of advertising that may be time-limited.
Suitable areas where Short Codes can be used to generate leads are:
- TV/Streaming Ads
- Radio Read-offs
- Drive-by billboards
- Print Advertising
While a longer phone number will likely present less issues on print advertising, the use of Short Codes can still improve response rates. Moreover, by paying for a Vanity Short Code (starting at $1,500) businesses can pick their own number ensuring they have a memorable and personalized number that earns more responses.
There are even cases where businesses’ Short Codes have become synonymous with their brand. Long-time Twitter (Colloquially called: X) users spent a lot of time interacting with the iconic 40404. With time, a well-picked short code can be a powerful branding element for your business and give your outbound texting campaigns the most professional possible presence.
Throughput and Support
Due to their Carrier Registration status, Short Codes are privileged with an extremely high send at over 500 MPS – meaning your outbound campaigns will have the fastest possible processing when sent over a Short Code. Additionally, the higher registration status of Short Codes guarantees high delivery rates alongside timely resolutions to potential sending issues.
In short: businesses who choose to send over a Short Code can help reduce downtime, improve deliverability and ensure their message gets delivered as quickly as possible. This built-in reliability makes Short Codes the natural choice for businesses and organizations who need to send emergency text messages to their contacts.
About Shared Codes…
One element we find confuses marketers and businesses is the industry-wide changeover on Shared Short Codes which took place from 2020-22. Prior to these changes, Aggregators like Mobiniti could allow many businesses to share space on a single Short Code due to their high send speeds and support for shared-business use-cases. In order to increase Consumer Trust and cut down on Spam in the Text Messaging ecosystem, the Mobile Carriers have banned the use of Shared Short Codes, requiring that all businesses that send text messages be individually registered on their own route. This means that, in order to actually use a Short Code, a business must individually purchase and register their own Short Code.
With Short Codes starting at $1,000 per month, the Carriers recommend registering a 10DLC (Local Area Code Phone Number) for more cost-conscious businesses who would like to send text messages for marketing and business purposes. While these longer phone numbers may be less-ideal than Short Codes for Billboard/Radio advertising, they perform exceptionally well for a wide variety of businesses. We even have a variety of list-growth tools that don’t involve the end user typing in your phone number, which can both expand Short Code campaigns and empower Long Code campaigns.
Regardless of what type of phone number your business chooses to send your messages from, we’d be happy to talk over your needs to ensure you’re making the best use of your resources. Click here to set-up some time with a Mobiniti Representative, and we’ll assess your needs directly and explain how we can register your business for a Short Code!
