The era of single-channel marketing has ended. Instead, marketers now have access to numerous contact points via diverse media. Customers also anticipate that businesses will use all of them to provide the most satisfactory experience.
With focused and efficient messaging, short message service (SMS) marketing may be a powerful addition to digital marketing, enabling you to connect with consumers and potential customers in real time.
More than 90% of SMS messages are read three minutes after delivery, according to SwiftDigital. When compared to emails, the engagement rate for SMS marketing is three to seven times greater, and the order rate is nearly six times higher.
Such outcomes are unmatched by any other marketing channel.
Let’s examine SMS marketing in more detail and explore how you may integrate this tactic into your marketing plan.
What is SMS Marketing?
SMS marketing is the method of delivering promotional messaging via mobile platforms. It is a form of opt-in marketing that involves a contract subscription. This keeps it apart from social media marketing, in which the marketer publishes open content that users have the option to like or follow.
SMS campaigns feature character limits of up to 160 and restrictions on graphics. However, this marketing channel is quicker and has a higher level of effectiveness.
Examples of popular text messaging marketing types include:
- personalized advertising
- rebates or discounts
- surveys
- feedbacks
Successful SMS campaigns can be automated, much as emails. You construct a campaign, select a specific group or audience of recipients, and then distribute it to the database you just established.
SMS campaigns could be used exclusively to convey urgent messages at each stage of the client journey. However, best practice demonstrates that brief SMS messages are pretty effective when combined with other communication channels like email and social media remarketing.
The Primary Sections of SMS Marketing
The keyword and the short code are the two main parts of a typical SMS promotional campaign. Here is a sample of SMS promotion:
Text “CCMG” TO 12345 for a FREE digital marketing assessment of your brand.
The keyword that is used in the message body is “CCMG.”
The short code entered in the recipient box is “12345.”
A customer “opts in” to your campaign when they send that message. From there, you have a range of options.
Send them a single, automated response to follow up and inform them of what will happen next. Alternatively, you could simply add subscribers to a database so that more texts will be sent to them later on.
SMS Opt-In and Approval
Most likely, you already obtain clients’ contact information. That does not imply that you should begin messaging them in bulk. SMS text marketing requires an explicit opt-in, much like email marketing demands.
There are several ways you can use to gather opt-ins:
- By including a separate field in your signup forms just for phone numbers
- By requesting a customer’s contact information at the checkout
Your SMS campaign must adhere to regulations along with the customer’s consent.
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is the principal rulebook for SMS marketing. They imply that accepting promotional text messages is not a prerequisite for any transaction. It should be the customer’s free option whether to consent to get text messages or not, and this must be explicitly stated.
On your website or other platforms, you might request that users opt-in to receive text messages from you. However, you should receive a text confirming that they certainly prefer to subscribe before you start sending.
Constantly messaging people who don’t want to receive from your company is more likely to result in customer loss than to increase sales.
You should incorporate an unsubscribe link even for transactional notifications like shipping or tracking updates, or appointment reminders. Not everyone prefers to receive this sort of information by SMS.
The Numerous Advantages of SMS Marketing
In the digital world, we are already accustomed to how high the engagement rates are on various social media applications like Facebook or Instagram. Now that we are discussing the good, old SMS promotions, you’d be blown away at how efficient this strategy brings.
- High Customer Engagement
Believe it or not, people constantly check their phones once they hear a quick ding of notification. The typical individual reaches their phone 344 times every day. This is merely one of the explanations for why text message marketing is now effective.
While emails and phone calls can go ignored for days, text messages are practically always viewed as soon as they are received.
It’s worth remembering that most promotional text messages come in unknown numbers. You cannot simply depend on the fact that your clients have your SMS contact information.
You must introduce yourself initially if you want people to take the time to read through the first couple of words. Ensure that your branding shows crucial details like relevant links and that your business contact information is provided.
Additionally, using words like “you” and “I” is one of the efficient go-to methods for increasing engagement.
- You Can Take Advantage of Interactive Content
Text messaging advertising enables you to swiftly obtain feedback from your recipients through a simple press on the “respond” button or a quick click on your website or social media link.
You can send quick and straightforward messages to subscribers that redirect them back to your website.
- Instant Distribution of SMS
Mobile marketing is generally efficient. Your message is immediately delivered after you press “send.” With just a few minutes of tweaks and configuration, you can launch a text message marketing campaign and receive hundreds of clicks.
- Easy Tracking
You can control your campaign entirely from your desktop using one of the many text message advertising providers.
Multiple providers and applications can monitor the volume of SMS delivered, clickthrough rate, and revenues. This covers the number of sales made and the total amount of money they have made.
SMS Marketing Common Questions
- Do SMS promotions have a high cost?
No, because sending each message typically costs a few cents. It’s frequently considerably less expensive than other forms of marketing, like paid advertisements.
- Are customers irritated by promotional text messages?
SMS marketing can undoubtedly backfire and anger your clients if you don’t use them properly. Always get consent, make it simple for customers to unsubscribe, and only send targeted or urgent messages, like a discount or promotion.
Final Thoughts
Let’s face it: SMS marketing occasionally feels a bit overwhelming.
More people than ever are dependent on their phones, and SMS promotions and advertising let you reach your customers directly. If you can persuade them to opt-in, they won’t ever again miss an update or offer from your business.
Customers are getting in the habit of communicating with companies via mobile devices. Get on the SMS campaign bandwagon right away.
For an effective SMS campaign for your business, take advantage of the expertise of the readily available SMS applications to grow your business’ database and conversion rate. SMS marketing software grease the wheels for you to build tailored, revenue-generating text messages with an emphasis on compliance.
