What is double opt-in for SMS marketing?
Double opt-in for SMS marketing is a process to confirm the intent to receive SMS marketing. It is a two-step designed to ensure that people legitimately signed up SMS marketing messages from you.
Why you should use double opt-in
You should use double opt-in if people can sign-up for SMS marketing using anything other than a texted in keyword.
For example, let’s say you use a welcome mat popup on your website that is shown to new visitors. In that popup you offer a discount coupon for signing up for mobile offers by entering in your mobile number:
When used correctly
When used correctly, the person receiving the popup fills out the form, submits it, and receives a coupon for 15% off their next purchase.
When used incorrectly
When used incorrectly, the person receiving the popup fills out the form with someone else’s number, submits it, and now that person starts receiving unwanted text messages. And likely reports the message as junk and causes subsequent messages to be flagged as a carrier violation.
For example, Mike decides to sign up his friend Anne. And, instead of using his mobile phone number, he uses Anne’s mobile phone number.
Suddenly, Anne begins receiving email and SMS marketing that she doesn’t want and didn’t sign up for!
And, this puts the senders reputation in jeopardy. Because they are sending marketing communication to someone who did not opt-in!
Instead, using a double opt-in, Anne would first receive a confirmation text message confirming her intent to sign up. If Anne does not confirm her intent for the text message, she will not receive the marketing communication.
How double opt-in for SMS marketing works
Double opt-in uses the following steps to confirm the intent of the SMS recipient:
- Visitor or customer completes a form on your website.
- An SMS message is sent to the number provided.
- A reply to that SMS message to confirm intent is required.
For example:
- Example
- Thanks for signing up for ACME text messages. To confirm your subscription reply back with JOIN or reply STOP to opt out.
- JOIN
- You are in! Thanks for joining. You can reply HELP for more information at any time!
Building double opt-in for SMS is easy with DailyStory’s automations and is a built-in automation template.
Automate the double opt-in process
In DailyStory we accomplish this using a double opt-in automation. An automation runs to check if any replies were received from that text message:
If a reply is received with the keyword “JOIN”, three things happen:
- An audit log entry is written confirming when the message was received.
- A text message reply is sent back confirming they are opted in.
- Optionally, the contact is added to a segment.
Audit log of double opt-in confirmations
Below is an example of an audit log for a double opt-in automation:
In conclusion
Double opting-in your SMS marketing contacts isn’t required, but is a good idea. Learn more about SMS Marketing Best Practices.
