Best Practices for SMS Marketing Compliance (TCPA, GDPR)

[mdabuhasan]

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) are the two most important bodies governing SMS marketing compliance in the US. Businesses operating in Europe must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the ePrivacy Directive. Follow these recommendations to stay compliant:

Only Send Messages to Customers Who Opt In
You must get express written bahamas whatsapp number data consent from customers which ensures they understand what they’re opting into. For instance, you can create an opt-in process with a form describing the types of text messages subscribers may receive from your brand.

Offer an Easy Opt-out
Include information on how to opt-out on your form and in all of your text messages. For instance, you could ask customers to reply “STOP” to stop receiving messages.

Identify Yourself
All texts to customers must include your brand’s name.

Target Texts for Age-restricted Products
If for example you market alcohol or products for mature users, you must verify the age of each subscriber before sending any texts.

Keep to Time
The TCPA has guidelines for quiet hours, which limit the sending of business SMS messages to between the hours of 8 am and 9 pm. This applies to whichever region you send messages to, so keep an eye on time zones.

Keep Records
Maintain lists of your opt-ins and verified subscribers, for compliance audit purposes.