What is unsubscribed from SMS?

Unsubscribed from SMS refers to your subscribers opting out and explicitly revoking their consent to receive SMS or MMS messages from your brand. Adding an unsubscribe option to your messages is mandatory to comply with SMS marketing regulations in certain countries, including the US, Canada, France, and Norway. 

Aside from staying in line with regulations, keeping track of the unsubscribed metric gives you insight into potential bottlenecks, areas for improvement, and strategies that bring success.

To simplify your SMS marketing efforts, Klaviyo offers automated consent status changes based on the Unsubscribed metric. This subscriber-triggered automation helps you focus on customers interested in receiving targeted messaging from your band.

3 ways to add an unsubscribe option to your messages

  1. Opting out via a stop keyword: When sending an SMS message to your subscribers, include a keyword they can reply with to stop receiving your messages. These keywords are typically case-sensitive and can include the following options: STOP, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, or QUIT.
  2. Opting out via an unsubscribe link: Include an unsubscribe link that takes recipients to a web page to confirm their choice.
  3. Calling a toll-free number: Offer a toll-free number that your customers can use to unsubscribe by calling free of charge.

4 best practices for managing SMS opt-out requests

  1. Get prior consent: Before sending any messages to your subscribers, ensure you get their explicit consent, showing they willingly opted in to receive your messages.
  2. Provide clear opt-out instructions: Your opt-out method should be clear and transparent, requiring as little effort as possible from your subscribers.
  3. Stay compliant with local regulations: Get acquainted with the regulations of the country in which you’ll send advertising messages. In the US, promotional texts are regulated by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
  4. Honor all opt-out requests: Always honor subscribers who want to unsubscribe by removing them from your SMS lists as quickly as possible. Preferably, use a system that automatically processes all opt-out requests.

Ready to automate customer subscription management? Sign up for Klaviyo to easily track consent statuses, add interactive keywords to your SMS messages, and embed unsubscribe links to your marketing emails. 

With Klaviyo, you can run effective SMS and email campaigns and flows with an easy-to-use custom sign-up form builder, powerful segmentation to identify your key audience groups in seconds, and in-depth reporting that helps you fine-tune your marketing strategy.

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