Operators and smartphones are strengthening their anti-spam filters: an SMS that is too generic, poorly identified, or sent too frequently may be classified as spam. This classification is made by the operator, the phone, or the recipient’s anti-spam app, not by Sarbacane, which can neither know about nor prevent it. With Sarbacane Campaigns, a few best practices regarding the sender, links, and content can reduce this risk.
A Sarbacane Campaigns license.
Recipients who have agreed to receive your SMS messages.
Identify yourself clearly. In the Message step, in the panel on the right, under Sender, if you choose Custom, use your brand name without all caps: for example, “MyStore” rather than “PROMO123”. Also mention your company name in the message text.
Take care with your links. To add a link, click the Insert a link chain icon in the toolbar below the message. Use this Sarbacane shortener rather than an external shortener. Point the link to your own domain or to a domain associated with your brand, and make sure it works.
Take care with your content: keep the message short (160 characters maximum if possible), get straight to the point, and use a conversational rather than commercial tone. Avoid excessive capitalization, repeated symbols ($$$, !!!, ***) and aggressive or sensational wording (“FREE”, “URGENT”).
Target and personalize. Send a message tailored to each segment of your list, using personalization fields (first name, purchase history, etc.), rather than sending the same message to your entire list.
Only write to contacts who have given their consent, at a reasonable frequency, respecting sending times and the STOP notice (see What rules should you follow when sending marketing SMS?).
Before sending, in the Review step, click Send a test, then check on your phone that the SMS arrives in your regular messages.
Best practice : if a customer does not receive your SMS messages, ask them to check their spam folder and mark your number as legitimate. These reports improve the delivery of your future messages.
Your test SMS arrives in your phone's regular messages, not in the spam folder.
Test one element at a time, in this order:
Sender: under Sender, select Standard number, then send another test. If the SMS is no longer marked as spam, your custom sender is the cause (for example, a protected name).
Link: temporarily replace your link with a neutral address (for example, https://google.com), then send another test. If the SMS is no longer marked as spam, your link is the cause. Make sure it does not pass through an external URL shortener, and check its domain: in the toolbar, open the “•••” menu, then select URL domain.
Content: remove risky words and phrasing, repeated symbols, and uppercase letters. Some messages are subject to particularly close scrutiny by carriers, such as those that resemble delivery notifications.
Mark the SMS as not spam on your phone, then send a new test.
The campaign type does not affect spam classification. Check the sender, link, and content as described above.
