China is one of the largest and fastest growing mobile markets in the world, but it is also one of the most difficult countries to reach as many filters are in place to block messages in and out of the country. Nevertheless, China government’s strict regulations on telemarketing and spam messages have actually made it easier for genuine SMS ads to thrive.
According to Statista, the SMS advertising market in China is projected to grow substantially, with ad spending expected to reach US $162.20 million by 2024 and potentially reaching US $194.70 million by 2029. Launching successful SMS marketing campaigns in China is far from impossible, but requires a deep understanding of government regulations and practices to ensure their effectiveness.
Understanding SMS Regulations in China
Picture this: It’s November 11th (Double 11), China’s equivalent to Black Friday, and before 10 am, you’ve already received a dozen promotional messages!
To address the issue of spam promotional messages, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology introducted regulations on SMS marketing practices:
Sender IDs
China restricts SMS senders to longcodes. To help recipients identify legitimate senders, messages must include a preregistered signature enclosed in Unicode brackets 【】 at the start or end of the message.
For example, an OTP message for Douyin, Chinese version of TikTok would look like this:
[抖音] 验证码7738，用于手机验证码登录，5分钟内有效。
Sending Limits
Strict limits are in place to prevent overloading recipients with messages:
- Maximum of 3 identical messages to the same recipient per day
- Maximum of 6 messages with different contents can be sent to one single number within 24 hours
Messages exceeding these limits may be blocked.
Opt-out instructions
Promotional messages must include opt-out instructions, allowing recipients to easily unsubscribe, such as “Reply N to stop” or “回T退订”
Timing restrictions
Marketing messages can only be sent during normal business hours (8:00 am to 9:00 pm China Standard Time)
Restricted content
Messages containing adult content, alcohol or tobacco ads, political messages, or advertisements for illegal products in China will be blocked by mobile carriers.
URL not allowed
URLs are not permitted in messages and will be blocked.
Messages that do not comply with the above regulations are very likely to be blocked by Chinese carriers.
Best Practices for Successful SMS Marketing Campaigns in China
To ensure a successful SMS marketing campaign in China, consider the following best practices:
- Partner with Reliable Vendors. Work with experienced suppliers who understand local regulations and can assist in navigating compliance challenges
- Template Registration. Register all message templates with the relevant authorities to avoid delivery issues. Any deviations from registered templates may lead to message blockingю
- Continuous Monitoring. Test SMS deliverability and monitor campaign performance closely to adjust strategies as needed based on testing results and feedback.
The Importance of SMS Testing
Given the complexity of SMS regulations in China, continuous testing of SMS campaigns is essential. Here’s why:
- Compliance Assurance. Testing ensures that your messages conform to all regulatory requirements, including proper formatting, content, and sender identification. This reduces the risk of messages being blocked or filtered out
- Delivery Optimization. Testing helps optimize delivery rates by identifying potential issues early on. This includes checking for delivery failures, ensuring message consistency, and verifying that all required elements (such as signatures and opt-out instructions) are correctly included. These insights enable marketers to fine-tune their strategies for maximum impact.
Conclusion
As the SMS advertising market in China continues to grow, marketers who prioritize compliance and quality assurance through rigorous testing will stand out in reaching and capturing the attention of Chinese consumers.
If you wish to make sure that your marketing campaign runs smoothly in China, make sure to work with reliable vendors that can ensure that your messages comply with local regulations and increase the chances of your messages reaching their target audience. Another step of veryfing that your messages reach their recipients successfully is adding another layer of security by utilizing SMS testing platform.
TelQ offers a variety of premade content templates that align with SMS regulations in China, designed to simulate real-world scenarios and help you minimize the risk of your messages being filtered out due to non-compliance with China’s regulatory measures, which enables you to focus your quality check on your vendor’s route deliverability.
