With many of the changing laws and regulations surrounding texting, it may have you saying “What the heck?”. In today’s tech-savvy world, it is more important than ever to communicate with clients through their preferred method of communication. That’s one of the biggest advantages of using the Ricochet360 platform for all your sales and service needs because we pull phone, SMS, and email together in one powerful application!

However, as is the case with superheroes, with great power comes great responsibility. As TCPA regulations get more strict many carriers and SMS services are taking measures to protect themselves from potential litigation and, in some cases, even self-governing their platforms. There have been cases recently where customers have not been flagged by Ricochet360, but major carriers have identified their texts as “spam” and denied the ability for any text from that number to be delivered on their network!

So, what must one do to be compliant and continue to use this effective communication method? Simply put, the heart of the regulation is to ensure that consumers only receive texts they desire to receive. The best way to achieve this is to ensure that there is an acknowledgment from the lead that they have requested or accepted SMS communication with your company.

• If you are posting leads from an online form, there are some very specific rules you want to follow:
  • Ensure that there is a clear, specific message that indicates consent to communicate via text messages
  • Opt-In message text size and color must be highly visible. For example, This wouldn’t be acceptable
  • The check box must NOT be pre-checked! The lead must check the box, actively acknowledging consent

• If you are purchasing numbers from a vendor, make sure that the vendor provides proof of consent. Often times they harvest the leads from online forms, gather consent, and can send that field when posting the lead into Ricochet. You will want to ensure that the verbiage of that consent extends to your company if you plan on texting them.
• When creating an SMS drip campaign, draft the first message to include some acknowledgment of “Opt-in” such as “Hello Sally, thank you for opting to talk via text!”. Ricochet360 automatically provides an “Opt-Out” message that is sent each time a lead is texted, but taking that extra step of ensuring the lead agrees to SMS communication is very important to be in compliance.

Meaningful messaging is the best way to avoid a high “Opt-Out” ratio. If you are receiving as low as a 0.3% opt-out to your texts (people responding with “Stop”) it is likely considered as undesired texts. This is where careful planning of your campaigns really comes into play! Ricochet360 recommends when setting up your campaigns:

• Don’t schedule texts too close together to avoid irritation
• Make each message count! Ricochet360 campaigns can make use of any lead field so you can really make texts very specific to the lead’s interests versus generic messages that often make the lead feel like they are just another number in a database.
• Text like a person, not a robot

Whether you are a small office with three or four agents or a large organization with hundreds of agents, text campaigns make all the difference in making meaningful contact with your leads and allowing long-term communication with multiple leads simultaneously! Therefore, it is imperative that we all work together to ensure that this effective communication method is not impeded.

Disclaimer:  This document is not intended to be used for legal advice regarding compliance with TCPA or any other statute.  Businesses should consult legal counsel for specific legal guidance about the adoption of any listed best practice or use any particular texting solution to meet compliance requirements.