Best Practices for SMS Marketing

Today, many customers interact with businesses on their mobile phones. As brands look to expand their reach, they turn to SMS (short message service) to communicate with customers and subscribers regarding time-sensitive offers, alerts, and updates.

SMS marketing is a marketing strategy that allows brands to send messages to customers through text messages. Marketers use text messages to communicate with prospects and potential customers to boost engagement, increase brand awareness, and drive more sales.

When it comes to digital marketing, you have to be proactive and go where your customers are. An SMS marketing platform can help businesses reach their target audience in real-time with targeted messaging.

Advantages of Starting an SMS Marketing Campaign

Did you know that the average American checks their phone 344 times a day or once every four minutes? Roughly 71% of people check their phones within 10 minutes of waking up.

Cellphones have become our day-to-day companions. Brands that adopt effective SMS marketing strategies can increase their conversion rates and build their customer base. Here are some advantages that this unique mobile marketing channel can offer businesses.

SMS Is Fast

Text messaging is instant. Once you press “send,” your SMS gets delivered almost instantly to hundreds of users. SMS enables businesses to send time-sensitive texts, like promotions and flash sales. Push notifications ensure messages remain on the user’s screen until they read them.

Higher Response Rates

Roughly 82% of people open every SMS they receive. Interestingly, users click on 19% of links included in text messages. Approximately 45% of customers are more likely to respond to messages they receive. Addressing your customers in their preferred language can improve the average response rate.

Trackability

It’s easy to manage your SMS marketing strategy from your desktop. Messaging platforms offer access to detailed analytics, allowing businesses to track every step of their SMS marketing campaign. Leveraging such information with the help of marketing tools can help to grow your business.

With message service marketing, here are other benefits that your brand can take advantage of:

• Reach a wide demographic
• More budget-friendly
• Flexible, customizable, and reliable
• Lower spam potential

SMS Marketing Best Practices

Identify Yourself in Every SMS Marketing Message

Never assume your customers or prospects have you in their contacts. You don’t want your message to pop up without any identifying information. Recipients — even your loyal customers — may treat such texts as spam. Don’t let your prospects and customers play a guessing game.

Identifying yourself is an essential brand marketing tip. For the best results, put your brand name at the start of the message. This lets the recipient know who is texting them as soon as they open the message.

Make Sure Your Customer Knows It’s a 100% Opt-in Service

Around 75% of customers are OK with receiving texts from brands as long as they consent to them. Just because you collect phone numbers from your customers doesn’t mean you can start mass texting them. 

SMS marketing best practices dictate that you ask your customers to opt-in before sending marketing communications. You can include a phone number field in pop-up forms or newsletter subscription sign-ups.

The same rules that apply to email marketing also apply to text messaging. Companies should get permission from users while also offering the option to opt-out of the texting marketing service.

Once customers opt-in, developing relevant content and offering incentives like discounts can mitigate high unsubscribe rates.

Coordinate With Other Marketing Channels Like Email Marketing

In this modern marketing age, you can leverage SMS marketing with other channels for business growth. Marketers can use various channels to create value, engage with customers, and build relationships.

SMS and email marketing are complementary to each other. You can cross-channel market, making it easier for customers to sign up for your offers and discounts. By sending a short and direct SMS and an in-depth email about your offerings, more customers can engage with your brand.

An effective SMS marketing strategy can also help you grow your email list. Once subscribers opt-in to receive text promotional or transactional messages, you can prompt them to share their email addresses and subscribe to alerts.

Send SMS Messages About a Limited-Time Sale

With an effective SMS campaign, you can implement special promotions to influence user behavior. Time-sensitive promotions that create a sense of urgency can elicit engagements that lead to conversions.

SMS messaging is an effective channel to communicate limited offers to customers. Given the high SMS open rates, sending a text message is ideal for motivating customers and creating a sense of urgency.

Make sure you keep the message clear and concise. Highlight the uniqueness of the limited-time sale and create a strong call to action to prompt your customers to act. This may be to buy a product, click, redeem, or subscribe to an offer. It’s also prudent to be clear about the timing, whether the offer lasts just a few hours or days.

Send Order Confirmation and Shipping Updates

Text messages make it easier for customers to find out the progress of their orders. Once they order products on your page, sending them updates about their purchase makes tracking their goods simpler. 

Email updates may end up in the spam folder. Customers may also not open their email applications to read order confirmation messages or shipping updates.

With SMS marketing, customers don’t have to second-guess if their products are being shipped. They can receive updates as soon as the shipping process starts. SMS text marketing creates transparency in the order placement and shipping process, boosting the brand image.

Unlock High Conversion Rates With a Powerful SMS Marketing Strategy

It’s normal to pick up your phone every time you hear that text notification sound. You check out who has sent you a text, be it a friend or family member. 

Brands can also take advantage of this channel to boost their revenue. They can implement the above SMS marketing best practices to enjoy the best results from their marketing campaign.

If you are wondering how to do SMS marketing, GrowthHit is here to help. You can revolutionize your text message marketing strategy to increase brand awareness, boost engagement, and increase sales. Get started today to optimize your text messaging campaign.