A short number of between 3-6 digits (depending on the country) which can be leased through short code service providers like GMS. Short codes are more memorable and can handle higher throughput, making them ideal for both high volume and time-sensitive marketing efforts such as polling, competitions, TV voting, and so on.
Short codes can be charged at custom rates, meaning they can be used for various other services as well. They can even be zero-rated, which means that the subscriber doesn’t pay anything to send a message – these are typically used to for opting out of services, or when a company wants to solicit customer feedback.
Short codes can be dedicated or shared. In the latter case, different companies’ campaigns are differentiated by using keywords with which the user is asked to preface any messages.