How to Effectively Maintain Text Messaging Compliance
Many factors contribute to the survivability of a business. Besides maintaining sales and a steady cash flow, ensuring your company remains compliant with rules and regulations is necessary.
Text messages are highly regulated in businesses, primarily in the financial and healthcare sectors. However, maintaining compliance for text messages can be challenging due to the complex rules.
From using a secure platform to capturing text messages, here are some tips to effectively ensure compliance with your communications:
- Use Trusted Text Platforms
The first step to complete compliance with regulations is using a secure text messaging platform. Choosing which one to use for official communications can be challenging with many new apps.
Below is a list of our top picks for secure messaging platforms:
- Signal Messenger – Heralded as the most secure messaging platform, Signal Messenger possesses a wide array of security features, such as end-to-end encryption, disappearing messages, and open-source protocol.
- Telegram – Telegram is a popular choice for end-to-end encryption, including conversations, calls, and group chats. The app also has self-destructing messages and a secret chat function.
- Viber – Though simple, Viber uses a combination of security and accessibility to increase chat efficiency. Besides end-to-end encryption, Viber is the only app with color-coded messages based on the level of encryption: green for encrypted and trusted contact, gray for encrypted but with an untrusted contact, and red for problem authenticating with contact.
- Opt-In and Opt-Out
If you decide to send marketing messages to your customers, it is essential to obtain their consent first. Sending them chats without their permission could result in serious legal consequences.
You can collect permission from your customers to receive messages from your business by letting them answer in a physical form or through a CTA on your website.
Once you’ve obtained their consent, always include an option to let them opt out of receiving messages. To stop the messages, subscribers may text “STOP” or similar keywords. All businesses must remove the subscribers who opted out, or they’ll face penalties.
- Capture Messages
Perhaps the most effective way to navigate text messaging compliance is to use a third-party archiving solution. Archiving software is a tool that instantly captures and stores all messages sent to and from the company. These copies are saved in PDF form and can be recovered for later use.
Archives are helpful for various situations, such as e-discoveries, audits, and business insights. Regulatory agencies like the SEC, FINRA, and HIPAA require businesses to have an archive with accompanying policies.
To help you maintain rigid business compliance, don’t hesitate to contact LeapXpert for a free demo of their powerful archiving solutions.