SMS marketing hardly gets noticed in the world of social media marketing and social media optimization. Many enterprises consider SMS marketing as an old-fashioned marketing avenue.
But take a moment to try and estimate the number of times you’ve checked your phone messages today.
Even though you might not accurately guess how many times you have checked your SMSs, you’ve probably done it more times than you have checked your email.
The truth is text messaging is a marketer’s dream and has been so for a long time. It’s personal, intimate, and commands a sense of urgency. People almost often read their text messages instantly. As such, SMS marketing can be an effective tool that will allow you to reach out to new and potential customers in real-time. Learn more about how to create powerful SMS marketing strategies with messaging API to reach your target audience.
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So, What Does SMS Marketing Entail?
SMS marketing is the practice of sending targeted, promotional messages to your clients. Businesses can use SMS marketing to provide updates about products and services, promote sales, or generate brand awareness.
Additionally, it’s low-cost with a promise of high ROI that uses simple and direct copy to convey promotional messaging. The target audience receives the text message just seconds after its sent, often notifying your customers once the message arrives.
When executed in the right way, SMS marketing can serve as a guaranteed connection with your customers. So, if you’re already on board with SMS marketing, let’s walk you through five tips on how you can get the most out of your SMS marketing campaign.
1. Get Consent From Your Audience
Just like email marketing, your target audience must consent to receive promotional text messages from your business. After all, you wouldn’t enter someone’s house without knocking.
However, one significant challenge you’ll have to deal with is keeping the consent you’ve tentatively earned.
Even if your customers give you permission to send them promotional texts, don’t spam their inbox. A flooded inbox can be frustrating and may compel the customer to unsubscribe from the text service.
Respect their interests and only send messages they might value. As they provide consent, try to find a smart way of asking them what number of texts they should expect from you on a daily or weekly basis.
Sending them many messages they don’t want will only be counterproductive to your marketing efforts and will damage your business instead of promoting it. Also, remember to include a way for customers to opt-out from your SMS marketing service just like you would give your audience an unsubscribe button to opt-out from your promotional emails.
2. Personalize Your Communication
One feature that makes SMS marketing so appealing is that you can truly personalize your message and connect with your audience one-on-one through text. This way, your audience will feel special and not like any other contact on your messaging list.
You can add that personal touch to your messages by including the name of each customer in the message or customizing the message to suit the audience’s geographic location. You can also refer to their interaction with the business such as reminding them of their upcoming appointment.
This may sound like a lot of work to do especially if you’re sending out bulk messages. However, you can use text messaging software to automate the functions listed above and make the work a lot easier for you.
3. Use Short, Simple, and Direct Copy in Your Texts
One thing you need to understand with SMS marketing, or any form of advertising that involves the audience checking their phones is that they have a very short attention span. As such, you need to send a clear and straightforward message to captivate your audience.
A text message that is simple and concise is much more helpful than a long, monotonous text with no useful information. Oftentimes, a single sentence is all that’s required to entice your customers.
Avoid using abbreviations that some people might be oblivious to. Reread your copy before hitting “send” to ensure there aren’t any grammatical errors or typos. Customers will not take you seriously if you use incorrect grammar.
4. Know When to Time Your Messages
When it comes to SMS marketing, timing is everything. Your response rates will differ depending on the time of day you send the text.
A good timeline to work with is between 10 AM and 7 PM. Nonetheless, study your audience to determine the best time to message them, depending on the content of the message.
For instance, if you run a restaurant, promoting your ‘breakfast of the day’ meal right before lunch would make little sense. So, try and send your texts at a time when your target audience is likely free to engage with your message after they receive the message.
As a general rule, avoid sending messages after 9 PM. No one wants to be woken up from sleep by a ‘ting’ from their phone just to find promotional messages from a marketer.
5. Include a Call-to-Action
One of the biggest mistakes you can ever make when it comes to SMS marketing is sending SMSs without a call-to-action (CTA). Including a CTA gives you communication purpose so make sure each of your messages includes a short message followed by a CTA.
The CTA will help increase customer engagement by motivating your audience to take the next step in the customer journey. Craft the CTA in a way that effectively communicates to your customers what to do and how to do it.
For instance, ending your message with ‘buy now’ or ‘click here to sign up’ is a perfect way of interacting with your audience.
The Bottom Line
You’ll be surprised how much dedicating a little extra time and effort can help you get the most out of your SMS campaign.
Understand your customer and carefully craft your promotional messages. Know what time is ideal to send your message, and don’t forget to include a call-to-action otherwise your message might lack direction.
This will allow you to improve your response rates and achieve your overall marketing and business goals effectively and efficiently.
