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You can send text information via SMS messages to customers and subscribers internationally through the ExactTarget application. Please see the instructions below to use this feature with your ExactTarget account.
What Are International Text Messages
International text messages refer to any SMS interactions that use a long code phone number in the UK, German, or Swedish format via the ExactTarget application. ExactTarget can also support short codes internationally; however, they are limited to a smaller number of countries. Please contact your ExactTarget representative for more information on obtaining long codes and short codes.
Why Use International Text Messages
International SMS messages allow you to communicate with your subscribers around the globe. Using one long code, you can send messages to your subscriber base within several different counties. Using a long code, your messages maintain a single point of communication for customers spread out over several international locations.
- Long codes are less expensive than short codes
- You can receive private long codes more quickly than short codes
- A single private international long code can be used to reach customers in several different countries
- Long codes facilitate two-way communication between you (MT) and your subscribers (MO)
- Might be preferable for mostly outgoing messages
Prerequisites
In order to send SMS messages using your long code, your ExactTarget account must be enabled for use with SMS in the country or countries you wish to include in your international sends. Those counties currently include:
- United States
- Great Britain
- Australia
- Spain
- France
- Germany
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Sweden
- Denmark
- Finland
Contact your ExactTarget representative to set up your account for international SMS usage and obtain a long code or short code.
International Short Codes
You can use private and shared short codes in the UK. ExactTarget provisions these short codes in a similar manner as those short codes provisioned in the United States, and the same rules apply as those for US short codes, such as applying to only subscribers in the UK and restrictions on keywords when using shared short codes. Contact your ExactTarget representative for more information on using private or shared short codes in the UK.
How It Works
international SMS actions are created in the same manner as other SMS actions. However, you need to modify some attributes when creating content and subscriber lists to make them ready for international use.
Long Codes
ExactTarget's international SMS services default to using a UK long code format, such as +44-xxxx-xxxxx. Use this number to send and receive your international SMS messages. ExactTarget also supports the German and Swedish long code formats.
You can provision several different short codes and long codes in your ExactTarget account, depending on your sending needs and the countries in which you wish to operate. Note that any keywords you use must be requested for each short code or long code you wish to use that keyword with. Be sure to select the correct short code or long code each time you request a keyword.
Locale
The Locale type helps the ExactTarget application determine the correct format for phone numbers used as part of an SMS send. This attribute can be set at the account level if you wish to direct your SMS messages to resident of a single country only. You can also create a Locale column in a sendable data extension. The values in this column indicate the Locale of a single subscriber in that data extension and can be used to send to subscribers in different countries.
Your account receives a default Locale value assigned by ExactTarget. Each subscriber also receives a Locale value detailing the country in which they reside. Subscriber-level Locale values reside in a sendable data extension Locale column. These values default to US if not otherwise assigned. However, you can change a subscriber's Locale value through an API call or by importing data to your subscriber list. ExactTarget recommends setting Locale values using ISO 3166-1-alpha-2 country codes, such as US for United States. Locale helps the ExactTarget application parse and normalize (remove punctuation and verify length) international phone numbers.
NOTE: Failure to assign the correct locale to a subscriber can result in the send erroring out. Make sure that all subscribers have the correct locale information.
The figure below illustrates the values associated with the Locale data type in a data extension, as shown in when creating a data extension in the ExactTarget application.
The figure below shows an example of Locale values stored in a data extension. This data extension includes subscribers from both the United States and Great Britain. US customers are directed to the US short code, while GB customers are directed to the UK long code.
Subscriber Phone Numbers
Subscriber phone numbers must be properly formatted for the country in which they reside. At the time of the send, these numbers will be normalized and passed to the appropriate aggregator for the send to the mobile device.
Special Characters
ExactTarget's international SMS services supports GSM and UCS2 special characters. Make sure the characters you use in your international SMS messages are compliant with your subscribers' character set in order to properly render your messages.
NOTE: If you are sending to only US-based subscribers, do not include UCS2 characters. Most US phones do not support them.
Character Limits
International SMS messages using GSM special characters must contain 160 characters or less. SMS messages in the UCS2 format must contain 70 characters or less. SMS messages that exceed these limits will error out before the send occurs.
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