If you want to reach thousands, or even millions, of potential customers without spending a lot of money, you should invest in SMS marketing. It is a cost-effective and powerful strategy for broadcasting your brand message.
Despite the emergence of internet-based chatting platforms like Telegram and WhatsApp, SMSs are still the most preferred method of communication. As a marketer, it’s worth noting that 75% of consumers want to receive texts containing special offers.
Consumers with smartphones get countless notifications from friends and businesses sent through email and social apps. These alerts can be a nuisance, especially if you’re trying to concentrate on your work. As a result, they might turn off the notifications or switch off access to the internet.
Text messages don’t require an internet connection, making them ideal for real-time marketing. However, SMS marketing doesn’t work for everyone. Before launching a messaging campaign, ensure that your texts are valuable and relevant to your target audience. Otherwise, the recipients will consider your brand intrusive and spammy, which tarnishes your reputation. Here are a few tips for setting up a successful SMS marketing campaign.
Grow your subscriber list
The best way to grow your subscriber list is to present an irresistible offer to your target audience. For instance, you can offer free products or great discounts. If you sell drinks, offering an accompaniment like snacks is an excellent way of attracting customers to your business. If you offer an online course on coding, you can offer a free beginner’s guide to programming.
Alternatively, you can ask your existing subscribers for referrals. Offering them incentives such as discounts and free shipping can motivate them into convincing tier friends to subscribe.
Tell your subscribers how frequently you’ll send messages and the content to expect. The more upfront you are, the more likely they’ll refer you to friends.
Other effective ways to grow your SMS subscriber list include:
Use visual banners and popups on your site to promote your SMS list
Ask for referrals
Keep it short
With SMS, you only have 160 characters to pass a convincing message to the recipient. You have to be concise. Here are a few tips for crafting your text message.
Identify yourself: Your audience must know you for a better understanding of the context.
Emphasize value : If the message doesn’t add value, don’t send it.
Use proper grammar: Avoid slang and abbreviations, as they make you appear unprofessional.
Include a clear and compelling call-to-action: Add a link or a statement that prompts the reader to take the next step. For example, ‘click here to get a 20% discount on your next purchase.’
Integrate MMS: If the 160-character limit is too short, consider integrating MMS. Add URLs to your social media channels or product pages to give clients the visual aspect of your business. Images and videos can also enrich your message and make it easier to understand.
Get the timing right
Timing correlates to your SMS open rates. The best time to send a text is when your target audience is on their phone.
Generally, Mondays have a low response rate. It’s wise to avoid sending texts on such days unless it’s urgent. You should also avoid sending messages when people are likely to be commuting to and from work.
Ideally, you should send a message during business hours and between 7pm and 9pm. Remember to customize the send times to correspond with the recipients’ time zones.
Segment your audience
Be sure to avoid treating everyone in your target audience equally; it helps to show some preference to loyal clients. Audience segmentation ensures that every recipient gets a valuable and relevant message. For instance, you can give discounts or introduce the latest products to repeat customers and offer free shipping to first-time clients. You can also use profile information to send customers special offers on their birthdays or based on their location.
Additionally, treating others better makes them feel like they’re part of something special. Avoid making the same offers to every person, as this may decrease the appeal of subscribing to your messages.
Create a sense of urgency
Most people reply to texts quickly after receipt, and you should capitalize on this. Using phrases that instill urgency, such as ‘expires soon’ and ‘only a few pieces left,’ is an intelligent way of prompting a faster response from the recipient. When introducing a new product or conducting a clearance sale, you can do this.
Use SMS marketing software
Mobile messaging solutions for enterprises can help improve your SMS campaign. These resources have several powerful optimization features. For instance, you can automate and send bulk SMSs. You can also schedule send times, and segment your audience. SMS marketing software also enables you to track crucial metrics and store user profiles. These are valuable for improving your strategy.
Monitor your progress
The most crucial aspect of marketing is tracking your progress. It’s essential to monitor your SMS engagement rates. How many people reply to your texts? When do you receive the most replies? What’s the average age of your recipients?
Compare your stats with the market averages. It’s also helpful to do A/B testing with your messages. Sending varying texts helps you discover the type of content your audience likes and when to send it.
Integrate SMS into your marketing strategy
Regardless of how successful you are, don’t rely on SMS alone. Instead, integrate it into your omnichannel marketing campaign, including email marketing, SEO, paid search, and social media marketing. This is a proven way of widening your brand’s reach.
When you do omnichannel marketing, ensure that your message is consistent across all channels. This makes your brand easily identifiable to potential customers.
Endnote
Your SMS messages should be relevant and valuable to the intended recipient. Ask for permission before sending a message, as this increases engagement rates and improves your credibility. Ensure that your campaigns are also timely.
If you still regard SMS as an outdated form of communication, you’re missing out on an opportunity to boost your business. Use the tips mentioned above to get you started!
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