It’s no secret that in 2024 SMS Marketing has become a significant part of leveraging your contact list to help drive conversions and build relationships. 97% of US adults own a cellphone and the average open rate of an SMS campaign is a whopping 98%, which is FIVE TIMES higher than an email campaign. Here at Wise Agent, we are committed to giving you the tools you need to succeed and the knowledge of how to utilize them. That’s why we’ve put together a list of top ten best practices for using the Wise Text feature, to help you engage with your clients while remaining compliant with TCPA regulations. 

TOP 10 BEST PRACTICES FOR MARKETING WITH SMS TEXT MESSAGES

  1. Consent & Sender Identification in a Welcome Text

    Before you send any SMS text messages to a contact you MUST obtain permission to do so. It’s important to note that having someone’s contact details does not automatically imply consent. There are a variety of ways that you can obtain permission to connect with someone through SMS Communication such as:
    • Registration forms available on your branded website. 
    • Asking a contact to send a text message with a short code or phrase to your Wise Text number such as “START” or “INFO”. 
    • Obtaining written consent via Email or through Text messages. (If a contact initiates conversations with you that is considered consent and you are free to send them a Welcome Text or continue a conversation.)

Once you have received consent be sure to send an introductory text message to identify yourself as a Real Estate professional, and include the fee disclosure and message frequency verbiage. An example welcome/introductory text message is below for your reference:

    • Example A: “Thank you for requesting information on my open house this Saturday! By texting “OPEN HOUSE” you are consenting to receive text messages from John with Realty Brokerage. Message frequency may vary and data rates may apply. Visit [[link_url]] for more details on the upcoming open house. To opt-out reply with STOP.”
    • Example B: “Thank you for reaching out! By texting ‘START’, you are consenting to opt-in to receive text messages from me. Message frequency may vary and data rates may apply. To receive assistance text 'HELP' and to stop receiving SMS communication text ‘UNSUBSCRIBE’. -Sent by Jane with XYZ Brokerage"

  2. Include Opt-Out Language in Your Texts

    When sending SMS text messages make sure to include instructions on how your contacts can opt-out if they choose to do so. Our Wise Text feature will automatically unsubscribe any contact from your database that replies with any of the following phrases: STOP, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END or QUIT. But, it is still essential that you notify your clients that they have this option to remain compliant. We recommend including phrases like the following examples: 
    • Reply with STOP to opt-out.
    • To unsubscribe text END.
    • If you no longer wish to receive SMS text messages reply with UNSUBSCRIBE. 

  3. Avoid SHAFT and Other Prohibited Language 

    Certain types of messages are not allowed as outlined in our help article, Forbidden Text Messaging Use-Cases. We take these restrictions very seriously to maintain a safe and reliable messaging service for all members. SMS text message content that contains any of the SHAFT restrictions, or other restrictions listed in the Forbidden Text Message Use-Cases article, are in violation of the A2P 10DLC regulations. Failure to comply with these restrictions may result in your Wise Text account being placed under review and/or loss of access to the Wise Text feature altogether.

    Below is a high-level breakdown of SHAFT and other important regulations to become familiar with to ensure you remain compliant with TCPA guidelines. For a more in-depth list of restricted content click here. Restricted content includes but is not limited to: 
    • SHAFT: SHAFT stands for SEX, HATE, ALCOHOL, FIREARMS, TOBACCO/VAPE/E-CIGS. 
    • AGE-GATING: If you are sending messages in any way related to alcohol, firearms, gambling, tobacco or other adult content, then more restrictions apply. In addition to obtaining consent from every message recipient, you must ensure that no message recipient is younger than the legal age of consent based on where the recipient is located. You also must ensure that the message content complies with all applicable laws of the jurisdiction in which the message recipient is located or applicable communications industry guidelines or standards. All age-gated content in Canada must be blocked across Toll-free, Short Code, and Long Code. The only way to send age-gated traffic into Canada (even with proper age-gating) is to receive a special carrier exemption. Allowed age-gated content in Canada includes: 
      • Pocket Knives
      • Lighters
      • Non-alcoholic beverages. 

  4. Brand Yourself and Your Brokerage

    Contacts are much more likely to read text messages they receive if they know who is sending the text. Adversely, when clients do know who it is that is texting them they are less likely to respond, or click on any links or respond to call-to-actions. Including your branding helps improve your overall response rate but also helps your contact easily identify who you are. It's important to note, building a brand is not as simple as adding a signature to your text messages but it's a good place to start while helping you to stay compliant.

    Consider popular brands that have a positive social media following. In many cases they have a loyal customer base because consumers know what to expect and enjoy hearing from them. What sets them apart? Successful brands rely on the aesthetic they've built into their brand to help them stand out, whether it's humor to entertain their customers, or their consistency that translates to reliability. Whatever you decide you'd like to convey with your business/team, make sure you include it in the tone of your messages. For example, if you are selling luxury homes you might consider including free concierge services for your contacts and keeping your messages professional and geared towards high-end customer service. If you're catering towards first time home-buyers who are starting a new family it might help to provide your prospects with resources for moving companies, or programs for first time home buyers, and your messages might be less formal. Most prospects won't bother with saving your phone number if they haven't decided to use your services, so staying consistent will help them to easily identify you and set you apart from other real estate professionals. 

  5. Keep It Simple and Concise 

    SMS text messages are restricted by carriers and character limits. Make sure that you keep this in mind when constructing your messages or templates. While you have a character limit of up to 1600 characters, our recommendation for user readability is no more than 320 characters. (Messages longer than 160 characters are broken up into "segments" and sent out as partial messages, the receiving carrier then reconstructs the messages, re-combining them for readability.) Most carriers also limit their SMS text messages to 160 characters, as such your recipients may be charged for lengthier text messages if they are not subscribed to an unlimited plan. In addition to this, lengthier messages sent via SMS text tend to have a lower response rate as recipients are less likely to read the entirety of the message and perform the call-to-action you've included. Make sure that you're sending messages that are direct and have a clear purpose, whether that is to qualify your prospect's needs, promote a listing or schedule an appointment. 

  6. Share Relevant Information & Avoid Over-sharing 

    It's important to get to know your contacts and their needs. This will help you maintain your contact lists and ensure that you're sharing relevant information. Sending messages that are not relevant to your contacts on a regular basis demonstrates that you're not paying attention to their needs. Keep a close eye on your contact lists to help you curate relevant templates and campaigns that benefit the right people so you can build rapport and show your contacts that you're reliable. Good examples of relevant information includes sending listing price updates, checking in on anniversaries or birthdays, and sending information on upcoming open houses or appointments. 

    Although getting to know your contacts is important, make sure you're not over-sharing or asking invasive questions. Being personable with your leads will help you get to know their needs but you should remain professional while you do so. If you do connect with a contact and find them to be responsive and engaged be sure that you're guiding the conversation around their home-buying or home-selling needs. One of the easiest ways to stay safe is to categorize your conversations as either promotional or transactional. Promotional messages are used to promote your products or services (i.e. listings you have for sale, why they should choose you as their real estate professional, etc.), while transactional messages help your transaction move forward (i.e. scheduling appointments, showings, etc.). If you're conversation does not fall into either of those categories you may need to consider redirecting your conversation. It's ok to get to know you're contacts to build a good rapport, but always maintain professionalism.

  7. Include Call-To-Actions

    It's not enough to send relevant information to your contacts. After all, the goal is to engage your contacts in a conversation that will ultimately lead you to a transaction. That's why it's a good practice to always include a call-to-action in your messages. A call-to-action directs your recipients to take some sort of action after receiving your message. This includes requesting that they reply, clicking a link, confirming an appointment, or viewing a listing. Some examples of clear and concise messages are below for reference. 
    • Example A: "Hi [[NAME]], thanks for your recent enquiry about selling your property. I’m John with Brokerage Realty, and I’d love to discuss how we can get the best value for your home. When’s a good time to chat? Text STOP to opt-out."
    • Example B: "Hello [[NAME]], I see that you're searching for homes in Tucson, AZ. I have an upcoming open house next weekend, and I'd love to see you there! Visit [[OPEN HOUSE LINK]] for more details on this listing and to RSVP. Text STOP to opt-out."


  8. Avoid Redirecting  Contacts to External Links/Websites or Shortened URLs

    This may seem counteractive to the last recommendation but there's a difference between sending a client who has been interactive a link to your upcoming open house and directing a stranger to your favorite loan officer's website when it wasn't requested. With phishing scams on the rise, SMISHING scams are just as much of a concern for consumers. SMISHING is a social engineering attack that uses fake mobile texting to trick people into downloading malware, sharing sensitive information, or sending money to cybercriminals. Before recommending that one of your clients visits a third-party website make sure they're engaged and have actively requested that information. It's also important to remember not to send unbranded shortened URLs from link-shortening services like bit.ly, as many carriers frown upon this since they cannot identify where the link will direct the consumer. Sending a third-party website to a contact who has not requested information is not only inconvenient for the contact but against our communication policy. 


  9. Avoid Over-Sending

    We all know how aggravating it can be to receive unsolicited calls or messages from someone despite never having responded to any of their attempts to start with. It's important that you avoid ruining a potential opportunity because they felt you were bombarding them with continuous messages that may not have been relevant to their needs or potentially received at an inconvenient time. Contacts are more likely to unsubscribe from receiving your messages if they feel overwhelmed. Make sure that you're creating campaigns that do not send more than 1-2 text messages to a contact per day, and avoid including an individual in multiple bulk messages when they have a low response rate.

    Wise Agent automatically prohibits members from sending more than 2,500 SMS messages per day and you can only send a maximum of 250 messages at once. Click here for more information about the number of credits available to use with your Wise Text feature. Below are some recommendations on the best times and days to send SMS Text messages:
     
    • Avoid sending texts outside of business hours when possible and avoid sending messages early in the morning or late in the evening. 
    • Sending texts at 12PM, 2PM and between 6-8PM tend to yield higher open rates. 
    • The best days to send a bulk text messages based on the highest response rate are Thursdays, Fridays and Tuesdays.

      NOTE:       Wise Agent proactively monitors opt-out rates and error messages for our members to ensure that clients are adhering to our SMS Communication Policy to ensure that our clients not abusing our provider's Acceptable Use Policy and Messaging Policy, which can result in the suspension of the Bulk Text feature while an account is under review. If a member continues to abuse our policies it can result in the loss of access to the Wise Text feature. Click here for details on our A2P 10DLC Compliance Policy for details on opt-out and error rates.


       

  10. Measure Your Success

    When you're sending any form of communication to your contacts it's important to make sure that you're paying attention to the responses you're receiving to help you gauge whether or not your campaigns/templates are effective. Things you should pay attention to are whether or not specific templates or campaigns are getting a high response rate, whether or not you appear to receive a higher response rate at certain times of the day or days of the week, and which messages/campaigns/templates are resulting in a higher rate of opt-outs. Based on all of this information you can make informed decisions about whether or not to make changes to templates or set up campaigns and when your prospects are more likely to text back. You can use the Wise Agent dashboard to filter our your contacts based on whether or not they've replied to your text messages. From there, take note of the clients who are actively responding and use categories to help you identify them or add them to new campaigns.  


For more information in content that is forbidden click here. You can access our communication policy by clicking here. If you have any questions don't hesitate to reach out to our award winning customer support team!