SMS Marketing is about to explode (if it hasn't already). Are you already taking advantage of sending timely text messages to your customers? Well, if you are just starting out, here are eight excellent SMS marketing tips that will surely bring in results.
1. Skip the Cutesy Text Lingo
The first, and perhaps one of the most important SMS marketing tips - if you think that sounding like a teenager will make you seem cooler, hipper, and more in the know, then you're sorely mistaken. In fact, most of the people you're reaching out to aren't teenyboppers but adults with expendable cash. Unless, of course, your products and services are entirely directed at the high school set, then by all means.
For the rest of us, however, talking like a Justin Bieber fan doesn't offer anything to you to gain, but everything to lose.
Sure, text lingo is today's shorthand and it is quicker to type out. But, as a savvy professional, you have all the time in the world to create your SMS message. You're not communicating in real time with your customers over text and because of that, you don't need to chat as if you are.
2. Stick to a Single Message
With all of your other promotions running, it seems natural and almost mindless to stick in several different sales into your SMS marketing. Remember that you're limited to 160 characters, and that, quite frankly, isn't a lot of space to write.
Keep your focus on one message at a time. Not only are you using every character available to get across what you're pushing, you're also not confusing your subscribers with multiple messages.
3. Time Your SMS Correctly
The beauty with text message marketing is that there isn't much of a delay from when your message is sent and it's opened by your subscriber. As a rule, text messages are opened faster than emails (most within three minutes of being received!). Perhaps it's due to the incredibly personal way of communicating: your message is in their pocket or purse.
Look at the time and day that your customers are most active with your SMS.
Though each business is different, in general, most people are more inclined to act on marketing messages later in the afternoon towards evening and often on the weekends.
So, send your messages at the top three days and times and watch your conversions soar.
4. Make it Easy for Customers to Purchase
It's important that with any marketing strategy – especially, SMS – that cashing in your promotions is quick and painless.
If you make your customers jump through hoops to get their 20% discount, they'll just as soon turn it down instead of using it.
A note about promotional codes: ensure they're easy to remember. For example, SHOE20 is far easier to remember than SHOE4892034, especially if the discount is 20% off their next purchase of shoes.
5. Link to Your Other Promotions
As long as your message remains shorter than the 160-character maximum, you'll be able to link to your online life. But, don't overdo it because you'll waste valuable space on the other end.
So, the best thing to do is offer links that are relevant to your promotional message. Further, set up a directed landing page that offers more information regarding your deal as well as additional links to your main website and social media pages.
6. Start Your Message with "Action" Words
Action words are nothing more than verbs, and starting off sentences with verbs makes for more lively prose and cuts to the chase faster. Verbs save precious character space by replacing a whole bunch of unnecessary words. Also, verbs inspire action on the part of the customer.
Consider these action words to start your message with: buy, sell, jump, run, save, spend, purchase, stop.
Whatever action you want your customers to take, start your message with that.
7. Write Short Sentences
By nature, text marketing doesn't support long-winded descriptions of your promotions, products and services. You only have 160-characters to get in, get out, and get it right.
If you tend to write nicely-worded sentences, then try breaking them apart.
Short sentences do many things for your text messages. First, they give your subscribers plenty of space to forward your message to their friends and include a personal message of their own. Second, short sentences force you to get to the point quickly and efficiently. Third, writing short sentences actually improves the way you write.
8. Use "Sentence Case"
Writing in sentence case is like not writing in text lingo. They essentially go hand-in-hand. Why?
Typically, with text lingo, CAPITALIZATION comes along for the ride (think "UR"). There is a special place for capitalization in text message marketing, namely to highlight an action like a SALE. But, using capitalization throughout your message is poor form. It's exceedingly hard to read on a small screen.
Have any SMS marketing tips that weren't mentioned?
Let us know in the comments section if you have any additional SMS marketing tips. Your fellow SMS experts will appreciate it. Also, be sure to visit the SimplyCast multi-channel communication blog and feel free to contact us to learn more!
