States in the US are increasingly adding text messaging to their telephone consumer protection regulations with varying requirements. Recent changes to some of these regulations could impact when marketing messages can be sent in those states.
The information provided herein is for general informational purposes only and does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Please consult your own legal counsel for legal advice.
🔑 Key Facts
Many states including Florida, Texas and Oklahoma among others now (or soon will) have telephone consumer protection laws that encompass text messaging.
Violations of these regulations can result in fines and/or lawsuits
Some businesses engaging in telephone solicitation may be required to register with the Attorney General in certain states like Texas.
State level quiet hours can differ from Federal and Industry guidelines.
It is important to be aware of these regulations to ensure you keep your program compliant – more information about recent updates to state regulations can be found on our blog.
Maintaining Compliance in the Listrak Classic Platform
One of the most common provisions in state-level regulation is the regulation of when text messages can and cannot be sent (more commonly known as quiet hours).
💡 These regulations are continuing to change and evolve with technology and not all provisions provide strict guidelines, so be sure to consult your legal team about what options are best for your brand.
For example, Texas State Bill 140 has designated the following quiet hours for unsolicited messages:
Monday - Saturday: 9AM - 9PM
Sunday: 12 PM -9 PM
To mitigate risks of non-compliance associated with these regulations, you can set quiet hours for both broadcast and automated Journey messages. Learn more below about how Listrak’s platform helps you mitigate risks and maintain ongoing compliance.
Option #1: Adjust all Message Timing
The first option is to adjust your message timing strategy and send ALL messages between 12 PM ET and 8 PM ET utilizing the time zone optimization (TZO) feature.
Broadcast Marketing Messages
You can use this option for one-time, recurring, and split test SMS/MMS messages. You can set the time of the send in the Schedule Message section of the Review and Send section.
Below you can see a one-time message being scheduled following this guideline and utilizing TZO. You can use this option for one-time, recurring, and split test SMS/MMS messages.
Journey Automated Messages
You can set a send time limitation for all journey messages using the Message Delivery Settings. If a contact qualifies for a message outside the send time limitation, they will be held in the step until the send time is reached and then receive the message.
You can adjust the Message Delivery Settings at any time by clicking on a SMS message step in a journey and enabling the toggle. You can adjust the time frame and enable Time Zone Optimization.
Option #2: Target State-specific Phone Numbers
The second option is to identify contacts with state-based phone numbers and remove them from your messaging.
Broadcast Marketing Messages
You can apply a filter to a broadcast message to identify contacts based on the area code of their phone number. You can use this option for one-time, recurring, and split test SMS/MMS messages. You can also combine this criteria with any additional filter criteria you wish to use for your message.
You can edit the filter by clicking Add One-Time Filter. Add a filter criteria for Area Code is not in the comma delimited list. Then, add a list of area codes of the states you wish to exclude separated by commas to the input. This will exclude any contact opted-in to the selected list with a phone number containing one of the listed area codes.
Journey Automated Messages
Coming Soon: This feature will be available by the end of September.
To remove phone numbers from your automated journeys, you can add an entry prevention rule to any journey type.
Open any existing journey or create a new journey.
Click on the entry event of the journey.
In the Entry Prevention Rules section, add a new entry prevention rule.
Select the Area Code Is option.
Paste a list of area codes into the textbox.
Active the journey.