If you are here reading this you most likely want to solidify your understanding of the 10DLC registration process as an experienced text message marketer or are just starting your journey with the most popular channel of communication today.
Either way, you are in the right place and we’ll tell you everything you need to know to have confidence from enrollment to connecting with your audience!
First things first: What is the deal with 10DLC?
A 10DLC or a 10-digit long code is one of the newest industry wide sender ID programs in North America for application-to-person (A2P) business messaging colloquially known as text marketing. To start sending traffic in North America businesses must complete a one-time mandatory registration process with the US Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and associated registrars.
You may already be familiar with using sender IDs or codes like these to send messages to your customers as well as text-enabling your existing business number to add another preferred method of outreach for your customer service experience.
Think of it as a fancy upgrade for your texting toolbox because it is the latest and greatest way for businesses to send mass text messages. It ensures that your associated number is vetted, approved and the messages you intend on sending land in your customers inboxes safely.
The next step: How Textmunication makes 10DLC registration easy?
Upon your activation with us, we have a system integrated registration flow that helps you get started on the 10DLC registration process as well as take your business and team on a tour of our core features on SAM, Textmunication text marketing app. We’ll handling all the details of your brand registration while teaching you how to send effectively, so you can focus on:
- Crafting those epic text messages your customers will love
- Faster time to market
- Reduced risk and vulnerabilities
We have a strong relationship with brand registration authorities which include, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Major and Small Regional Carriers (like Verizon, AT&T, and T-mobile), The Campaign Registry (TCR) and Direct Connect Aggregators (DCAs). Which has allowed us to create a seamless and user-friendly process. You can read more on those parties and their roles here.
Now let’s talk a bit about what that process looks like in detail and how we own this process for you.
Brand registration with The Campaign Registry
In the world of 10DLC registration, one of the key players is The Campaign (TCR). Think of them as the authority that makes sure everything is running smoothly.
The role of TCR in summary is the following:
- Hub for 10DLC campaigns: The TCR is like a universal digital filing cabinet for all things 10DLC. They store information about who’s sending messages and the kinds of messages they are sending.
- Managing sending reputation: By registering with TCR, your brand reputation is kept authentic and helps them inform the carrier that you will be adding valuable traffic to the whole text marketing ecosystem.
- Connecting with carriers: The TCR works closely with major mobile carriers (Tier-1) like Verizson, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint as well as smaller regional carriers (Tier 2) that operate in specific regions or have smaller networks. We still consider small regional carriers in case your target audience falls within their coverage zone.
Textmunication handles your 10DLC registration taking care of all the communication with the TCR. We make sure your brand is properly registered and all the information they need from you is handed off correctly. We also handle the communication requirements between all the carriers, which is also important because that will give your organization the best chance of reaching your customers regardless of their network provider, but we’ll get to that in a little bit.
Once you complete your brand registration form, we take it from there. This is where our team evaluates your submission and verifies if all information is correct.
Your intention with your text marketing traffic dictates areas of the registration process lifecycle. With that being said, you will have to provide the following information in our process:
- Your business EIN or tax ID number
- Your designation (private, public, non-profit)
- Your industry/vertical
- Your country
- Your state
- Your postal code
- Your city
- Your website
Up next: Brand vetting and status
Textmunication can’t directly conduct brand vetting ourselves. However, we stay up-to-date on the latest vetting partners and their offerings. We can help you understand the different options available and guide you towards the one that best suits your needs. After you complete the steps mentioned above the next stage is getting your brand vetted and scored.
What is Brand Vetting?
Brand vetting is like getting a thumbs-up from the MNOs on your reputation and message practices. You can think of it as a review process where MNOs and DCAs assesses your brand based on factors like:
- You operating under an accurate EIN
- Complaint history and any relevant TCPA lawsuits
If you pass with flying colors, you receive a vetting score. The benefits of a high score are important to the speed of your registration process.
Benefits of a High Score:
- Higher Throughput: This is the golden ticket! A good vetting score can translate to increased message delivery limits. Imagine being able to send more text messages to your customers without worrying about hitting any walls.
- Improved Deliverability: Carriers might prioritize messages from brands with strong reputations. This means your messages have a better chance of landing in your customers’ inboxes.
You only need to register your brand once to the TCR and once that registration process is completed we track your brand status, which can also be viewed within your account. That seems like a lot of information, but again all of this is managed within the brand registration flow of SAM, Textmunication’s business to consumer connector.
Submitting your use cases for your campaigns
Submitting your use cases for the campaigns you are sending is one of the final steps before you select your 10DLC sender ID. Your use case submission requires specific details about your future message programs. This is where we ask for the following information to have reviewed by the TCR, MNOs and DCAs. It includes:
- Description of the expected traffic
- Your call-to-action (CTAs)
- Use cases
- Subscriber help message
- Subscriber opt-in message
- Subscriber opt-out message
- Potential embedded links
- Potential embedded phone numbers
- Two sample messages
- Update version of your terms and conditions
- Updated version of your privacy policy
Each campaign or use case submission is part of an important step in the brand registration process renewal process and our compliance terms acts as a middleman to ensure that the use case is compliant with the CTIA (Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association) guidelines as well as operator-specific regulations and requirements.
Getting a number
Finally, the last step in the process after you’ve submitted your brand registration, it was vetted, scored and your use cases were approved. This is the stage where you get to decide on your number or sender ID that you will use for your SMS and MMS messaging traffic.
We suggest using the same number you are currently using for your business because it allows your customers to call and text it for sales and support.
In this stage the following information will be collected to add to your use case profile and summary:
- Traffic destination (where you will be sending)
- Capability (SMS and/or MMS messages)
For this we charge a one-time provisioning fee and monthly low-cost maintenance fee to make sure if any technical issues come up, we handle them for you immediately. Once your campaign has been certified and approved by all underlying compliance parties, you can launch your first live campaign!
We make sure we offer you the most cost-effective 10DLC registration and provisioning process pricing. The goal when you work with Textmunication is to get brand approval on your first registration attempt and help you create a strong sender reputation with the carriers, aggregators and your customers.
Happy texting.
