SMS Sender Name (Alpha tag)

Sending SMS notifications using an Alpha tag

bookitLive allows you to set a Alpha Tag (sender name) instead of sending the message from an anonymous numbers. While using a name instead of a random number has obvious benefits when communication to your clients using a Alpha Tag (sender name) in SMS will group messages that exceed the 160 character SMS limit together.

The Alpha Tag (sender name) can be set using numbers and letters to a maximum of 11 characters (this is an SMS restriction), no spaces allowed.

Setting SMS Sender Name

1. Login to bookitLive
2. Select Settings > Notifications Settings
3. Type in the SMS sender name that you want to use
4. Select Save

Note: You need to have enough SMS credits to cater for the number of SMS messages that will be sent. SMS credits can be purchase from the card linked to your account from the Settings > Purchase SMS credits page.

Not all countries support SMS Alpha Tag (sender name).

Scam Prevention 

As part of protecting consumers from scam activity and scam prevention, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) requires all businesses to register their alpha tags. This is in accordance the SMS SCAM Industry Code "Scam Code".

Business using Alpha Tags must prove that they have a valid use case for that Alpha Tag. Valid use cases include (but are not limited to);

• Your Sole Trader name.
• Your Company name.
• Your Partnership name.
• Your registered Trust name.
• Your Co-Operative name.
• Your Indigenous Corporation name.
• Your Registered Organisation name.
• Your personal name.
• Your registered Australian or international trade mark.
• The name of a Commonwealth, State or Territory government, or government agency or entity you are authorised to use.
• The name of a foreign government, government agency or entity that you are authorised to use. 
• Your product or service. 
• An acronym, initialism, or contraction of your entity.

Registered Alpha Tags are crucial in ensuring your business is not flagged as a potentially fraudulent scam activity. Alpha Tags serve several functions; 

1. Business recognition: Maintain brand presence through continued and effective SMS communications.
2. Customer trust: Recognisable Alpha Tags can lead to increased customer trust. Customers are more likely to be interact with familiar senders. 
3. Scam Prevention: By registering Alpha Tags, SMS service providers can combat scam messages, making SMS communications more secure for the business and customer. 

How to Register Alpha Tags (sender name) 

All Alpha Tags must be registered. The registration process is;

1. Log into your business SMS Broadcast account
2. Go to Settings > Numbers > Business names
3. Request approval for the Alpha Tags you are currently sending from
4. Await an email from SMS Broadcast to confirm the status of your request.