Twilio Step 3: Regulatory Compliance Onboarding (Brand Registration and A2P 10DLC Campaign Creation)

 

 

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What is Twilio?

Twilio is a third-party communications company from which you can create an account in order to send SMS to your customers through the MyStudio platform.

 

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Prerequisites before this step

Before you can complete the A2P 10DLC and create an SMS campaign, you will need to have completed all the steps in the following articles:

• The optional first step is to purchase the Twilio add-on in MyStudio: Twilio Step 1: Buy MyStudio’s Communication Add-on. 
• Twilio Step 2: Set Up Twilio Account

 

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What fees are associated with connecting Twilio?

One time fees

• One time fee to Twilio associated with the A2P 10DLC registration, depending on which “brand” you fill out in the document. 
• One time campaign vetting fee to Twilio per campaign.

 

Monthly fees

• Monthly fee to MyStudio for the communication enhancement (Twilio) add-on.

• Monthly cost to Twilio associated with the brand type you entered as well as each campaign you create, depending on your selection for the campaign use type. 
• Per message usage to Twilio.

 

Pay as you go fees

• You will need to ensure your Twilio account has funds at all times to ensure communications don’t get interrupted. This can be set up as an auto-recharge.

Please see below for further clarification on Twilio’s pricing.

 

For information about pricing and fees associated with the A2P 10DLC, check out Twilio’s article here: What pricing and fees are associated with the A2P 10DLC service?

For information about SMS usage pricing and fees, check out Twilio’s article here: https://www.twilio.com/en-us/sms/pricing/us 

 

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What is the benefit of having Twilio?

Our V2 system requires you to connect your own Twilio account in order to use SMS communication. Additionally, having your Twilio account keeps you in control of your messaging limits and allows you to send emojis and images in your texts.

 

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The full overall steps to get Twilio connected to MyStudio are:

1. Purchase the Twilio add-on in MyStudio.
2. Create a Twilio account.
   • Fill out business details.
   • Upgrade from a trial plan.
   • Get a phone number.
3. Regulatory compliance onboarding (brand registration and A2P 10DLC campaign creation) (You are here)
4. Connect Twilio to MyStudio.

 

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We HIGHLY recommend taking your time with this process and learning more about this requirement before filling out the documentation so that you can ensure a quick, easy connection. The first article below, in particular, helps you choose which type of brand your business would be and contains a very helpful video. 

For more information about what the A2P 10DLC is and the specifics of how to set it up in Twilio, check out Twilio’s article here: Programmable Messaging and A2P 10DLC

For a quick comparison between a sole-proprietorship, low-volume, and standard brand, check out Twilio’s article here: Comparison between sole Proprietor, Low Volume Standard, and Standard registration for A2P 10DLC 

 

 

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1. Finish customer profile
   • Business details
   • Business address
   • Review and submit
2. Register brand
   • Select brand type
   • View A2P messaging limits
3. A2P 10DLC campaign registration
   • Registration
   • Connect (register) phone numbers

 

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The section to begin the A2P 10DLC process in Twilio:

1. On the left hand side, drop down the “messaging” category.
2. Drop down the “regulatory compliance” subsection.
3. Click “onboarding.”

 

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You will need to fill out some further information about your business to verify its legitimacy. Some of this information may be pre-filled from when you created the Twilio account. You don’t have to change any information unless the information is missing or incorrect.

 

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Profile needs

• Verify that your business entity is located in the US and/or Canada. These countries require the A2P 10DLC. Select “yes”
• Does the business you’re registering have a tax ID (Ex. US EIN)?
  • In order to be a business, you have to have a tax ID/EIN. This can be found on your W2 or W9 on your taxes.

 

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US EIN (Tax ID)

Provide your 9-digit US EIN or tax ID.

 

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Business details

This could include, but not be limited to:

• Legal business name: This must match what is registered to the provided US EIN/tax ID
• Business identity: should match what you chose when creating a Twilio account.
• Website URL: for faster approval, use a business domain (such as “@business.com”). We don’t recommend putting 
• Business industry

 

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Business address

Provide your business’s address.

 

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Contact information (possibly)

Provide your contact information

 

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Review and submit

Double check that all the information provided is accurate and then submit for profile review. This review can take 72 hours or more, but you can continue with brand registration while it’s pending.

 

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What is a brand?

A brand identifies the business or person sending SMS messages and tells U.S. carriers who you are. It helps carriers trust your messages and sets your sending limits.

 

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Submit brand

You will be asked to fill out the following information:

• Company type: this is what type of business you are as registered with the government. 
  • Private (most common selection): a business that is not publicly traded on a stock exchange. Includes LLCs, sole proprietorships, partnerships, and most startups and small/mid-size businesses.
  • Public: a business whose shares are publicly traded on a stock exchange. Think McDonalds, Paypal, Nike and other major corporations.
  • US Non-Profit: legally registered as a nonprofit under IRS 501(c). Includes charities, foundations, some educational institutions, etc.
  • US Government: your business is a government entity or agency.
• Are you a 527 political organization?
  • Refers to a tax-exempt group that primarily raises and spends money to influence political campaigns or public issues and is registered as such under Section 527 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.
  • The vast majority, if not all of our users, will select “no.”
• What type of brand do you need?
  • Sole proprietor: 
    • Only for “sole proprietor/self-employed” selection during onboarding. Remember, if you have employees, this option does not apply to you and it will not show up as an option if you selected “business” during onboarding.
  • Low-volume (most common selection)
    • One of the options for businesses.
    • Best for business that average less than 2,000 messages/day or 10,000/week
  • Standard brand
    • The other option for businesses.
    • Best for businesses that average more than 2,000 messages/day or 10,000/week

 

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Mobile number verification (dependent)

If you see this step (and can’t get past the profile needs from step 1), it’s likely you haven’t upgraded your account from a trial plan. Upgrading requires verification of your phone number before buying other numbers for SMS. If this is the case, check out our previous article and ensure you follow all the steps: Twilio Step 2: Set up Twilio Account.

 

If you don’t see this step, you’re good to go.

 

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Brand registration approval

Once all the information above is provided, you may need to wait for brand registration approval. This is generally a quick process unless the information provided triggers manual review. You can continue to check this section for status updates.

 

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View A2P messaging limits

Once your brand registration is approved, you will be able to view the A2P messaging limits. This gives your brand a trust score and will display your daily message segment limits. Click “continue” to proceed to registering an A2P 10DLC campaign.

 

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What is the A2P 10DLC campaign and why do I have to do it?

A2P 10DLC (Application-to-Person 10-Digit Long Code) is a required verification for businesses sending SMS to customers in the U.S. It helps prevent spam and phishing by showing that your business is sending messages for legitimate purposes. As part of this, you need to submit an SMS campaign explaining how your business will use SMS from a U.S. 10-digit number.

 

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Register A2P campaign

When filling out campaign details, you will be asked for the following information:

1. A2P Brand: This is prefilled to your brand you already provided. 
2. Available A2P Campaign use cases: 
   1. If you chose Standard brand: We highly recommend choosing “mixed” as this covers a variety of use cases and has a higher chance of approval. 
   2. If you chose Low-volume brand: We highly recommend choosing “low-volume mixed” as this covers a variety of use cases and has a higher chance of approval.
3. Messaging service: select “create new messaging service.”
4. Campaign description: describes what you are using the SMS for (IE: customer care communication, class reminders, etc.)
5. Provide at least 2 examples of these messages.
6. Message contents: messages will include embed links since you may link to registration pages or the member app. 
7. How do end-users consent to receive messages: Provide the following text in this field box, replacing [company] with the name of your business:
   1. “By providing your phone number, you agree to receive text messages from [company]. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies.”
8. Opt-in keywords: “Start”
9. Opt-in message: Provide the following text:
   1. “To stop receiving messages from this number, reply with UNSUBSCRIBE or STOP.”
10. Click create

 

For further insight for creating a successful campaign, check out Twilio's article here: A2P 10DLC Campaign Approval Requirements

 

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Register (connect) phone numbers

You will need to connect the campaign to a specific phone number.

1. Select the phone number you will be connecting to MyStudio.
2. Check the box to agree with Twilio’s messaging policy.
3. Click "add phone numbers to messaging service"

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Waiting for approval

 

You will need to wait for campaign approval before the SMS will be successful. This could be as soon as 24 hours, or as much as 3 weeks depending on if it has to go to manual review.

 

 

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The next step is to connect Twilio to MyStudio.

• Twilio Step 4: Connect Your Twilio Account to MyStudio

 

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I’m not located in the US, do I have to fill out the A2P 10DLC?

You are required to fill out the A2P 10DLC as long as you are sending SMS to US customers, even if your business isn’t located in the US.

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Why use a company that requires this?

The A2P 10DLC is required by US law. This process is essentially the same with every SMS company.

 

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I did everything exactly and my campaign still got rejected

Unfortunately, you could do everything right and the campaign is still rejected. This is because Twilio sends these campaigns to a third party company for approvals and each agent there may have different standards for success. Twilio will send an email explaining the reasons for the rejection. Make any changes as necessary and try again.

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What happens if I have multiple locations or franchises?

You can have everything housed in the same Twilio account if desired. Just be aware that:

1. You will need to purchase different phone numbers per location. The MyStudio system requires different numbers per account.
2. Since, more than likely, each location will send the same type of messages, you do not have to create multiple campaigns. An A2P 10DLC campaign can connect to multiple phone numbers. Only create different campaigns if the phone numbers serve different purposes.
3. You do not need to create different brands if all locations are part of the same legal entity (business name and EIN). If each location has a different legal business name and different business tax IDs, then you will need to create a new brand for that location.

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Where do I go to create more campaigns or brands?

For additional brands:

1. In Twilio, go to messaging.
2. Click the “regulatory compliance” drop down.
3. Select “brands.”
4. Click “register a brand.”

 

For additional campaigns:

1. In Twilio, go to messaging.
2. Click the “regulatory compliance” drop down.
3. Select “campaigns.”
4. Click “register a campaign.”

 

 

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