What is SMS marketing? Well, it’s a touchy subject. It’s the message marketing channel that gets a 98% open rate. But it’s a tight rope to walk.
Before you get excited and launch a text marketing campaign, you must learn the do’s and don’ts of this effective yet somewhat perilous marketing channel.
What is SMS Marketing?
Mobile phone technology has come a long way. Today the iPhone has a built-in camera that rivals top of the line camera quality. But still, the most used feature on smartphones is texting.
It’s no surprise that marketers are now cracking into your mobile inbox with marketing messages. SMS marketing is a quicker and easier way to send marketing messages straight to a user’s mobile phone.
Be warned: people are very wary of brands using their personal space as a marketing opportunity. Just look at the raging success of the do not call register in Australia which has over 11 million subscribers.
So, how can you leverage SMS marketing for your business without accidentally damaging your brand?
Make Your Offers Shine!
People are much more likely to feel aggravated when they receive SMS marketing messages, so make it worth it for them. Your SMS offers should make your email offers pail into insignificance with value.
Make it Short and Sharp With a CTA
It’s good practice to keep your marketing txt’s no longer than 160 characters, so get straight to the point. The contents of your text shouldn’t include any information apart from your (stunning) offer and CTA.
Timing = Make or Break
Imagine how you would feel if the mechanic that serviced your car a fortnight ago started sending you marketing texts at 3 am? No matter how good the offer is, the experience is going to be overwhelmingly negative.
Think about your target persona and what time of day they will be most responsive to marketing texts. Consider time zones as well if you happen to have customers abroad.
Don’t Text Too Often
Another thing that will put a damper on your marketing messages is if they come too frequently. Remember, this is your customer’s personal mobile phone and they don’t want to be bombarded with advertisements.
While research shows an overwhelming unsubscribe rate being linked to overly frequent texts, finding the sweet spot for your business depends on your industry. It’s safest to start with a few messages a month and experiment cautiously with increases or decreases to your text frequency.
Write Effective Texts
It’s tempting to take advantage of as much text slang as possible to make the most of your characters, but keep this to a minimum. Not everybody understands what ROLF, LMK, and YOLO mean. Too much abbreviation can make you look unprofessional.
Also, remember to make it clear who you are in your text, like “hey, *insert store name* is having a 50% off clearance sale”. Nobody likes getting a text when they have no idea who it’s from.
Looking for Help With Your Marketing?
Did you ask “what is SMS marketing?” to discover that it’s a little more involved than you thought? Now that you know how to leverage this marketing channel in a positive way you can add it to your marketing mix.
If you’d like support with your marketing efforts, schedule a call with our team today and make your digital marketing easy.
