Back in 2013, we published this blog, which tells you all about the benefits of SMS marketing. All the ten reasons we listed in that blog post still hold up, such as the high open rate associated with SMS marketing messages and the instant delivery of SMS messages. However, how do you implement an SMS marketing strategy to take advantage of all these benefits?
For this week's Flashback Friday, we're going to explain how to set up a marketing strategy that utilizes SMS messaging to bring about the benefits that have been previously discussed.
Get them opted in
The first step to starting your SMS campaign is to get consent from your users. Fortunately, using SMS messaging makes this step very easy. Using a shortcode allows your users to text into you and automatically opt themselves in for your SMS communications. To entice people text you, you may want to consider offering a special promotion or discount to those that opt in. An example could be a message at the bottom of a receipt that says "Text KEYWORD to 555555 and receive $5 off your next purchase!" This increases your number of opt-ins and rewards the customer for texting in.
Know your sending times and amounts
Using SMS messaging for you marketing offers you instant and direct deliverability – more so than other channels like email and fax. You are getting your message directly into the hands of your audience whenever you want, so it's important that you don't exploit this and send at inappropriate times or send to often. Customers don't want to be bombarded by your SMS messages constantly so you need to be sure that you are sending the right message to the right person at the right time.
A good rule of thumb for sending times is to send around the middle of the day. This way, you're avoiding messaging your audience when they may be commuting to or from work and you are also avoiding texting them to early or too late. Since users can easily unsubscribe from SMS messages, it's important that you respect their privacy and limit your sending to only a few times a month when you have a relevant offer or information for them.
Keep it concise
Using SMS for marketing forces you to keep your messages concise since you are limited to 140 characters. This may seem like a negative, but it really forces you to get your message down to the bare bones of what people need to know. With SMS, you have to get to the point. This means that your users won't have to read through a bunch of content that is irrelevant to them.
Automate the process
Keeping on top of ongoing SMS campaigns can be time-consuming if you have to do all the sending and responding manually. Luckily, there are tools available to help automate your SMS marketing campaigns. SimplyCast offers an SMS marketing tool, you can learn more about it here.
