Last week, I received an SMS from someone attempting to organize a reading marathon. Immediately, I was thrown into confusion. Even though there was a Sender ID, I swiftly flagged the message as spam because I couldn’t determine who this person was.
Fast-forward, after several promos and TV interviews, I realized the attempt was real, and I was wrong for flagging the message as spam. What gave it away to me as spam? I’d say the Sender ID looked botched.
Sender IDs play a crucial role in whether messages will be delivered or read. For example, Sender IDs are filtered on the operator level and then further scrutinized by the user after they reach his/her inbox. Hence, for your messages to be delivered and opened, you may need a Sender ID that is valid and corresponds with your business’s interests.
What are sender IDs?
Sender IDs are names or unique identifiers that help customers recognize your brand whenever you send them bulk SMS messages. Unlike personal messages, where the sender ID is usually the sender’s phone number, a business can customize a shortcode, a name, or an alphanumeric string that is easily recognized by its customers as its Sender ID.
Since Sender IDs may be the first thing customers see when they receive your message, they must truly reflect your brand Trademark or the current campaign to help create a trustworthy or recognizable source of communication.
Why are Sender IDs Important in the Bulk SMS campaign process?
1. For credibility and Trust – A trustworthy sender ID assures recipients that messages are authentic and from a credible source. For example, crucial information like OTPs and bank alerts requires senders to be trustworthy or credible.
2. Easy recognition – A good sender ID should be easily recognized by customers when messages are delivered. This will help them connect and interact with the message when they receive it.
For example, the sender ID “NALO Cares” simply communicates messages are from the NALO Solutions charitable organization NALOCares.
3. Boost delivery & open rates – Your brand’s choice of sender IDs may be the determining factor for messages to be delivered or even opened. This is because immediately your sender ID looks suspicious, messages are flagged by the operator, and don’t get to the receiver.
Meanwhile, in the event these messages land in customers’ inboxes, they are swiftly blocked or marked as SPAM by the user.
Regulatory Requirements for Sender IDs
At NALO, we encourage following operator guidelines whenever selecting sender IDs for your business. This approach ensures compliance and adherence to policies. Here is our simple yet powerful approach to selecting SIDs.
- After registering an account with us, we will need to verify your business registration document or Ghana Card for individuals & SMEs
- You may have to indicate the type of messages you will be using our platform to send. i.e., OTP, promotional, or informational messages.
- Based on the details given to us, we will formally write to the operator to whitelist all SIDs you have chosen for your business.
- After whitelisting your sender IDs with the operator, no fraudster can get access to that particular SID.
- You can always update your list of sender IDs with us.
Tips for selecting a Sender ID
- You can have up to 11 characters for a Sender ID.
- Digits/ numbers are accepted between 1-5. More than five(5) digits are not accepted
- You can request for alphanumeric sender ID, but the numbers should not be more than five(5) characters.
- White spaces count as a character.
- Special characters such as the (@) are not allowed. Allowed special characters are full stop(.), apostrophe(‘), hyphen(-) and underscore(_).
- You cannot request only numeric Sender IDs.
Choose NALO for your Bulk SMS Campaigns
At NALO, we know how Sender IDs are important to the Bulk SMS campaign process- that is why we have implemented several protocols to ensure every business registered with us follows the operator guidelines and ensures their messages are delivered.
Join several businesses like yours that are using NALO Bulk SMS services to send safe and SPAM-free SMS campaigns. Create a free SMS account with us Today.
Read Next:
