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Can we use text messaging instead of email for Square Marketing?

Can we use text messaging for marketing instead of e-mail? Most of my customers give phone # only.

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Tom
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Re: Can we use text messaging instead of email for Square Marketing?

📳Hello Everyone!📳

 

I'm reaching out to those who've posted to this thread as we're hosting a question & answer session with the product team for Text Message Marketing on Wednesday, February 17th.

 

Have questions about setting up or feedback on how it's going so far? Please head over to this thread and let us know: Live Q&A: Ask us anything about Text Message Marketing!

1 Best Answer
Admin

Best Answer
 
We know you've been asking for it, and we're excited to announce Text Message Marketing (SMS) in the US, which is now available as an a la carte subscription that allows you to collect customer phone numbers and send them marketing-related text messages.

You can get started by visiting Text Message Marketing on on the Square Dashboard. 

Included are automated campaigns and ‘manual blast’ campaigns, where you can offer coupons, announce sales, promote events, and more. 

 

While Text Message Marketing can be found and used within Square Marketing in Dashboard, you DO NOT need to be subscribed to Square Marketing to use Text Message Marketing.

 

Square Marketing users will likewise need to onboard to Text Message Marketing, and will be billed separately for text message use.

 

What does the Text Message Marketing do?

 

Opt-in Collection

  • Build a list of customers to text BEFORE you pay a cent for the product
  • Collect opt-ins via your point-of-sale (or via Loyalty enrollment)
  • Text customers from a phone number unique to your business. This number will also allow customers to sign up via Text to Join, and can be promoted via in-store, online, or wherever else you’d like

Manual Campaigns

  • Draft a message and send to customers, instantly*
  • Offer a coupon, or include a link to an announcement, event, or online sale (which we automatically shorten to save characters)
  • Send up to 600 characters per message, or 250 if emojis are used. This will separate out into up to 4 texts, BUT we’ll only be charging for one ‘message’ per customer per campaign.

*Note: Texts are sent in 15 minute increments, so if you draft and send a text at 2:05pm, the text would go out at 2:15. Texts can only be sent during business hours in the merchant's time zone (i.e. 9-5). After 5pm, merchants can schedule for texts that will be sent the next day.

 

Automated Campaigns

  • Automatically text a customer with a qualifying event (similar to automated email marketing)
  • General campaigns: birthday collection + birthday reward, lapsed customer. 
  • Loyalty-related campaigns like reminding about Loyalty rewards, and celebrating Loyalty anniversaries

What are the limitations?

 

Feature

Current Limitation

Texting: General

No two-way texting (You cannot yet respond to Buyers by text, Sellers will not see Buyer responses)

Texting: General

No picture message (MMS)

Opt-in: List Building

No phone number list upload 

Opt-in: Loyalty Consent Specifics

Due to the current Loyalty consent language (which permits ‘loyalty-related communication’), Loyalty sellers will be able to send automated messages to  nearly all of their Loyalty enrollees. 

Seller Use Case

Sellers who sell adult products, alcohol, tobacco, firearms, or CBD/cannabis are subject to a standard called SHAFT. This a self-regulation by mobile carriers that can block messages around these topics. 

 

What is the pricing?

Pricing is tiered pay-as-you-go: at the end of the month, a seller will be charged the tier corresponding with how many messages they sent. They will not be charged for months where they did not send any messages. We do not have established custom pricing eligibility or rates established for launch.

 

 

 

 

Howard
Beta Team Lead, Square
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Thank you for setting up as beta!!!  One more question how do I pic who to text to?  I am not the smartest guy sometimes 😕

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We are still trying to get into this beta. We are signed up for marketing. If we could reach our text message customers it would be a game changer. Please get us set up as it wi help our farm out alot.

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Admin

@Pops1911 Thank you for your interest in using this feature, but I do want to make sure you have the correct expectations for this feature. 

I understand you do have reachable customers within your customer directory. These are customers who are reachable for email marketing, but have not directly opted into text message marketing. Customers can only opt-in to text message marketing through joining the loyalty program or at the Square Point of Sale if you are only subscribed to Square Marketing. 

Opt In for Square Loyalty:
Your customers agree to receive text message marketing when they join your Square Loyalty program. Any customers who have previously signed up for your Loyalty program with the most recent legal language will be included as reachable customers. This means some of your Loyalty customers will not yet receive your marketing text messages.

If your case it doesn't appear that any customers have joined your Square Loyalty program or opted into text messaging, so you may not be able to send text messages at this time. 

I am sorry for any confusion. 

Howard
Beta Team Lead, Square
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Ok thanks for clarifying 

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Intersection 

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Square Community Moderator

Let us know if anything else comes up, @Pops1911 - we are here to help! 

Joe
Community Moderator, Square
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I am interested! Please add me 

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@Howard I see the beta update on my account however when I try to confirm the coupon for the text messages, it doesn’t work.  

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Admin

@Wbcllc Looking into it! 

Howard
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@Wbcllc Can you attach the error message with a photo that you are seeing? 

Howard
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F4FFF2A0-6A1C-420E-A0B4-3A9180AB894A.png

The “Finish” button doesn’t work when I click it.

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Admin

@Wbcllc Thank you! I am escalating to our engineering team. 

Howard
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Thanks for flagging this over to us, @Wbcllc - and thanks @Howard for the alley-oop 📈

Joe
Community Moderator, Square
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@Wbcllc We have fixed the issue you should be able to setup the feature now. 

Howard
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@Wbcllc We have fixed this. You should be to complete the Sign Up process! 

Howard
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Please include me in your beta text messaging programs. Thanks so much.

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Admin

@Ecpool Thank you for reaching out! Currently you must be subscribed to Square Marketing to be a part of the text message marketing beta. Feel free to start a free trial and we can get you on the beta. 

Howard
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Please include me in your beta text messaging programs. Thanks so much Howard!

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I am enrolled in both loyalty and marketing but it won't let me use SMS. 

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Admin

@Ecpool Looking into this! 

Howard
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Finally got to the text messaging campaign area. Yea! I'm having a hard time figuring out how to simply send an informative text like "we will be opening on June 1st" or "we're having a sale"  etc.  How do I perform such a basic task? Thanks so much.

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