What is SMS short code & how is it used?
Marketing strategies are reaching over and beyond everyone’s expectations. It started with advertisements in newspapers and evolved to billboards. Technology changed and companies turned towards digital marketing, and now there are numerous ways in which this can be carried out.
One such marketing strategy that has sustained the ever-evolving marketing is the SMS short code. There are thousands of businesses from all over the world that are opting for this kind of marketing. It is extremely convenient as it is easy to monitor.
Eager to know about SMS short code and how it is used? Well, keep reading, and you will find the answers to all your queries in just one article.
What is an SMS short code?
As the name suggests SMS short code is a five to six digit number that is optimized for a particular organization or an industry. They are used to convey information about the product, passwords, discounts and offers, win-pages, and so much more to the customer via an SMS or MMS.
These are often used by several organizations to allow their customers to use an SMS campaign.
These short codes can be of two variegated types; Dedicated short code and shared short code. We will take a look at both of them, eventually, and understand their importance.
Where is the SMS short code used?
Take a quick sneak peek inside your SMS box, do you see any small numbers with information about any particular product? Well, there you go. Those short numbers are short codes. These numbers are used by several organizations to send messages in a bulk, which is in larger amounts than normal. It can include over thousands of messages that are conveyed almost daily. SMS service providers often have a pre-defined list of the numbers of the organizations.
Apart from sending multiple messages, these can also be used for the following purpose:
● Notifying the members with discounts and offers they can avail.
● One time passwords (OTP) can also be given through this particular code.
● Reset links for certain platforms.
● Notifying about the give-aways and Text to win messages.
● To conduct a text survey via an SMS feedback format.
How to avail of the feature of SMS short code?
Several short code organizations offer you with the service. You just need to fill an online application for the same and the follow-up email will be generated. Further details regarding the code will be given to you via email service.
Few people often opt for a short cut method for availing SMS short code. Instead of contacting a short code organization, they will choose an SMS aggregator or a service provider to get their codes.
Many people prefer that later and make use of several service providers. Service providers are well known to use a perfect strategy to contact the organization. They know all ins and outs and also how to fill in the required information. This leaves no gap for a mistake and the organizations do not have to stress upon it themselves.
Once you receive the SMS short code you would be needed to contact wireless carriers for the same. Once the request is approved you can start sending the SMS.
Using the above code you can send both transactional and promotional messages via text.
What is the minimum cost for an SMS short code?
Any short code can easily cost you about $500 per month for a random code $1000 per month for a vanity code. It is usually a fixed amount and any SMS aggregator will charge you the same amount. There no possible benefits that an organization can get if they contact an SMS short code organization directly, and hence, it is often suggested to use an SMS aggregator.
Types of Short codes:
If you read for the cost section you might have come across the words; Vanity short code and Random short code. So, what are these codes?
Vanity short code:
Vanity short code is a code the organization chooses for itself according to their choice and requirement.
Random short code:
Random short codes on the contrary are random numbers that are selected by the organization and provided to the companies. These cost almost half the latter and can be conveniently used.
What are shared short codes?
Short codes cost a lot, especially for small businesses and corporations. This lets the companies share codes among multiple organizations. This service can be highly beneficial if organizations use certain kinds of keywords in their SMS. This lets the receiver differentiate between organizations and they can use whichever service they like the most.
Recently, the shared short codes are losing their hype due to several laws passed by the states. But some providers still offer the service and you can avail of it anytime you want. If you do not want to fall into the hassle of shared codes then you can also go for toll-free numbers that provide you with similar benefits.
So, whether you are a restaurant owner, tax firm, school, doctor, Real estate agent, and whatnot you can easily use this service. SMS short codes are extremely convenient to use and often provide the users with the benefit of sharing SMS to a copious number of people in no time at all. You can choose whether to use a shared code or not.
As a receiver, if you ever feel like the SMS are not adequate and you do not require it you can just send a “STOP” message and you will be withdrawn from the wireless line.
