SMS Compliance in 2024 and Beyond: A Guide for Businesses

As a business owner, you already know the power of SMS marketing. Between open rates and direct access to customers, it does catch the attention of many. However, if you want to use text messaging as a business communication method, it must be done responsibly. And the associated tasks like audits, record-keeping, organization, and general SMS compliance knowledge may feel overwhelming, there are companies, like Clerk Chat, that can both simplify your SMS communication and also empower you with easy exporting features.

No more running around trying to keep up with every single text message. No more worrying about missing important details. Clerk Chat provides you with the tools you need to keep complete and detailed records of all your SMS communication. If you’re looking for a way to streamline text messaging compliance and make sure you’re staying on top of your communication, Clerk Chat is the answer.

But before you start exporting or setting up associated integrations, it’s important you’re equipped with the knowledge about why compliance should be a top priority for your business. Feel confident that you’re following SMS marketing regulations and how it’s tied to consumer trust. Let’s get started!

Understanding Core SMS Regulations

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is a primary part of SMS marketing regulations in the United States. It has been around since 1991 and was designed to protect consumers from telemarketing and eventually unwanted text messages.

TCPA 101

If you’re a business or organization that already sends text messages or plans to in the future, for marketing or informational purposes, you must adhere to TCPA compliance guidelines which includes:

Consent: If you aren’t already, you should be collecting written, verbal, or implied consent for your SMS Marketing to adhere to CAN-SPAM Act text messages and similar rules.

Record Keeping: Customer information must be up-to-date, especially for opt-outs or do-not-call requests.

Customer Communications: Be mindful of time zones, especially for automated messages and phone calls.

Caller ID: Be transparent when possible. It’s always easier when the recipient knows who the text or call is coming from, especially when it’s a business.

Technology and Resources: Make sure all team members are educated on TCPA regulations and leverage technology that can help you maintain accurate records. In addition to making it easy to access messaging logs, Clerk Chat also integrates with Smarsh and Global Relay text archiving as a way to stay consistent across multiple channels.

Ideally, it’s also recommended to frequently review a TCPA compliance checklist.

CAN-SPAM Act and Text Messages

The Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicted Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM Act) is typically relevant for email marketing. However, it also applies to SMS marketing compliance.

Here’s a quick overview of the requirements:

• Your From, To, and Reply-To fields must be accurate.
• Write accurate subject lines.
• If a message is an advertisement, mark it as such.
• Provide easy ways for both SMS opt-in and SMS opt-out.
• Respect opt-out requests.

HIPAA and GLBA Compliance

If you run a business in either healthcare or finance, be mindful of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA).

Oftentimes medical offices send out SMS, so there are times concerns arise around HIPAA texting. HIPAA protects the privacy and security of a patient’s health information. Before sending a message that may contain personal information, you must obtain consent to be allowed to use text messages as a method of communication.

Additionally, if sending SMS related to anything financial, adhere to GLBA compliance, as it protects the privacy of a consumer’s financial data.

FHA in Texting

Wondering, “What does FHA stand for in texting?” The Fair Housing Act (FHA) applies to housing-related communications. For instance, if a business is using text messaging to communicate for a housing-related matter, it must avoid using any discriminatory language. It is particularly important when building a compliant SMS marketing strategy.

Technicalities of SMS Marketing Compliance

There are several terms to become familiar with here - 10DLC, A2P, short codes, and brand registration.

Application-to-Person (A2P messaging) means a text message is sent from a business through an application and to a person’s mobile phone. These are also often used for marketing or appointment and delivery notifications.

Ten-Digit Long Code (10DLC) is one of the ways businesses send messages to customers in bulk. These phone numbers are often used for promotions, appointment reminders, and customer feedback. These look like a normal phone number and are typically accepted by a consumer as they’re familiar and often have a local area code.

Short Codes are five- or six-digit numbers that are used for high-volume messaging. At one point in time, short code texting was the most popular solution, but many businesses have since been slowly moving over to 10DLC as it is much more versatile and scalable.

If you’re considering which option (10DLC vs short codes) is right for you, it’s best to do some research. That being said, 10DLC numbers, especially when properly registered and verified through 10DLC Brand Registration, are less likely to be blocked by carriers. Consumers are also more familiar with 10DLC numbers, which means they’re more likely to be opened, and if using a conversational messaging, two-way text messaging product, these messages will accept replies from a customer.

10DLC is also ideal for businesses with high-volume messaging needs and is usually more affordable than a short code solution.

Brand Registration

In order to use 10DLC for A2P messaging, you must register your business with The Campaign Registry (TCR). Clerk Chat helps with this process. Once you are set up with your Clerk Chat account, you can access the Brand Registration from the Settings menu.

You will need to have the following business information handy:

• Legal company name
• Brand name
• Country of registration
• Organization legal form (i.e. non profit, government, etc.)
• Company EIN and issuing country
• Address
• Point of contact

You will also need to answer some questions including what types of campaigns you plan to send and how you obtain consent from message recipients.

Once you have submitted this form and Clerk Chat has completed the process with The Campaign Registry on your behalf, eventually you will receive a Campaign ID and your account will be considered verified, which means you are all set with 10DLC SMS compliance.

Additionally, if your business is running on a Zoom phone number, you also have the option to enable your number for SMS via Clerk Chat. You would register your number with the Brand Registration form the same way you would for a standard 10DLC number. Once verified, you’ll also be able to use Zoom 10DLC to send SMS campaigns.

Best Practices for Text Messaging Compliance

1. Opt-In: Use a web form, button, keyword, or other reliable format where users can opt in to receive text messages. Make it clear that the user is signing up to receive text messages from your company.
2. Opt-Out: Sometimes you’re just not interested anymore. Make an unsubscribe option readily available or provide an option for a keyword or dedicated phone number to use to opt-out.
3. SMS Archiving: This option is helpful for both legal SMS compliance and internal organization and record-keeping. Clerk Chat offers the ability to export conversation logs and also the option for SMS integrations with Smarsh and Global Relay.
4. CTIA Compliance: The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association represents the wireless communications industry and it recommends obtaining consent, identifying the sender, providing opt-out guidance, respecting quiet hours, and avoid inappropriate content.

6 Benefits of CSV File Export for SMS Communication Archivals

In a world where SMS compliance audits and requirements are becoming increasingly important, failing to comply can result in serious consequences. To be prepared and proactive, it’s important to have a system in place that allows for easy access to all communication. This not only protects sensitive information, but also helps maintain trust with customers and clients.

Let’s dive in and discover the advantages of turning SMS communication into a CSV file export:

• Legal and Regulatory Requirements: Many industries, such as finance, healthcare, and legal services, have pretty specific SMS regulations regarding data privacy, security, and record-keeping. Creating a CSV file is one way to meet these obligations and provide necessary documentation when required.
• Complete and Detailed Records: Exporting SMS communication is a simple way to make sure that all communication is saved for future reference. This is essential for businesses that need to keep track of customer interactions.
• Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management: When conflicts arise, having access to past communication can be invaluable, because it provides a reliable and objective reference point, helping to protect your interests.
• Knowledge Management and Collaboration: Valuable insights, decisions, and instructions from conversations become easily accessible for future reference. This can often benefit new team members and fosters a culture of transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Auditing and Accountability: Storing and accessing communication helps you track progress, assess quality, stay accountable, and identify areas for improvement. By analyzing records, you can make sure everyone is following the rules and policies, train your employees on best practices, and create an environment where everyone is accountable and follows guidelines responsibly.
• Security and Data Protection: By keeping all your communication in one place, you can protect sensitive information and prevent data breaches. And by the way, implementing security measures like encryption and access controls, lowers the risk of unauthorized access to private conversations.

Compliance audits (including SMS compliance) are a challenge that organizations face, and it’s important to be prepared and demonstrate you’re meeting requirements. - without having to disrupt your day-to-day operations. This requires careful planning and execution to ensure that organizations can meet SMS marketing compliance standards while still running smoothly.

Clerk’s Conversation Export Feature

Clerk Chat is a powerful business messaging platform that seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Teams and many other familiar platforms. You can also use Clerk as a standalone WebApp. With Clerk, you can easily connect your existing number or choose a new one, consolidating all your conversations into one platform, saving you the hassle of managing multiple windows.

Thanks to Clerk’s user-friendly interface and intuitive setup process, your company can start sending customer SMS within minutes. This means you can promptly deliver targeted messages that provide real value to your customers, boosting engagement and satisfaction. By leveraging Clerk’s features, businesses can optimize their SMS marketing efforts, improve internal collaboration, and deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Exporting SMS conversations can be incredibly convenient for individuals or businesses looking to maintain data security and privacy. With text messaging compliance audits becoming more prevalent, it’s important to have a process in place that ensures the protection of sensitive information. By exporting SMS conversations into a csv file, users can easily store and manage important conversations for safekeeping. This process is simple, making it a great option for those seeking a hassle-free way to save business text messages - and then repurpose the data using any of the business analytics tools that you may have and already be using in-house.

Luckily, Clerk offers a feature that allows you to export the conversational history of all of your phone numbers.

Step-by-Step Guide on Exporting SMS Communication

Clerk makes exporting a conversation log super simple.

1. Find the navigation bar and click Settings.

2. Select Logs.

3. Choose the inboxes (phone lines) and a date range. You also have an option to “export all.”

4. Clerk will automatically create a CSV file for you to download.

5. Save the file for later use to reference details like messages, names, dates, and so on.

Clerk also includes native integrations with Smarsh, Global Relay, Microsoft Purview, direct exposure to Azure Storage, and S3, which offer powerful SMS archiving capabilities and make it much easier for you to adhere to SMS regulations.

SMS Strategies and Compliance Considerations

Artificial Intelligence is making its way into SMS marketing. Some companies use AI for chatbots while others use AI for personalization. Clerk Chat offers AI SMS with options including suggested text or conversation summaries but also with the ability to scale with AI-powered agents.

It’s important to keep in mind that even AI-generated messages must also adhere to the same SMS regulations as human-created text messages.

Another suggestion is to consider integrating SMS with your existing systems to streamline your communication and enhance your marketing efforts. You can connect your SMS platform with your CRM to send personalized messages based on customer data. If you choose to do so, you must maintain compliance by making sure you have the proper opt-ins or that opt-outs are consistently respected across platforms.

There are also two main types of messaging to consider: conversational and transactional.

Conversational messages are two-way messages used for customer service, support, or general communication. While consent is still required, this is a very different style of messaging in comparison to marketing. Transactional SMS are either a direct transaction or provide essential information like order, delivery, or appointment notifications.

Understanding these strategies and considerations are small, yet important to-dos, to text messaging compliance.

Simplifying SMS Communication Management with Clerk Chat

SMS compliance is important for you, but more importantly it’s a trust-builder for your customers. This guide helps you properly manage SMS marketing responsibly.

As technologies evolve, regulations may, too. Staying informed and adapting your SMS practices is essential, and Clerk Chat is dedicated to educating you and making the process easier.

Managing SMS communication and maintaining records doesn’t have to be a hassle. With Clerk Chat’s convenient export feature and ability to integrate with powerful eDiscovery platforms, businesses can quickly save and manage their SMS conversations - instantly. By exporting these conversations into CSV files, your business can streamline SMS compliance.

Compliance does not have to be intimidating. Check out our YouTube channel, where you’ll find tutorials on Clerk’s easy-to-use features, including the Export Log tool and eDiscovery or archiving integrations – subscribe today!