Understand text message infrastructure in Klaviyo
Text messaging unlocks a very personal way to connect. Because of the direct nature of the channel, the laws and regulations surrounding text message marketing are stricter than they are for email marketing. It’s important for your team to understand all of the details surrounding text messaging, such as which clients are eligible to use text messaging for marketing purposes. This will help you accurately identify qualified text message leads and make the selling process easier for your team.
Follow the journey of a text
How do SMS messages actually make it from Klaviyo to someone’s mobile device? There are a few parties involved:
- Klaviyo
- SMS aggregators (the link between SMS software providers and mobile carriers)
- Major mobile carriers (Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T)
- CTIA
Messages are created in Klaviyo, then sent through an SMS aggregator who has direct connections to all major mobile carriers. Once messages reach the mobile carriers, they are routed to the intended recipients as long as the message does not violate any compliance standards.
While Klaviyo has many compliance features built directly into the product, every SMS message also goes through additional compliance screenings by SMS aggregators and mobile carriers. These parties are looking to block any messages that may violate the law. The TCPA, or Telephone Consumer Protection Act, is a US law that prohibits spam text messages, which are defined as “unsolicited advertising”.
The CTIA, or Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, is a consumer protection agency who monitors senders and reports TCPA violations to mobile carriers. While they are not a government-run agency, they are a key player in the space as they work to prevent illegal, abusive, or harmful senders from reaching consumers.
Which brands can use Klaviyo text messaging?
To align with global regulations and protect users from violations, Klaviyo has established a universal prohibited content policy for SMS and MMS that is standard across every user account, regardless of the regions they serve.
Klaviyo prohibits the following content through text message:
Illegal substances (federally, state, or local jurisdiction)
- CBD
- Vaping
- Marijuana/cannabis
- THC
- Prescription medication that cannot be sold over the counter
SHAFT content
- Sex
- Hate
- Alcohol
- Firearms (includes fireworks)
- Tobacco
High-risk financial services
- Cryptocurrency
- Payday loans
- Short-term high-interest loans
- Student loans
- Third-party auto or mortgage loans
Debt collection and forgiveness
- Credit repair programs
- Debt collection from a third party
- Debt consolidation
- Debt reduction
Gambling
- Casino apps
- Gambling websites
Multi-level marketing
- Risk investment programs
- Work-from-home schemes
- "Get rich quick", "Build your wealth", "financial independence" offerings
Third-party lead generation/"cold" outreach without explicit consent
Some SHAFT content may be allowed by other text messaging providers. Specifically relating to alcohol, there are instances where SMS marketing may be allowed with proper age-gating barriers in place. However, Klaviyo does not currently allow any form of marketing for SHAFT related content.
When evaluating which clients may be a good fit for SMS, consider the products and product categories that your clients sell. If you have a question about whether or not a certain client would be allowed to use Klaviyo SMS for marketing purposes, please reach out to our support team for an expert opinion.
Follow best practices for text message compliance
Obtain explicit consent
You cannot send a text to someone through Klaviyo unless they have provided explicit consent to receive SMS marketing messages. Similar to email, Klaviyo highly encourages users to set their SMS Subscriber lists to double opt-in. Subscribers will receive a confirmation text to which they must reply “Y” or “YES” in order to successfully be added to the list. Some mobile carriers in the United States and Canada actually require double opt-in, especially if you plan to send abandoned cart reminders through SMS.
*The only exception to double-opt in form SMS is when brands are using a branded sender ID, which does not have two-way messaging capabilities. If this is the case, the user will go through a single opt-in experience and still be added to the list successfully.
Make it easy to unsubscribe
Each region has different rules regarding how the unsubscribe method must be presented, but one thing remains true across the board: you must always give recipients the option to easily unsubscribe at any time. If your sending number supports two-way messaging, you should always include opt-out language like “Text STOP to opt out”. If your sending number does not have two-way messaging capabilities, then you’ll want to include an opt-out link that recipients can click on to opt out.
Avoid prohibited content
Avoid mentioning any of the previously mentioned prohibited topics in SMS messages. Klaviyo does allow political groups and campaigns to use SMS, however it’s important to remember to keep your word choice specific and clearly focused on the goal. Any text that can be interpreted as hate speech or a threat of violence will be flagged and the account may be suspended.
Only send SMS between 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. local time
There are regulations around when you can legally send marketing text messages to recipients based on their local time zone. We refer to the prohibited hours as “quiet hours” in Klaviyo, and have built this feature into our SMS flows to help you maintain compliant sending hours in your automated messages. Any SMS message that is triggered by the flow logic to send during prohibited hours is automatically paused, and is then sent the next day once quiet hours are over.
Identify your brand in every message
This can be achieved in a variety of ways. You can enable the Organizational Prefix feature, which automatically adds your brand name to the start of every message you create. Or, you can reference your brand name somewhere in the body of the text message. If you have a branded sender ID, that counts as valid identification.
Another way to identify your brand is to include a virtual contact card in your SMS welcome series, as long as your sending number supports MMS. This is helpful for deliverability because some users may have Unknown Sender filtering enabled on their mobile devices. This filters messages from numbers who are not saved as contacts into a separate folder that the user may not check regularly. By encouraging recipients to add you to their contacts list, you can increase brand awareness and visibility.
Abide by US laws around abandoned cart reminders
The US has a few additional restrictions around sending abandoned cart reminders via SMS. If you plan to do this, you will need to add a specific callout in your signup disclosure language (usually on the signup form) that you plan to send abandoned cart reminders as part of your marketing messaging. You should also add this language to your mobile terms of service and privacy policy. Your SMS list must also be set to double-opt in if you plan to send SMS abandoned cart reminders.
When it comes to actually sending the message, there are two key requirements. The first is that you may only include 1 SMS message per path in your abandoned cart flow. You cannot send someone more than 1 SMS message pertaining to the same abandoned cart trigger action. The second is that you must send the SMS message within 48 hours of the cart being abandoned.
A good example of how to structure your flow could be:
- wait 4 hours
- add conditional split If person is consented to receive SMS -> send an SMS reminder, if not, send an email reminder
- wait 20 hours
- send a final email reminder with a discount if they have still not completed a purchase