The Complete Guide to P2P Texting

Introduction

Peer-to-peer (P2P) texting has gained considerable prominence in recent years, particularly for political campaigns, nonprofit organizations, and businesses alike, as it offers a more personal and interactive way to connect with target audiences.

One of the key advantages of P2P texting is its ability to reach a large number of recipients simultaneously, with personalized and customizable messages. It enables organizations to engage in two-way communication, allowing recipients to respond and facilitating genuine dialogues. This level of personalization and interactivity makes P2P texting more effective than traditional mass message broadcasting methods.

P2P texting is often utilized for political campaigns as it permits candidates to directly engage with potential voters. Instead of relying solely on mass emails or phone calls, volunteers or campaign staff can use specialized P2P texting platforms to send individualized messages to constituents. This helps create a sense of personal attention which can persuade voters and mobilize grassroots support. P2P texting is also instrumental in organizing volunteer activities, fundraising initiatives, and event reminders.

Nonprofit organizations have also embraced P2P texting to enhance their outreach efforts. By connecting with donors and supporters through personalized messages, nonprofits can provide updates on fundraising campaigns, volunteer opportunities, and other initiatives. P2P texting enables these organizations to foster stronger relationships and garner increased support from their audience.

From a business perspective, P2P texting has emerged as an effective marketing and customer service tool. It allows businesses to send tailored messages to customers, offering personalized product recommendations, exclusive discounts, or order updates. Moreover, businesses can address customer inquiries or concerns in real-time, leading to improved customer satisfaction.

P2P texting utilizes specialized platforms and software that enable automation and scalability. These platforms often provide intuitive interfaces, allowing users to create and manage messaging campaigns efficiently. Additionally, many P2P texting platforms integrate seamlessly with CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems, enabling businesses and organizations to collect valuable data on customer interactions and preferences.

However, it is important to note that P2P texting must be approached with respect for privacy regulations and best practices. Users must obtain consent from recipients before initiating conversations, and proper opt-out mechanisms should be in place for those who no longer wish to receive messages.

In conclusion, P2P texting represents an innovative and powerful communication tool that facilitates personalized and interactive messaging between individuals and organizations. Its versatility and potential for engagement make it an invaluable asset for political campaigns, nonprofit organizations, and businesses seeking to establish direct connections with their audience.

History and Evolution

The history of P2P texting can be traced back to the early days of SMS (Short Message Service) technology, which was first introduced in the 1990s. SMS allows individuals to send short, text-based messages to one another using their mobile phones. This marked the initial shift towards decentralized communication, as messages were sent directly from one phone to another, bypassing intermediary systems.

However, true peer-to-peer texting as we know it today began to take shape with the advent of mobile messaging applications and data-based messaging services. Examples include early platforms such as AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) and Yahoo Messenger, which allowed users to send messages to each other over the Internet. These services made it possible to engage in real-time, direct conversations without relying solely on SMS.

As technology progressed, mobile-focused messaging applications gained popularity. Platforms like WhatsApp, WeChat, and LINE revolutionized the way people communicated by offering free and instant messaging through an internet connection. These apps exploit the data connectivity of smartphones to enable users to send messages, images, videos, and various multimedia files globally, regardless of geographical boundaries. By utilizing internet-based protocols, peer-to-peer texting became seamless, cost-effective, and accessible to a broader user base.

Moreover, the rise of P2P texting has extended beyond personal conversations. Nonprofit organizations, political campaigns, advocacy groups, and businesses have begun to recognize the value of peer-to-peer texting as an effective communication tool. It allows them to directly engage with their target audience, delivering personalized messages, conducting surveys, organizing events, and even facilitating fundraising efforts.

P2P texting has also evolved technologically with the emergence of application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable seamless integration of texting capabilities into other tools and platforms. This enables businesses to incorporate P2P texting into their existing systems, such as customer relationship management (CRM) software, marketing automation tools, or event management platforms. The integration of P2P texting with these systems ensures a smoother and more efficient communication process.

Furthermore, P2P texting has also expanded to incorporate more advanced features, such as end-to-end encryption for enhanced security and privacy. This empowers users to have confidential conversations without the fear of their messages being intercepted or accessed by unauthorized individuals.The concept of P2P texting has evolved from the early days of SMS to encompass a wide range of mobile messaging applications and services. The ability to send text messages directly between individuals, without the need for intermediary servers, has transformed the way people communicate, enabling instant, real-time messaging on a global scale. P2P texting has proven to be a versatile tool, not only for personal communication but also for organizations and businesses looking to connect with their audience in a direct and personalized manner.

Speed and Efficiency

P2P offers various benefits in terms of speed and efficiency, making it increasingly popular in our fast-paced and technologically-driven world. This overview will delve into the numerous advantages of P2P texting in terms of speed and efficiency.

Instantaneous Communication: P2P texting allows individuals to send and receive messages in real-time, enabling swift and immediate communication. By eliminating the need for phone calls or email exchanges, P2P texting facilitates instant communication, making it ideal for urgent or time-sensitive matters.

Quick Information Sharing: With P2P texting, essential information can be disseminated rapidly. Whether it's sharing updates, instructions, or announcements, texting allows for quick transmission of information to multiple recipients simultaneously. This streamlines communication processes, particularly in situations where important updates need to be delivered efficiently.

Automation and Personalization: P2P texting platforms often offer automation features, allowing for bulk messaging with customized variables. This capability enables personalized communication on a mass scale, where specific information can be tailored to each recipient. Automated P2P texting saves time and effort, allowing individuals to reach a wider audience efficiently.

Enhanced Efficiency in Group Communication: P2P texting enables efficient group communication, making it particularly beneficial for organizing events, coordinating team efforts, or managing projects. It allows group members to communicate simultaneously, exchange ideas, and receive updates quickly, reducing the need for multiple back-and-forths and streamlining the overall process.

Higher Engagement and Accessibility: P2P texting facilitates increased engagement due to its wide accessibility. In contrast to other communication channels, most individuals always have their mobile phones within reach, making it easier to engage in texting conversations. This accessibility promotes faster response times, leading to more productive and efficient communication.

Delivery Confirmation and Read Receipts: Many P2P texting platforms offer delivery confirmation and read receipts, providing users with notifications when their messages are successfully delivered and opened. This feature enhances efficiency by providing senders with an assurance that their messages have been received and viewed.

In summary, the benefits of P2P texting in terms of speed and efficiency are vast. With its instantaneous communication, quick information sharing, cost-effectiveness, automation capabilities, and enhanced group communication, P2P texting has become an invaluable tool for effective and efficient communication in various personal and professional contexts.

High Open Rates

P2P texting, has emerged as a powerful communication tool with high open rates.

‍Authentic Conversations: P2P texting creates an environment conducive to authentic conversations. The messages sent through P2P texting are typically written and sent by real individuals, providing a sense of genuine interaction. This human element helps build trust and facilitates meaningful dialogue, resulting in higher open rates as recipients are more inclined to read and respond to messages that feel personal and sincere.

‍Optimal Timing: P2P texting allows organizations to reach recipients at the most opportune times. Instead of relying on traditional forms of communication, such as emails that may get lost in crowded inboxes, P2P texting delivers messages directly to recipients' mobile devices. As people tend to be more attentive to text messages, open rates are significantly higher, ensuring that important information or calls to action are seen and acted upon promptly.

‍Interactive Engagement: P2P texting provides an interactive engagement platform. Recipients have the ability to respond to the messages they receive, initiating a conversation with the sender. This two-way communication creates a dialogue, allowing for back-and-forth discussions, clarifications, and personalized assistance. As P2P texting fosters engagement, recipients are more likely to open and respond to future messages from the sender.

Best Practices

To ensure successful P2P texting campaigns, it is essential to follow certain best practices. This overview will explore some key principles and strategies for optimizing P2P texting efforts.

Permission and Consent: In the initial message you should always include a personalized opt-out message so your senders can easily acknowledge a recipient’s request if they choose to be opted out.

Personalization: Personalize your messages to create a more meaningful and engaging conversation. Address individuals by their first name if possible, and tailor the content based on their interests, preferences, or previous interactions. This will help establish a sense of connection and enhance the overall user experience.

Timing and Frequency: Be mindful of the timing and frequency of your text messages. Avoid sending messages during unsolicited hours that may cause inconvenience. Strive for a balanced communication schedule, ensuring you provide value without overwhelming recipients. Regular but not excessive contact helps maintain interest and a positive rapport.

Clear and Concise Communication: Craft messages that are clear, concise, and easy to understand. Use simple language, avoid jargon or technical terms, and keep the message focused. It is crucial to convey the desired information effectively while keeping the text brief, as attention spans in text messages tend to be shorter.

Call-to-Action (CTA): Include a clear call-to-action in your P2P texts. Whether it is to make a purchase, sign up for an event, visit a website, or respond to a survey, guide recipients on what action to take. A well-crafted CTA ensures better engagement and encourages desired outcomes.

Two-Way Communication: P2P texting is not just about broadcasting information; it should facilitate a two-way conversation. Encourage recipients to respond, ask questions, or provide feedback. Promptly address incoming messages to foster a dynamic exchange that builds trust, enhances customer satisfaction, and strengthens relationships.

Segmentation and targeting: Segment your audience based on relevant demographics, interests, or behavior to deliver more personalized and targeted messages. This ensures that recipients receive relevant information, increasing the likelihood of engagement and positive responses.

Compliance with Regulations: Stay informed about the legal and regulatory requirements surrounding P2P texting. Familiarize yourself with rules such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and 10DLC in the United States or similar frameworks in other regions. Complying with these regulations helps maintain trust and avoids potential legal issues.

Analysis and Optimization: Regularly analyze campaign performance metrics, such as response rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates, to evaluate the success of your P2P texting efforts. Use this data to identify areas for improvement and apply optimizations to enhance future campaigns.

By adhering to these best practices, businesses, organizations, and individuals can effectively utilize P2P texting to establish personal connections, drive engagement, and achieve desired outcomes. Customizing messages, respecting privacy, ensuring compliance, and continuous analysis are key components that contribute to successful P2P texting campaigns.

Guidance for Filling out Brand Registration Form

Below are the fields you must complete on the Brand Registration form. Please review the requirements for each carefully to avoid errors in your submission.

Submitting Your Brand Registration
Once you submit your organization's Brand Registration, GetThru passes this information to The Campaign Registry to begin the process. This pop-up will let you know you have successfully submitted your registration. Once the registration approval process has been completed, we will notify you.

Brand Registration Status Types
There are 4 status types for Brand Registration: pre-submission," Pending," "Registered," and "Registration Unverified." Once you have submitted your Brand Registration, your status will be "Pending" until The Campaign Registry (TCR) reviews your submission and returns it as either "Registered" or "Registration Unverified." Verification is done by comparing the information submitted on the Brand Registration form to your organization's tax filing information. If TCR has encountered any discrepancies, they will mark your GetThru account as "Registration Unverified." Read on to learn more about each status type and how to troubleshoot the "Registration Unverified" status.

Pre-submission
Before a Brand Registration is submitted, the top of the form will only display "Account Owner Only."

Pending
Once you have submitted your registration to TCR, your registration status will be "Pending" until they have assessed your submission.

Registered
Once TCR has reviewed your Brand Registration submission and verified the details, your status will change to "Registered."

Registration Unverified
If TCR encounters conflicting information, they will mark your ThruText account "Registration Unverified." You will need to resubmit your Brand Registration. Please review the next section below.

Resubmitting Your Brand Registration
If you receive a "Registration Unverified" response from TCR, you will want to double-check your organization's information. Make sure to check the following:

Brand Registration Failures & Resubmissions
If TCR has returned your registration as "Registration Unverified," you will be prompted to resubmit your Brand Registration.

What is Campaign Verify?

As part of 10DLC, and in addition to submitting a Brand Registration (and before applying for a Use Case), political texters will need to register with Campaign Verify. Campaign Verify is a non-partisan organization that verifies the identities of 527 non-profits (US political campaigns, parties, and PACs) for texting. If you are one of these three, you must register. Registering will give you a token that you will put in your ThruText account that will help protect your organization from spoofing, which is when someone outside of your organization sends messages in your name, regardless of malicious intent.

Which organizations need to register with Campaign Verify?
Campaign Verify registration is available and required for all U.S. political entities who file as 527 organizations. Here's some additional guidance around specific organization types:

How do I register with Campaign Verify?

Use Case Registration can't be submitted until the Brand Registration has been submitted and approved. Because the CV token is part of the Brand Registration, the "Political" Use Case application can't be submitted until the CV token is accepted. If you attempt to register the use case before submitting the CV token, it will appear successful, but the "Pending" status will disappear when the page is refreshed.

What is MMS and can it be used for P2P

MMS, or multimedia messaging service, is a text messaging type that includes some amount of text with the potential to include many file types and even multiple files at a time. The overwhelming majority of uses for text messaging with MMS focus on one combination: A single image or gif presented that often includes some amount of text. While SMS messages are text-only and divided by segments, ThruText sends MMS messages as a single segment with a media file. Since MMS messages aren't divided into segments if you plan to send a long initial message (up to 1600 characters), consider making it an MMS!
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MMS messages can be PNG or JPG image file types or GIFs up to 500KB that can be added to campaigns with audiences as large as 100k messages. MMS throughput depends upon your group's carrier makeup and your organization's 10DLC details (brand registration and use case type.) The lowest possible sending rate is 3k messages per hour, but in most cases, the throughput is higher, especially for Charity and Political use cases. For campaigns with long initial messages, sending MMS messages may be more 10DLC compliant.
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How fast can I send MMS messages?
‍Due to carrier limitations, MMS messages have a separate and lower throughput than SMS messages. AT&T necessitates that MMS messages be sent more slowly through their network. Due to its market share, AT&T's limitation can affect the overall sending time of a campaign.

How do I know how many MMS messages I sent?
When your texters send your MMS campaigns, the initial message is counted as an MMS message. As replies do not contain media, they are counted as SMS messages. Admins and account owners can refer to their Usage Analytics page, campaign exports, or account-level exports for MMS and SMS totals.

Other Forms of P2P Texting

Toll-free (800 numbers)
Toll-free numbers, often recognized by their 800 prefixes, have been an integral part of telecommunications for decades. In the context of P2P texting, toll-free numbers are used to enable person-to-person (P2P) communication via text messages. These numbers are an excellent choice for organizations that wish to engage with their audience, customers, or constituents through texting.

Key Points:

Short Codes
Short codes are abbreviated phone numbers, usually consisting of 5 to 6 digits, that are primarily used for sending high volumes of messages. They are particularly popular for marketing and mass communications.

Key Points:

In summary, P2P texting technology encompasses a range of options, from toll-free numbers that offer legitimacy and branding to 10DLC numbers for cost-effective local outreach and short codes for high-volume marketing campaigns. The choice of technology depends on your organization's specific needs, budget, and the nature of your P2P texting campaigns.

Frequently Asked Question

1. What is 10DLC and how does it relate to P2P texting?
10DLC stands for "10 digit long code," which are the phone numbers used for P2P texting. Wireless carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon are implementing 10DLC to protect the SMS channel from spam and ensure high-quality messages reach their intended recipients. P2P texting involves sending personalized messages to individual people using these 10DLC numbers.

2. What are The Campaign Registry and Campaign Verify?
The Campaign Registry (TCR) is an organization that allows the registration of 10DLC messaging campaigns. They work with carriers, vendors, and industry partners to establish common standards for A2P 10DLC messaging. Campaign Verify is responsible for verifying political campaigns, PACs, and parties (527 organizations) for 10DLC texting. They provide a token to protect organizations from spoofing.

3. How do I register for 10DLC and P2P texting?
‍To register for 10DLC and P2P texting, you need to complete Brand Registration and Use Case Registration. Account Owners must submit the required information for Brand Registration, and you must also establish which use case applies to your organization. For political organizations, registration with Campaign Verify is required.

4. What are the key components of a successful P2P texting campaign?
Successful P2P texting campaigns involve customizing messages, respecting privacy, ensuring regulatory compliance, and continuously analyzing campaign performance metrics to drive engagement and establish personal connections.

5. Is opt-in required for sending P2P texts?
While carriers encourage opt-ins, they don't mandate it for P2P texting. Carriers primarily rely on complaint-based enforcement and are more concerned about avoiding unwanted messages and spam. However, organizations should avoid over-texting their supporters and always respect opt-outs.

6. What is MMS, and can it be used for P2P texting?
MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) allows you to send text messages with multimedia content, such as images or gifs. MMS messages can be used for P2P texting and are sent as a single segment. It's important to keep MMS messages concise and engaging.

7. What's the difference between toll-free numbers, short codes, and 10DLC for P2P texting?
Toll-free numbers offer legitimacy, branding, and higher throughput. Short codes are used for high-volume messaging campaigns, while 10DLC provides cost-effective local outreach. The choice depends on the nature and scale of your P2P texting campaigns.

8. How fast can I send MMS messages, and what are the best practices for MMS texting campaigns?
MMS messages have a lower throughput than SMS messages, and their speed may be affected by carrier limitations. Best practices for MMS include keeping messages short, avoiding links in initial messages, and inviting contacts to engage in a real conversation.

9. What are Campaign Verify's requirements for registration, and who needs to register with them?
Campaign Verify is essential for political entities that file as 527 organizations. They require an FEC ID or a URL of filing at the state or local level. While 501c3 and c4 organizations do not need to register with Campaign Verify, political organizations must complete this registration to protect themselves from spoofing.

10. How does 10DLC relate to the TCPA, and what are the key compliance considerations for P2P texting?
10DLC regulations aim to protect the SMS channel from spam and ensure high-quality messages. While it doesn't change TCPA requirements, organizations should focus on avoiding behaviors likely to generate complaints, honoring opt-outs, and adhering to carrier guidelines for opt-ins.