Recent research suggests that SMS marketing will rise by 52% by 2023. Most of your customers own an SMS-enabled phone, and text messages are almost always opened (and quickly). Brands are seeing the immense benefits of SMS marketing because of this: consumers interact with texts, collected data can inform you about their interests and habits, and it’s an additional channel for you to drive revenue.

As consumers, we can almost always identify when those texts come through – often from a five- or six-digit phone number that looks different than the 10-digit phone numbers that belong to friends and family. Short codes like this are one way that brands send personalized messages directly to their mobile list.

Shared short codes: recent changes

In the SMS marketing world, there are two types of short codes: shared and dedicated short codes. Shared short codes (SSCs) means that multiple businesses will share the same five- or six-digit code. The benefit is that with thousands of businesses sharing the same code, the total amount each individual business spends is reduced. Smaller brands have more accessibility to SMS marketing through shared short codes.

However, SSCs don’t come without risks. If one brand abuses their SMS list, every brand using that code can be affected and at worst, blocked. Dedicated short codes (DSCs) are exclusive to individual businesses which gets rid of this issue – but there’s a cost for this exclusivity.

SSCs are among the top sources of harmful and unwanted text messages in the short code marketing world. Carriers have taken notice of this abuse and have announced that they will no longer provide new SSCs. While there are different schedules among the different carriers as to when a complete ban will go into effect (and some still haven’t formalized a date), brands should prepare sooner than later.

So, what do I do now?

Don’t worry; you have options! Better yet, we think you have better options. To determine which SMS marketing strategy is right for you, you’ll want to consider: your desired throughput for your SMS campaigns, your desired use cases, and how many texts you want to send.

Your options are:

Dedicated Short Codes (DSCs): The fancier cousin of the shared short code – these five- or six-digit codes are exclusive to your brand. DSCs are capable of SMS blasts in the millions daily. If your brand is prioritizing a high volume of messages with high throughput, DSCs could be best for you. Keep in mind this is the priciest option.
10-Digit Long Codes (10DLCs): Up until recently in the United States, long codes were reserved for person-to-person communication (P2P); however, there’s now an option for brands to send Application-to-Person (A2P) communication through a 10DLC. These numbers are vetted by operators, meaning that they have higher throughput and lower filtering risks than long codes in the past.
Toll-Free Numbers (TFNs): While TFNs are technically an option, they’re far less sustainable or attractive for brands. These numbers can only send one message at a time. These should be reserved exclusively to occasional use cases like transactional messages. These numbers are the cheapest option with the least capabilities.

How to restart your SMS campaigns with Acoustic

If you’re currently using SSCs as a part of your SMS marketing strategy, connect with your Acoustic representative. We’ll help you sort through your options, come to the best decision for your needs and strategies, and move you to the alternative of your choice while avoiding any disruptions to your campaigns today.

If you’re thinking about adding SMS to your marketing strategy for the first time, contact us to learn more and review The Acoustic Guide to SMS for more details.

The end of shared short codes: what now?

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