User Consent
Following the Data Privacy Law in the Philippines, the corporate brand needs to ensure that the target person has given its consent to use his information for a specific purpose before sending any messages.
Unsubscribe
It is required for the corporate brand to have a free-of charge facility where subscribers can subscribe to or unsubscribe from any of its commercial, promotional and other broadcast messages.
Identity
The source of broadcast messages must be identified by using an alphanumeric sender ID (also known as sender name or sender mask) up to 11 character length.
Sender IDs requires pre-registration and approval from the SMS connection provider(s).
Sender IDs that are prohibited to use:
- Numeric Sender IDs
- Senders IDs that portrays a mobile network
- Person’s Name
- Sender IDs containing SMS, TEST, MESSAGE and MSG
Timing
Commercial and promotional broadcast messages shall be sent only from 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM while transactional messages can be pushed 24/7.
Speed
Transaction speed is being set by the connection provider based on the corporate brand’s volume requirement or the average SMS volume that must be processed in an hour.
TRANSACTIONAL VS. PROMOTIONAL MESSAGES
Corporate brands are encouraged to separate their broadcast messages from transaction messages (e.g. one-time password) since the latter is more time-sensitive and must be received by the subscribers immediately.
HTTP API VS. SMPP API
With its simplicity and the variety of coding languages it supports, HTTP is easier to use by most of the developers. It is best used for transactional messages and auto-reply SMS.
Though SMPP requires a more comprehensive knowledge of development, it is more suitable for corporate brands with high volume SMS requirements.
CONTENT
Keep it concise, engaging and there should be a clear call to action “CTA”. Limit the message length to 160 characters if possible or should not be more than 457 characters.
Philippines Telcos restrict adult content and any messages promoting alcohol, drugs, tobacco, gambling, and election.
RT gateway supports GSM 03.38 8-bit character sets
AUTO-RESPONSE
For interactive SMS campaigns, an auto-response to a subscriber’s text to a specific service or an access code is a must.
