Text Message Frequently Asked Questions

Rob Howard Updated by Rob Howard

Below are frequently asked questions about SMS Marketing in DailyStory.

What is SMS Marketing?

Text message marketing - or SMS (short message service) marketing - is a form of marketing goods or services using a mobile phone's text messaging capability. This includes sending announcements, coupons, special deals and other information to your customers mobile phone as a text message. SMS marketing is simply a quicker, easier and direct way of reaching your customer.

How does SMS Marketing work?

To receive text message marketing customers are usually required to opt in to an automated system by texting an initial key word, such as "JOIN", to a short code or long code.

Is everyone sent the same Text Message?

No. Each Text Message sent by DailyStory is sent individually to each recipient. This is done so each message can be personalized to each recipient.

Yes, but the recipients permission (opt-in) is required. There are two primary laws the FCC uses to regulate text and email marketing content. They are commonly known as the TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) and CAN-SPAM (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing). These laws were not written with text message marketing in mind. However, text messaging is included under the same regulations as telemarketing and auto-dialers.

Please see our guidelines on compliance.

Can I personalize the content in the Text Message?

Yes! Using DailyStory's Personalization you can add personalized content to your Text Messages.

Why didn't my contact receive a Text Message?

There are several reasons why a recipient did not receive your text message:

  • The mobile number for the recipient is not capable of receiving text messages;
  • The mobile number is outside of your registered countries (please contact us if you want to send traffic outside the US or Canada);
  • The recipient may not have been included in the segment or campaign the text messages was sent to;
  • The recipient may not have opted-in to receive text messages;
  • The text message may have been sent during non-business hours (10:30 PM - 5:30 AM) and will instead be delivered at 8:30 AM;
  • The text message may have been flagged as SPAM by the carrier (Carrier Violation) and was not delivered;
  • The carrier may filter messages hen sending on unregistered long codes (non 10 DLC registered traffic). Unfortunately carriers may report messages as delivered, but not actually deliver them.

Can I restore a deleted text message?

You can restore deleted text messages and other deleted items across the DailyStory platform. From the all Text Messages page, click on the hamburger menu (3 lines) in the top left and click on Trash. Click on the text message you want to restore and then select Remove from Trash, Save and Close.

Items are stored in trash for approximately 30 days.

How do I enable DailyStory to send Text Messages?

Enabling DailyStory to send Text Messages requires Twilio integration is configured. DailyStory can manage and configure this service for you, or you can do it yourself.

Can I use emojis in my Text Messages?

Yes! You can use emojis in your Text Messages. However, because emojis are not considered standard text, each emoji impacts the size of your Text Message. Please see Understanding Text Messaging costs for more detail.

What happens if someone replies STOP?

If a recipient replies with STOP, they are automatically opted out of receiving Text Messages.

Can I choose the number Text Messages originates from?

Yes. We can purchase one or more text message numbers on your behalf. Just let us know which area codes you want.

How do multiple numbers work?

If you have multiple numbers associated with your DailyStory account. DailyStory will make the recipients "sticky" to the number there were last sent from. This ensures that even when you have multiple phone numbers, recipients will always receive your texts from the same number.

What is a long code?

A long code is a phone number that text messages are sent from. It looks like a standard phone number, e.g. +1 (123) 456-7890.

What is a short code?

A short code is a special 5-6 digit number that text messages are sent from, e.g. 51515. Short codes are leased by phone companies to businesses. Please contact us if you would like information about renting a short code.

What is a "Carrier Violation" code?

A carrier violation code simply means that the phone carrier, e.g. AT&T, Verizon, decided not to deliver you message because it appeared to be SPAM. Unfortunately this can occur for a number of reasons. If you see this repeatedly, please contact us. Also, see our article, Carrier violations: What to avoid during SMS text marketing and SMS text compliance: 9 tips to keep your business out of trouble.

Please also see the DailyStory Deliverability Scoring tool.

What happens to replies to text messages sent by DailyStory?

Replies to text message sent by DailyStory are handled by DailyStory and the message content is sent on to your or people on your team that you designate as a recipient. The content of the message is also available in the Text Message reports.

How do I control who receives notifications when a text message response is received?

  1. Make sure notifications are turned on for the user in account settings
  2. Make sure notifications are turned on in the campaign's settings and the user(s) to receive the notifcications are selected.

I scheduled a text message, but only a handful of people received it

First, review the text message sending guardrails. Next, check to make sure that the recipients all have mobile numbers. Finally, ensure that the recipients have not received the text message already, i.e., you cannot edit and resend a previous message - instead create a copy of the message.

Why isn't my Instagram URL preview shown to my recipients?

If you share a post from Instagram, Facebook and other common websites, you've probably seen the link preview. For example:

Unfortunately, iOS will only render a preview for links sent in SMS or MMS if the sender is saved in the recipient's contact list. Otherwise, the URL will be displayed in the body of the message. This means that if you include a link to an Instagram post the link will be displayed to your recipients - not the preview.

Can I use animated gifs in my text messages?

Yes, you can use animated gifts, but you need to ensure the dimensions don't exceed about 640px wide and the total file size should be less than 500k. However, a lot of phones will "transcode" them to the first image in the sequence, so please be aware there is a possibility the recipient will not receive it as animated.

Do you support Sender ID?

Yes, but Sender ID - the ability to use an alpha numeric id instead of the sending number - is not supported in the US or Canada.

Messages are getting delivered, but after their scheduled time

  • Check the size of the number pool there should be approximately 1 sending number for every 500-1,000 recipients.
  • It's possible that the number pool was increased after the customer sent their first text message; because sending numbers are bound to the recipient the numbers may need to be released and new numbers purchased.

Can you forward my text message numbers to my business's phone?

Yes, we can configure your text messages to route to your business's primary phone number. This ensures that if someone calls your texting number they are routed to your business.

Can I port an existing phone number to DailyStory?

Yes, you can port your existing voice, SMS, or MMS numbers to DailyStory. Please complete the port number form and submit it do us along with your number PIN.

Do you support transactional text messages?

Yes, when creating a text message check Is Transactional. When this message is sent it will be treated as non-marketing content and will bypass opt out and do not contact rules. Transactional messages should only be used for non-marketing content such as abandon cart reminders, payment declines, and appointment reminders.

It is possible to create an SMS URL in anchor links that when clicked opens a new SMS messages and sets the body:

sms:+15551239900?&body=hello world!

This would then be added in a URL as:

<a href="sms:+15551239900?&body=hello world!">click to start a message</a>

Unfortunately, Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo do not support the SMS protocol for creating SMS links.

Gmail and Yahoo strip the HREF attribute entirely when using the SMS protocol, affecting both their mobile applications and web clients.

Outlook.com goes a step further by deleting the entire link tag, which may result in buttons disappearing from your email and being displayed as plain text without any link functionality.

How Did We Do?

Opting out of Text Messages

Copying a Text Message

Contact