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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
Verified Answer

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
Join the Beta Community
Evaluate | Influence | Engage

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Beta Member

We would love to be a beta tester. Can we do any sort of customization to the SMS messages (re: sale this weekend, Loyality only coupon, etc)

 
-John
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Totally interested!!

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We would like to be part of the beta. 

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Please count us in for beta testing. Todd & Moore. We use both marketing and loyalty. Thank you!

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We are absolutely interested!

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I’d Like to be included as well! 

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I want to beta test too 🙂

 

 

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Beta Member

Please include us in the beta testing.  Thanks!

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Yes, count us in. I have had two phone interviews over the last year with @edwardwb.

We are very interested in helping with the beta.

let's go!

 

 

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Love to be a beta tester! 

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We would love to be part of the Beta as well!

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VERY interested!!

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So you’re saying that even if we choose to pay for your marketing program, we won’t have access to the texting capability if we don’t want to also pay for your loyalty program??

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Square

The initial test of text marketing is specifically related to the Loyalty program. We'll be coming out with a beta that is just within the Marketing product and separate from Loyalty later this year.
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Hi!

I’m interested in joining the beta in regards to the texting marketing 

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We have used the loyalty program for a long time, would love to beta test this please!

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I’m interested in testing this out with my clients. Texting has been very successful for me in the past with demandforce. 

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Hello,

 

Is it still possible to opt-in to the text marketing beta program? If so, I'd like to try it out. Let me know if you need more information about my account. Thanks!

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please count me in for beta testing!

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I would love this!

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I’m interested in testing text marketing!

 

[Personal Information Redacted]

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