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Everything You Need to Know About Broadcast Text Messages

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Everything You Need to Know About Broadcast Text Messages
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  • What is a broadcast text message_


Today, almost everyone you know has a cellphone. Text messaging is the most common form of digital communication, with roughly 23 billion messages sent every day. And as of late, modern businesses have begun to adopt text messaging as a new and effective way to connect with their audience.

Broadcast texting has become an integral part of many brands' communication strategies, allowing them to share updates, announcements, promotions, and alerts with thousands of contacts at the click of a button. 

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about the broadcast texting basics, from compliance laws to common use cases. You’ll even get a few ideas to spark inspiration and help you get started. 

Jump right to:

What is a Broadcast Text Message?

A broadcast text message, sometimes called a mass or bulk text, is an SMS or MMS message sent to a large group of contacts simultaneously. Often used by businesses and organizations, broadcast texts are a way to connect and share information with a sizable audience base. 

Most commonly, broadcast messages are used to share information such as: 

  • Marketing campaigns
  • Promotional offers 
  • Emergency alerts 
  • Event notifications 
  • Reminders or updates 

Broadcast Text vs. Group Text

Broadcast texts differ from group text messages in two key ways. 

First, while group messages do allow a sender to add multiple recipients, each member of the group can see, send, and receive messages from everyone else. Broadcast texts send individual messages to each recipient and create an individual, private message thread with each person. 

Group messages are meant for smaller, more manageable numbers of participants, while broadcast messages can be sent to an entire contact list simultaneously. 

The second key difference between broadcast and group texts is how they’re sent. A group text can be sent directly from a user’s personal iPhone or Android inbox. A broadcast message that’s sent to hundreds or even thousands of contacts requires the use of a business SMS platform like Mozeo. 

Is Broadcast Text Messaging Legal?

Yes, broadcast texting is legal, but some regulations and rules must be followed to compliantly send broadcast text messages. 

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) requires that businesses: 

  • Adhere to messaging windows. Marketing text messages have to be sent during daylight hours, usually between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the text recipient’s local time. You’ll see this referred to as complying with marketing quiet hours.
  • Obtain opt-in from subscribers. Contacts must sign a document or check a box to confirm they want to receive marketing text messages. 
  • Identify themselves. Businesses must expressly identify themselves by providing their name and contact information. 
  • Honor opt-outs. Along with providing clear opt-out instructions for subscribers, the TCPA requires that businesses remove subscribers from their messaging list when the subscriber opts out. 

Is Broadcast Text Messaging Effective?

Broadcast texting is an extremely effective way to engage contacts and share information. Mobile commerce is an exploding field that can provide businesses with unprecedented access to their customer base. And with the expansion of mobile wallets, the distance between customers and potential purchases is shorter than ever. 

SMS messages have a 98% open rate, the highest of any communication channel. Plus, among many other benefits, broadcast texting offers businesses: 

  • Personalization at scale
  • Cost-effective advertising 
  • Time-sensitive delivery
  • Diverse customer reach 
  • Minimal barriers to access
  • Boosted engagement rates
  • Automation-friendly communication 

Finally, unlike email or social media, text messages still have the appeal of feeling personal and direct. Texts offer a one-on-one, natural communication style that can’t be replicated elsewhere. Its immediacy and personalization opportunities make it a powerful way to engage with customers at scale. 

Top Use Cases for Broadcast Texting

Wondering how broadcast texting might be of use to your business? Let’s dive into a few examples for inspiration. 

Promotional Messages

Promotional messages are a form of text message marketing that businesses use to promote their products and services, share limited-time discounts, sales, or announce new launches. 

Promotional broadcast texts, like the one featured below, can be used to share incentives to drive sales and boost engagement. 

Rabbit Paw: Flash sale alert! Take 40% off your next wallet purchase with code CASH24 at checkout 🐇. Reply STOP to STOP

Event Invites

Broadcast texts can be an excellent way to get the word out about a big event. Broadcast texting makes it easy to share invites, sign-up links, and important information such as parking instructions, fees, or updates. 

Volunteer organizations can even utilize a mass text like this to promote fundraising efforts or volunteer opportunities. 

North Star Giving: Hi Mark! You’re invited to our 2024 New Year's Charity Gala on January 12th. RSVP with this link to save your spot! https://northstargives.com/gala


Text Message Reminders

Because texting is quick and reliable, businesses can use broadcast texts to send out reminders about things like upcoming deadlines, payment due dates, flights, and more. 

Text message reminders are also a great way to ensure your customer doesn’t miss an important date or upcoming appointment. 

Burnet Clinic: Hi Michelle. Just a reminder of your appointment tomorrow at 2 p.m. We look forward to seeing you at the Burnet location. 

Business Memos

Use broadcast texting to proactively keep employees and customers informed on time-sensitive information such as maintenance, system updates, or required training. 

Customer support teams can also utilize broadcast texting to share proactive service interruption updates with customers to provide useful guidance and instructions ahead of time. 

Spectrum: There is a planned service interruption in your area scheduled for tomorrow, July 14th, from 12 to 3 a.m. Thank you for your patience. 

Emergency Text Alerts

Broadcast texting is an excellent way to disseminate emergency alerts. Reliable SMS alerts are one of the quickest ways to inform contacts during unexpected events such as severe weather, traffic alerts, or school lockdowns. 

Not only are SMS messages delivered almost instantaneously, but their high open rates and simple communication styles make them effective and easy to read. Plus, they don’t require Wi-Fi or internet access to send and receive in the case of widespread outages. 

UT Incident Notification: Police activity in the 2200 block of Speedway. Please avoid the area at this time. 

How to Send a Text Broadcast 

To send broadcast SMS messages, you’ll need to use a mass texting service like Mozeo. Native texting apps, like those on your iPhone or Android, only support group texting. 

Here’s a general overview of the steps you need to take to send a text broadcast: 

  • Choose an SMS provider. Your SMS provider should be compliant and approved to send SMS messages on your behalf. Choose a provider that offers useful automation, personalization, and segmentation features. Plus, finding a provider that integrates with your current CRM makes it easy to share data, contacts, and insights across your tech stack.

  • Grow your contact list. This step won’t happen overnight, but there are tactics you can use to incentivize your existing audience to subscribe to your texting service. Offering discounts or exclusive deals to your email subscribers, promoting your texting service on social media, offering discounts or deals for new subscribers, and even attending in-person, industry-specific events can be a great way to gain new subscribers.

  • Compose your messages. Research your audience base and be selective about how frequently you text your subscribers. Research SMS trends for your specific use case before writing your first broadcast message.

  • Send your message. Double-check your message for spelling errors and typos, and proofread content before hitting send. 

Send a Text Broadcast with Mozeo

If you’re looking for broadcast texting, you’ve found the right provider. Mozeo specializes in bulk texting with features like advanced contact segmentation, personalization, and dedicated short codes to ensure fast text message delivery. 

Mozeo makes it easy to integrate SMS into your existing systems and is highly scalable and customizable. Plus, Mozeo offers bespoke text messaging packages with flexible pricing and dedicated support representatives. 

Ready to see broadcast texting in action? Book a free demo with Mozeo today.