SMS marketing – everything you need to know
SMS marketing is a powerful way to reach your audiences and keep them engaged with your brand. This blog post will help you understand everything you need to know about SMS marketing, from what it is and how it works to when the best time of day is for sending messages.
You’ll also find tips on creating effective messages that will resonate well with your audience and examples of companies who have successfully used SMS marketing in their business.
What is SMS marketing?
It’s a marketing technique where you send a text message to your customers or prospects linked to an offer. You can use it for advertising, collecting data, and more. Coming from the term SMS (short message service), discover why texting is successful in marketing strategies.
In business, SMS marketing refers to the way companies communicate with customers using text messages. The marketing team organizes and sends promotions, campaigns, updates, news, and more. For instance, they collect phone numbers and start strategizing using SMS marketing best practices to provide a positive outcome.
Similar to email marketing, SMS is a private channel. Whether you want to share a new product or an upcoming sale, you have complete control over the audience’s choice. You can choose the target audience who will receive your SMS marketing message.
Although the contents of these SMS marketing messages mostly comprise updates or time-sensitive offers, the people who receive them consent to receive such messages from your company.
Sending out SMS marketing messages is an effective strategy used in digital marketing as you can also send MMS (multimedia messages) like video messages or gifs. If you want to develop a solid relationship with your customers, marketing communications is one of the factors that’ll help your company succeed.
If you want to reach out to your customers and nudge them a bit for a reminder, you have to show presence proactively. Where they are, text your customers.
In this modern era, it’s no secret that people are always on their phones. So what better way to get through your customer base is to reach through their phones. Though email marketing also comes in through mobile phones and laptops or PCs, the open rate wasn’t as high as SMS marketing.
Text message marketing instantly notifies the customers as compared to email messages. While receiving texts is a more direct route in reaching out, it also gives you a higher chance of being seen. As text messages are opened within the first few seconds, they are sent compared to email messages.
How can SMS be used in marketing?
SMS marketing is one of the most popular ways to market nowadays. It is a form of advertising that uses text messages to do so. SMS marketing has shown great results with email, and today’s society finds it more convenient than ever before. With this new technology, you can reach your customers at any time, any place they are!
But make sure you follow all the guidelines set by the FCC, or else you will be fined for illegal broadcasting practices. One way companies use SMS in their marketing is through promotional codes. Here, we will explore how SMS can be used in marketing.
1. You can send timely offers to your customers
This isn’t just a way of reminding them about your brand but also rewarding them. Whether you’re a small business or a big one, SMS campaigns can help move you to the next level of the sales funnel. While sending discounted product offers is an effective medium for the business, you should also consider the time of mass texting your customers. The SMS marketing with higher rate sales is sent when commuters are leaving work.
2. It can be your benchmark to cover all market bases
Whether you’re planning your SMS campaign on a broad set of audiences or just a small group, your key offer should be in a maximum of 160 characters, and it should include an SMS broadcast to make sure you can cover all bases. This way, you can assure that your SMS marketing messages get through to all the recipients.
3. Incorporate your SMS with your e-commerce and email campaigns
Don’t leave all the job to your SMS marketing campaigns. But instead, expand your customer reach through email engagements and other web channels. Integrating SMS marketing with your email and commerce will allow you to track your customer’s activities through multi-touch attribution.
4. Use SMS marketing messages to know your customer’s engagements
Plan to send promotional offers at the right time as customers consider SMS personal. For example, a Sunday offer for kids meal would be best set over the weekends or on Saturday.
This could give you a chance to reach out to your customers that haven’t engaged for a long time.
5. You can have customer surveys included in your SMS
Adhering to the fact that fewer customers engage in long-form surveys, opt to run surveys that aren’t too much for them. A concise and direct-to-the-point question can take less effort from your customers.
It’ll also promote good customer service by providing a short survey instead of a lengthy one. However, it’s better if marketing departments can also hear their customer’s sentiments, which is possible now through voice customer technology.
6. Consider your SMS as the main key
Although email marketing messages show lower response and conversion rates, you can still increase the numbers. How? You can opt to send an SMS marketing message within 24hrs after sending your email to offer an extra incentive. This tactic will boost the chances of more people opening your email marketing messages.
Examples of SMS Marketing Today
As the world becomes more connected, it’s important to keep up with social media trends. Today SMS Marketing is a popular form of marketing because it allows for instant contact between companies and potential customers. In this part, we’ll discuss examples of SMS Marketing today.
Welcome SMS
Examples: “Thanks for signing up and subscribing.”
As a business that values customer service, a welcome message is your first move to longer customer engagement. Your first text should be a welcome message before you start any SMS marketing with a newly signed customer, and your welcome message should be a greeting welcoming your new subscribers.
Promos and sales
Example: “Get 30% off on your order with the code WELCOME”
Companies incorporate SMS marketing messages to send ongoing sales or promotions. It is one of the most engaging and less expensive ways to keep customers and attract new customers.
Business invitations
Example: “Join us for a free webinar with one of the countries’ top marketers on 9/12 at 6 pm.”
Holding events both online and live appearances are one of the best ways to retain your prospects and customers. Send out invites to your SMS subscribers, and inform them when and where the event is happening. Also, don’t forget to give the details on how they can sign in and pre-register online.
Community updates
Examples: “Everything will work out great.”
An effective way to engage customers is to send SMS marketing updates to broaden and deepen engagement and customer relationships. Try sending out motivational updates for other entrepreneurs or marketers. This way, you maintain a positive vibe between you and your customer, and it shows you care and that it’s not all about business.
Status updates
Example: “Our valued customer, we have a few updates on our settings. Learn more here.“
SMS messages are opened immediately and one of the most effective ways of sending messages with a target time frame. It’s an effective tool in sending out urgent messages and status updates. Don’t forget to send your customers an SMS if there’s any change in appointment schedules.
Key Takeaway
SMS Marketing has proved to be an effective way of marketing. People are now using their phones more than ever before, which is why companies have turned to this medium as a new and powerful way of reaching out to potential customers. With text messages, you can reach people directly on their phones, and it’s also an efficient call to action in every business.
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