A short code is a 5 or 6-digit number that can send and receive mobile to and from mobile phones. Short codes are recommended for high volume campaigns (200,000+ messages/day or more). You can optionally share your short code (or your toll free number) with groups that share your branding, such as affiliates or organizations with a c3/c4 structure. This is great for groups in a network, so they can share a short code or toll free number with their child groups.
There's a few things you will need to consider when setting up a shared short code or toll free number:
- Unsubscribes are global, meaning if a person unsubscribes from a text from any group using that short code, they will be unsubscribed from all the groups using that short code or toll free number.
- All telecom fees are charged to the primary short code or toll free number holder.
- You will need to prefix messages going out with your brand or organization name so recipients know which group sent which message, which you can do in the settings tab of your group manage page. More here.
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Keywords for text to take action and long codes for call campaigns will be deduplicated across all groups using the short code or toll free number, meaning a keyword can only be in active by one group at a time. You'll be able to view all keywords currently in use and the actions they’re linked to from the Keywords page under the Details menu.
- Keywords for text to take action and long codes for call campaigns will be deduplicated across all groups using the short code or toll free number.
- Because multiple groups are using the same short code or toll free number, replies are "guessed", meaning if someone replies to a mobile message or a wait and store step in a ladder, we will assign that reply to the most recent message sent by that short code or toll free number. The message will then be stored or sent to the inbox accordingly. More here.
To set up shared short codes or toll free number, email us at join@actionnetwork.org with the link to the group you want to own the sort code or toll free number and the groups you want to share it with.