Important email and SMS compliance considerations for Black Friday 2024

Important email and SMS compliance considerations for Black Friday 2024

As the curtain rises on Cyber Week 2024, businesses brace for one of the year's busiest sending seasons. This period sees an explosion of consumer activity, with shoppers on the lookout for great deals and discounts. For marketers, it’s a golden opportunity to connect with customers, drive sales, and boost brand visibility. However, the key to successful Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaigns lies not just in crafting compelling offers but also in adhering to many important marketing regulations from governmental agencies and compliance requirements from carriers and providers. It’s crucial that businesses understand these regulations and requirements so they don’t find themselves at risk of fines or being blocked from sending messages by carriers or emails from inbox providers such as Google and Yahoo. 

Let’s dive into the regulatory and compliance requirements surrounding email and SMS marketing. 

Understanding the Black Friday & Cyber Monday 2024 marketing landscape

Cyber Week, which kicks off with Black Friday the day after Thanksgiving and extends through Cyber Monday, is a pivotal period for brands worldwide. Consumers exhibit heightened engagement levels, eagerly opening email inboxes and SMS notifications for the best deals.

In this digital age, email and SMS remain vital channels for reaching consumers quickly and effectively. During last year’s Cyber Week, Twilio reliably sent a groundbreaking 4 billion text messages and 64 billion emails for customers, breaking records from previous years! Together, email and SMS form the backbone of successful Cyber Week campaigns, allowing companies to deliver personalized messages right into the hands of their customers.

The stakes are high during Cyber Week, and non-compliance can have dire consequences. Key risks include:

• Blocked emails: Email providers may block businesses from sending marketing emails.

• Carrier filtering: Non-compliant SMS text messages may be filtered out, never reaching the intended recipients.

• Decreased customer loyalty: Bombarding customers with spam can lead to frustration, loss of trust, and opt-outs.

10DLC registration and SMS marketing

10DLC (10-digit long code) phone numbers have long been trusted by businesses for sending application-to-person (A2P) messages with local area codes. New guidelines were established in 2023 to protect consumers from unwanted messages and preserve the messaging ecosystem.

To use 10DLC phone numbers, businesses must adhere to these specific guidelines:

1. Register 10DLC numbers with carriers: Businesses must register their 10DLC numbers with mobile carriers. This registration process includes providing detailed information about the business and the types of messages that will be sent. This helps carriers manage traffic and reduce spam.

2. Provide detailed information about messaging campaigns: Businesses must declare a campaign use case, which will influence how much they pay per message.

3. Ensure opt-in consent from recipients: Businesses must obtain explicit opt-in consent from recipients before sending SMS messages. 

By meeting these requirements, businesses can leverage 10DLC effectively to enhance their SMS marketing campaigns while remaining compliant with industry regulations.

Read more detailed information on 10DLC registration and benefits.

Toll-free and Short Code for SMS marketing 

In addition to 10DLC, toll-free numbers (e.g., those starting with 800, 888) and short code numbers are frequently used by businesses for marketing. Using these numbers to send SMS campaigns comes with similar requirements as 10DLC in that the numbers must be registered and approved accordingly..

View these resources for more information:

• Toll-free registration and verification

• Short code procurement

SMS compliance best practices

Be sure to convene with your legal counsel for understanding and complying with various communication regulations. As a general guideline for SMS marketing campaigns:

1. Secure explicit consent: Always get clear and documented consent from recipients before sending any marketing messages.

2. Provide a clear opt-out option: Provide easy ways for recipients to unsubscribe from messages, such as customers texting "STOP” to the business’s number.

3. Adhere to timing restrictions: Respect time-of-day restrictions for sending messages, typically avoiding late-night and early-morning hours to comply with regulations. Additionally, respect the user’s time by not overwhelming them with too many messages.

4. Maintain accurate records: Keep detailed records of customer SMS consents, message logs, and opt-out requests to demonstrate compliance in case of audits or legal inquiries.

5. Ensure transparency and honesty: Clearly identify your business in all communications and avoid misleading or deceptive content 

6. Use branded communications and logos: Display your brand name and logo so recipients will be able to easily identify who is sending them text messages.

Learn more in Twilio’s Guide to U.S. SMS Compliance.

Examples of compliant and non-compliant marketing texts

SMS compliance is crucial. Let’s take a closer look at text marketing examples and learn why they are at risk of being non-compliant and ways to decrease that risk.

Example one

"Great news! You've won a FREE cruise for 2! Click here to claim: [link]. To opt out, reply STOP"

At first glance, this text may seem fine. It clearly tells the recipient what the purpose of the message is and it gives an option to opt out messages. However, there are some compliance issues:

• Lack of clear identification: The message fails to identify the business or organization sending the message.

• Misleading content: The message makes a deceptive claim about winning a prize, potentially violating truth-in-advertising regulations.

Here’s a revised version of that non-compliant message:

"Hi [Customer's Name], this is [Your Business Name]. You've been selected to receive a special offer! Click here to learn more: [link]. To opt out, reply STOP."

What’s different about this text?

• Clear identification: The message clearly identifies the business sending the message.

• Honest content: The offer is presented in a genuine manner without misleading the recipient.

Example two

“Exclusive offer just for you! Get 30% off your next order at [Your Business Name]! Shop now at [link]."

While this message clearly identifies the business sending it and doesn’t use deceptive language, it is missing an important element: opt-out options. Without an opt-out option, recipients may feel trapped in receiving unwanted communications.

Here’s a revised version of the marketing SMS:

“Exclusive offer just for you! Get 30% off your next order at [Your Business Name]! Shop now at [link]. Reply STOP to unsubscribe.”

This text gives the recipient a very easy way to opt out of future messages.

Example three

"Special deal from [Your Business Name]! Get 25% off on your next purchase. To opt out, visit our website and fill out the form under 'Contact Us'."

This text message seems to have all the required components of a compliant text message: clear identification, genuine message content, and an opt-mechanism. However, requiring recipients to visit a website and fill out a form makes it unnecessarily difficult to opt out and doesn’t honor keywords like "STOP," "END," "CANCEL," "UNSUBSCRIBE," or "QUIT". .

Here’s a better text to send:

"Special deal from [Your Business Name]! Get 25% off on your next purchase. To opt out, reply STOP.”

This text includes a simple text-based method for opting out and honors the STOP keyword.

DMARC compliance and marketing regulations for email

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) is an email protocol that helps protect domains from being used in phishing and email spoofing attacks. 

Implementing DMARC helps businesses authenticate their emails, ensuring they genuinely originate from the claimed domain.

Steps to implement DMARC for Cyber Week campaigns

1. Set up Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM)

   • SPF: Create an SPF record in your DNS settings to specify which mail servers are permitted to send emails on behalf of your domain.

   • DKIM: Configure a DKIM signature in your email server to ensure your emails are not altered in transit and confirm your identity.

2. Create a DMARC record: Compose a DMARC policy that specifies how email receivers should handle unauthenticated emails. Common policy options:

   • None: No action is taken, but reports are sent.

   • Quarantine: Suspicious emails are moved to the spam folder.

   • Reject: Unauthorized emails are outright rejected.

3. Send test emails: Send yourself test emails to confirm everything works correctly. Then, verify that the DKIM and SPF signatures in your email headers match the domain you’re using.

4. Publish a DMARC record: Add a DMARC record to your DNS settings and monitor the results.

5. DMARC optimization: Regularly review the reports sent to your specified email addresses to understand authentication failures and fine-tune your policies.

Implementing DMARC can enhance the security and deliverability of your email marketing campaigns, especially during high-traffic periods like Cyber Week.

Benefits of maintaining DMARC compliance

Implementing DMARC for email marketing has many benefits, especially during Cyber Week.

1. Improved deliverability: Properly authenticated emails are more likely to land in the recipient’s inbox rather than the spam folder. Implementing DMARC also helps maintain a good domain reputation with email service providers, reducing bounce rates and improving sender scores.

2. Enhanced security: DMARC helps prevent malicious actors from spoofing your domain, protecting your customers from phishing attacks. By securing your email communications, you increase customer trust, which is crucial during high-transaction periods like Cyber Week.

3. Actionable insights: Gain valuable insights into who is sending emails using your domain, allowing you to detect unauthorized activities and take corrective measures. Use the reports to fine-tune your policies for optimal balance between security and deliverability.

4. Customer confidence: When email marketing volume spikes, a secure and authenticated email channel assures customers that promotional emails are genuinely from your business, therefore boosting engagement.

Implementing DMARC enhances your email security and the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns by ensuring legitimate communications are received by your audience.

Gmail and Yahoo's new sender requirements for email

In an attempt to protect their users’ email inboxes, Gmail and Yahoo have implemented stricter sender requirements to protect users from spam and phishing. Here are some specific guidelines that must be followed:

1. Authentication: Emails must be authenticated with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Additionally, adopt Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) by publishing a BIMI record in DNS to display your logo alongside your email in the inbox, enhancing brand recognition.

2. Reputation: Maintain a reliable sender reputation by consistently following best emailing practices, such as high engagement rates and low spam complaints. This is crucial for better email deliverability.

3. Content: Ensure content is relevant and not misleading or deceptive.

Potential penalties for non-compliance and how to mitigate risks

There are various consequences for not complying with the new email sender requirements from Gmail and Yahoo. Non-compliance can severely impact campaign reach in the following ways: 

1. Increased spam filtering: Emails from non-compliant senders are more likely to be flagged as spam, reducing the visibility and effectiveness of your email campaigns.

2. Delivery failures: Non-compliant emails may be outright rejected by email servers, leading to higher bounce rates and failed delivery notifications.

3. Reputation damage: Persistent non-compliance can harm your sender reputation, making it difficult to deliver emails to any recipients, not just those using Gmail or Yahoo.

Here are seven different ways to mitigate your risk and maintain a positive sender reputation:

1. Implement DMARC, SPF, and DKIM: Ensure that all outbound emails are authenticated using these protocols. Regularly update and monitor your DNS records to maintain compliance.

2. Adopt BIMI: Set up and publish a BIMI record to help authenticate your brand and enhance inbox visibility with brand logos.

3. Monitor email metrics: Regularly review your email deliverability metrics, including open rates, bounce rates, and spam complaints. Use these insights to identify potential issues and improve your practices.

4. Conduct regular audits and updates: Conduct periodic audits of your email infrastructure and policies to ensure they align with the latest requirements from Gmail, Yahoo, and other email providers. Implement necessary updates promptly.

5. Engage with compliance reports: Actively monitor DMARC reports to understand how your emails are being processed and identify any authentication failures. Use this information to adjust your settings.

6. Maintain a clean email list: Regularly clean your email list to remove inactive or invalid email addresses. This helps reduce bounce rates and improves overall deliverability.

7. Engage recipients responsibly: Focus on sending relevant, valuable content to recipients who have explicitly opted-in. Maintain clear, easy-to-use opt-out mechanisms to respect user preferences.

By proactively implementing these steps, you can achieve better deliverability, maintain a positive sender reputation, and adhere to legal obligations.

Tips to ensure emails reach customers during Cyber Week

Ensuring your emails reach Gmail and Yahoo users during high-traffic periods like Cyber Week is crucial for the success of your marketing campaigns. In addition to following the above guidelines, here are tips to make your email marketing as effective as possible: 

1. Segment your audience: Send targeted emails to relevant segments of your subscriber list. This improves engagement rates, as recipients receive content tailored to their interests.

2. Optimize email content: Craft compelling subject lines and preheaders. Your subject line should be clear and enticing without being misleading. Combine it with an engaging preheader to coax users into opening your emails.

3. Test for compatibility: Ensure your email design is responsive across devices and email clients. Test your emails on different platforms to guarantee they display correctly for all users.

4. Include clear calls-to-action (CTAs): Make it obvious what you want your recipients to do, whether it’s click a link, purchase a product, or visit a webpage. Clear, concise CTAs can significantly enhance engagement rates.

Implementing these tips helps ensure higher deliverability and engagement rates for your Gmail and Yahoo users during Cyber Week.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday success with Twilio

Cyber Week presents an unparalleled opportunity for businesses to boost sales and engage with customers. However, this opportunity comes with the responsibility of meeting compliance and regulatory guidelines.

Check out our Global Regulatory & Compliance Guide for Marketers to learn more about balancing effective marketing and customer communications with compliance measures across the world.