SMS portal is an interface that allows you to send and receive SMS messages without actually using a mobile phone. This converts SMS messages into e-mail messages or HTTP requests and vice versa. SMS Gateways are successfully used in Telecom for massive SMS messaging & SMS tests.
In the case you need to organize effective messaging without any extra means, the SMS software platform that provides sending and receiving short text messages & testing SMS on live SIMS will be a perfect business solution.
Let’s talk about what is an SMS gateway and how it works.
What is an SMS gateway?
First of all, what is an SMS gateway? It is a service, a messaging interface where you can send SMS text messages to an SMS-capable device and receive them back from it.
The SMS message gateway allows you to send messages in bulk. You can send messages to customers and receive a report back with information about the delivery time and its success.
How does SMS gateway work?
Here’s how does an SMS gateway work. SMS messages & text gateway are sent from the platform to direct channels of mobile operators. Sending messages is possible via HTTP API or SMPP protocol. These protocols are standard for SMS exchange and are applied in every Telecommunication company with no interruptions.
Building an SMS gateway helps to solve the issue of connecting different SMSCs when sending messages. Most telephone companies develop SMSCs with their own communication protocols, most of them private. You cannot connect two SMSCs if they use different communication protocols. But this is what you need to set up an SMS gateway for. This is placed between two SMSCs and works as a relay, translating one protocol to the other.
Besides, building an SMS gateway is useful not only for operators, but also for those who supply content or develop SMS applications. Different operators use SMSCs from different vendors, which means that your service needs to support different protocols for successful SMS delivery. That’s what a gateway is for.
How to test SMS gateway effectively?
If you are a business that has collected a solid database and received consent from the loyal customers to send SMS by default, you may use the SMS gateway test to improve the quality of your work. Test your SMS gateway before you start sending messages, this way you can avoid troubles and know all the problems before they spoil your plans.
Test your SMS gateway before you start sending messages, this way you can avoid troubles and know all the problems before they spoil your plans. The SMS gateway test shows:
- whether the message delivery has taken place;
- were there any delays;
- if the content has changed during the transmission and other parameters.
Do not confuse spamming with sending text messages. In anti-fraud purposes and with anti-spam concern, many people forget that SMS messaging is the same marketing tool for working with the target audience as many others. And, as with any tool, there are options to use it either correctly or incorrectly (illegally). Testelium allows you to act totally white for many business purposes. Let’s discover this short message service gateway step-by-step.
Research & set business goals
When implementing any serious project, SMS messaging requires not only rigorous testing but not less careful preparation. Mind SMS reliability. That very often what looks perfect in theory and sounds great in words doesn’t work in practice for some reason. There are numerous reasons why: different & sometimes very unpredictable. We recommend that you create a test plan prior. It will help you get the best possible return from them without annoying potential customers with your messages.
Make a plan
Why make a clear plan when preparing for testing via SMS verification API? First of all, despite the seeming simplicity, SMS messaging consists of many elements, and each of them often must be tested separately. Otherwise, you simply won’t understand what exactly went wrong and or what point, etc.
Choose your testing method
To begin with, how to find an SMS gateway? There are many testing methods. One of the most common and well-performing tests is A / B testing. In this case, two different groups of users receive a newsletter with different elements, and the conversion rate determines which option works best. Unfortunately, not all companies take SMS messaging seriously. This often leads to the fact that they are associated with spam and the use of A / B-method is almost never discussed.
Choose your testing platform
With the variety of SMS gateway worldwide, it is harder to find a reliable SMS testing service that completely meets your business demands and has a testing method you need to offer to you. Luckily, nowadays you can choose from a variety of international SaaS platforms for purely SMS testing, not a package Telecom service all-in-one that demands certain bigger investments or long-term subscriptions etc.
How to set up an SMS gateway and start quality testing?
So, how to send SMS using SMS gateway? Let’s start testing. The first thing to pay attention to is the sender’s name, or rather, how it will be displayed on the recipients’ phones.
Despite the fact that this advice will seem too simple to someone more or less professionally backed, or even superfluous, but in no case, you should leave a regular phone number in the “From” field. In this case, it is more likely that the recipient will not read the message. After all, if it comes from an unknown number, which means, most likely, is of little interest or considered as spam.
Use a signature instead of a phone number. How it will look and how it will work better is a subject for testing. In some cases, the name of the company or brand should be used.
It is also important to clarify that in some countries, it is prohibited to use a numeric sender name when using A2P SMS technology.
This is often done only when sending spam through grey channels, and the official name of the sender is only alphabetic. In Europe, both are possible. Therefore, here you need to take into account the citizens of which countries your messages list is designed for.
Having decided on the name of the sender, we turn to the most important thing — the text of the message. Here how to test SMS:
Before writing the message text, decide who your target audience is and what information you are going to convey.
Try not to be too verbose, but you don’t need to be overly mysterious either. State your main point briefly and clearly, keeping in mind who will be reading it.
As a result, you will get two texts, ideally not very similar to each other, but conveying the same information. You are now ready to A / B test your message.
Send different versions to different groups of people and see the response.
Which version brought the most impact is the one which is the most working for your business. However, this does not mean that you found a perfect message so fast. It may be worth doing more than one round of A / B message text testing, starting from the results already obtained, in order to find the optimal message test.
We have many great ideas for texting in our blog, enjoy reading and putting them into practice!
Why choose Testelium SMS portal?
What is sms server or gateway – you already know. But how to get an SMS gateway? Just use Testelium. SMS platform, developed by Testelium, allows you to take into account several parameters for testing alongside content and sender ID:
- Sender ID Test
- Content Verification
- SMS Verification
- SMS Tests Results Analytics
- Timestamps
- Real-time multiple tests
- Support 24/7
Finally, you may also test how the text of the message works with different groups of your target audience. To do this, divide the recipients into groups according to those parameters that are important to you – by age, gender, location, and so on.
In the case you need to organize effective messaging without any extra means, the SMS software platform that provides sending and receiving short text messages & testing SMS message sending on live SIMS will be a perfect business solution.
Conclusion
Remember what an SMS gateway is. SMS messaging, when organized correctly, is a powerful marketing/business tool that can be set up perfectly only after thorough research & testing. Unfortunately, not all companies take this seriously. As a result, their messages are perceived by users as spam, and the companies become frustrated with this technique. All of this can be avoided if you approach your messaging lists responsibly and use advanced modern tools for SMS tests with useful parameters as Testelium. Need some help? Welcome to contact us right away!
