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A colleague recently contacted me inquiring about some SMS marketing messages they had been receiving lately. As far as they knew, they had not signed up for any SMS marketing, and the text message didn’t identify any way to opt out of the campaign. As I explained to my colleague, it sounded to me like this was the work of a Do-It-Yourself SMS Marketer…

Now I’m not saying that all DIY campaigns are bad. But I am saying that I have seen a lot more bad ones than good, and a poorly designed SMS campaign has some pretty far reaching consequences. To begin with, there are some severe legal ramifications. Several court cases have affirmed that a text or pix message constitutes a phone call, and therefore is protected under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA). Unsolicited messages, like the ones sent to my colleague are, simply put, against the law.

In addition to being illegal, poorly designed messaging campaigns are very damaging to the brand. This is a step beyond email spam - a cell phone is an intimate connection to the consumer. Unwanted intrusions are generally met with strong responses. In fact, the response can be so negative, that it can spill over to other brands. Get a few unsolicited SMS messages, and suddenly every marketing message, even the ones that follow the best practices, can look like an undesired interruption.

Can DIY SMS campaigns be successful? Of course they can. Just make sure that if you intend on designing one, you thoroughly educate yourself on legal responsibilities, industry standards, and best practices before jumping into the world of SMS marketing. Or (warning: shameless plug follows), employ a marketing + technology company that already has mobile marketing experts at its disposal…