The Future of Text Messaging w/ Todd Tramonte and Dillon Simms

On this episode of Keeping It Real we are joined by Todd Tramonte, DFW-based broker, team owner, coach, and host of URGUC, and Dillon Simms, Director of Product at Real Geeks.

Texting has been a major topic of conversation lately due to the new opt-out language that's been popping up.

Join us as we discuss why we are starting to see this language, why we are going to start seeing even more of it, what this language means for communicating with leads, and how to adapt to these new guidelines.

You can also join us in person this fall at URGUC by going to https://www.urguc.com

Texting clients is an important element of connecting with them, but the process as you know it is changing in real time. In the past, people manually reached out to clients to discuss properties. Generally, you could text whoever you wanted to at any time. When automation came into the picture, it simplified the job of real estate professionals for a time. Now, that strategy has come to a point that is no longer as effective as before. In this post, we discuss the highlights of the future of text messaging with Todd Tramonte and Dillon Simms, both of whom are Real Geeks users. Take a look.

What Is Motivating the Changes in Text Messaging?

Users in the broad software ecosystem — including rookies and veterans — have noticed a lot more legalistic language in text messages. According to Dillon Simms, the two motivations for this development are the following.

A Recent Increase in Lawsuits

In the past few years, companies have gotten a lot of lawsuits around the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991. This law restricts telemarketing communications through SMS texts, fax messages, and voice calls.

It also protects you from auto-dialers and auto-generated text messages that do it in the wrong way. You can expect more legal languages in your text messages, even outside of Real Geeks or real estate, because software providers are complying with the law to avoid legal trouble.

A Decline in Deliverability

Carriers are under a lot of pressure to reduce spam text messages. As such, any application that automatically sends text messages must follow new rules that specifically target that issue. Real Geeks is one of those software providers that automatically send text messages.

Accordingly, it is important to create text messages that do not count as spam. This way, you avoid upsetting end users. Moreover, you ensure that they get the messages you intend to deliver.

How These Changes Affect Real Estate

Texting is important for increasing lead engagement and conversion. However, these changes demand that you adjust your approaches while playing by the new rules. These changes are similar to the ones we saw with email in the past, where you had to craft your messages correctly to avoid landing in a recipient’s spam folder.

While using SMS, you may notice that the message status displays “undelivered,” meaning that a carrier filtered your message. Real Geeks users have been seeing that a lot over the past months. Basically, software companies have intermediaries (Real Geeks uses Twilio) that talk to carriers directly. Messages go in between the software and can stop at any point.

What Is the Best Practice for These New Rules?

Identification is the most important element of a text message, ensuring that it reaches your recipients. Even when you have stock language in your automated strategies, you must put a bit of extra effort into introducing yourself. When you send a message to a new number without identifying who you are, you are most likely going to get filtered.

This practice may conflict with what you have learned before, where it is better to send emails that get straight to the point if you already know each other. However, identifiers are mandatory now. We have seen an increase in response rates and stick rates (when clients remain subscribed after connection).

Final Words

Text messaging is changing in response to a recent spike in lawsuits and inconvenienced recipients. Anyone who subscribes to an automatic text messaging system must ensure that they craft proper SMS texts. Proper messages comply with the newly established rules to improve deliverability and avoid potential lawsuits.