SMS Marketing: Everything You Need to Know
Let’s face it: it can be hard to reach your target audience through marketing channels. Email’s often overused and blocked, social media can be a distraction, and print ads are becoming less and less effective. However, SMS marketing is still a great way to reach your target audience.
It’s a direct marketing channel that delivers your message right to the customer’s phone, so you know it will be seen. And because text messages are personal and intimate, recipients are more likely to open and act on them than emails or social media posts.
Did you know that:
- SMS marketing has a 95% open rate.
- 90% of all SMS messages are read within 3 minutes.
- 82% of people who have received a marketing message will open it?
Learn more about SMS marketing, how much it costs, and what you can do to truly succeed with this marketing channel.
Why Is SMS Marketing Great?
SMS marketing delivers your message right to someone’s phone. You can create custom messages, send them instantly, and track the results.
Because SMS is the primary messaging function pre-installed on every device, it’s a default fixture on everyone’s phone. The first thing most customers do when they wake up is to look at their phones. Talk about a captive audience!
How Much Does SMS Marketing Cost?
It’s quite affordable to start an SMS marketing campaign. You can hire a mobile messaging platform for just $100 monthly or outsource it.
On average, SMS marketing costs:
- $1-2 for every marketing SMS.
- $0.10-0.13 for an SMS opt-in message.
- $1-3 per SMS opt-out message.
- In bulk, you need to spend between $0.07 – $0.18 per message.
What Are SMS Marketing Best Practices to Follow?
There are seven best practices to follow when starting a text marketing campaign:
1. Get Permission
Modern digital etiquette dictates to be respectful of other people’s time. As a result, if you send someone a text message, they should permit you to do so.
The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 states that commercial email must have an unsubscribe option, and text messages are no different. To be compliant with the law and respectful of your customers, you should only send text messages to those who have permitted you.
There are a few different ways to get permission from someone to send them text messages:
- Opt-in: The most common way to get permission is through an opt-in. This is when a customer explicitly agrees to receive text messages from you. They may do this by filling out a form on your website, or they may text a keyword to a shortcode.
- Opt-out: An opt-out is the opposite of an opt-in. This is when a customer is automatically enrolled to receive text messages, but they can unsubscribe at any time.
- Single-use codes: Single-use codes are a great way to get permission from customers. When someone enters the code, they’re automatically subscribed to receive text messages from you. However, you should only use single-use codes if you’re sure that the customer wants to receive text messages from you.
- Manual Subscription: If you have a list of email addresses or phone numbers, you can manually subscribe people to your text message list. However, you should only do this if you have explicit permission from the customer.
2. Include an Unsubscribe Link
All commercial emails and text messages must include an unsubscribe link. This link allows the customer to unsubscribe from your text message list. If you do not include an unsubscribe link with every message, your business will be fined.
3. Keep It Short and Simple (KISS)
You have minimal space to get your point across when you send a text message. This means that you need to keep your messages short and simple. You can usually get your point across in three to four sentences.
4. Create a Sense of Urgency
One way to create a sense of urgency is to use time-sensitive words like “now” or “today.” You can also create a sense of urgency by including a countdown timer in your message. This will let the customer know how much time they have to take action.
5. Personalize the Messages
Personalizing your messages is one of the best ways to increase engagement. Everyone likes to feel special and important, so make sure to address your customers by name. You can also include their location or recent purchase in your messages.
6. Include a Link to Your Website
The best way to get someone to take action is by including a link. When you have a link, the customer can easily click and take action.
You can also personalize your link by using a shortcode. This will make it easier for the customer to remember.
7. Monitor Your Results
The best way to monitor your results is through a link shortener. A link shortener will automatically shorten the links in your text messages, making them much easier for the customer to click. Link shorteners also provide you with analytics, which will help you track how many people are clicking your links.
What Can You Send With SMS Marketing?
While you can use SMS marketing to send virtually anything, these 13 are the most commonly sent messages via text.
Coupons
You can send out a coupon code that incentivizes people to buy or to sign up for your text message list. Unique coupon codes can also help you track the success of your text message campaigns.
Time-Sensitive Messages
Time-sensitive messages are a great way to create a sense of urgency. A time-sensitive message will let people know that they have a limited amount of time to take advantage of a special offer.
Reminders
Reminders are a great way to increase customer engagement. You can send reminders for upcoming events, appointments, or sales.
Newsletters
Newsletters keep your customers up-to-date on the latest news and events. You can also use newsletters to promote new products or services.
Contest Entries
You can use text messages to collect contest entries from your customers. You can also use them to send out the results of your contests.
Polls and Surveys
SMS marketing is a great tool to use when you want feedback from your customers. You can send out a survey or poll and then provide them with an incentive for answering it.
Thank You Messages
Sending a simple “thank you” message is a great way to show your customers that you appreciate their business. You can also include a link to your website or social media pages.
Information About Your Products and Services
You can use text marketing to provide your customers with information about your products and services. You can include product announcements, updates, or special offers.
Information About Your Company
You can use text messages to let your customers know about your company. You can include news and events, job openings, or new locations.
Customer Service Messages
You can use SMS marketing to send customer service messages. These can include notifications about order status, shipping information, or delivery updates.
Appointment Reminders
You can use text messages to remind your customers about upcoming appointments. Such reminders are especially effective in the medical and dental industries.
Birthday Messages
Sending a birthday message is a great way to show your customers that you care about them. You can also include a special offer or discount to make their special day even better.
Location-Based Marketing
You can use location-based marketing to reach customers who are in the area. For example, a restaurant could send out a text message close to the customer’s location. Area-based marketing is a great way to increase foot traffic.
Benefits of SMS Marketing
SMS marketing is one of the most affordable types of marketing. It allows you to send personalized messages to your customers in a cost-effective way. It’s not only cheap, it also takes minimal time.
If saving time and money weren’t already great benefits, SMS marketing is very engaging because it requires the customer to take action. To read the message, they have to open it.
You can use it in various ways, such as sending out coupons, reminders, polls, surveys, or even customer service messages.
And finally, you can easily track the results of your campaigns to measure how many people have read your messages. This way, you can further improve your strategies according to the reaction of the customers.
Benefits of SMS Marketing
SMS marketing is one of the most affordable types of marketing. It allows you to send personalized messages to your customers in a cost-effective way. It’s not only cheap, it also takes minimal time.
If saving time and money weren’t already great benefits, SMS marketing is very engaging because it requires the customer to take action. To read the message, they have to open it.
You can use it in various ways, such as sending out coupons, reminders, polls, surveys, or even customer service messages.
And finally, you can easily track the results of your campaigns to measure how many people have read your messages. This way, you can further improve your strategies according to the reaction of the customers.
Outsource Your SMS Marketing
While SMS marketing is a great way to reach your customers, it’s still not easy to do it right. If you make mistakes, you risk alienating people.
You can save you and your customers a headache by outsourcing your marketing to Expivia.
As an omnichannel contact center, we know how to deploy SMS marketing campaigns to customers to guarantee the highest engagement rate. We use best practices, constantly monitor, and adjust campaigns as necessary.
Rely on Expivia’s experience and expertise to reach your customers through SMS marketing.
