When we receive a text message, we automatically check it!
Have you already realized how much time you spend checking your smartphone? According to studies, people spend an average of over 4 hours with their phones, with younger individuals spending even more time.
Given that over 80% of people who receive SMS messages open them instantly, we can say that SMS marketing is a great customer attraction tool! Let’s learn about this strategy together!
What is SMS marketing?
SMS marketing is a form of mobile marketing that involves using short text messages to promote products or services and reach customers directly and effectively.
The Short Message Service (SMS) is a personalized and effective communication tool that allows you to send relevant messages to your customers, such as promotions, reminders, or product and service updates.
Is SMS marketing legal?
SMS marketing is legal as long as certain regulations and requirements are met, such as obtaining explicit consent from the recipient to receive the messages and providing a clear and easy option to unsubscribe.
It is crucial to comply with regulations and obtain the appropriate consent before sending text messages for marketing purposes. Partnering with a reputable SMS and MMS agency can provide valuable guidance on navigating these regulations and crafting messages that are both effective and compliant. Any good SMS and MMS agency will be well-versed in the imposed regulations and can help ensure that your messaging strategies align with legal requirements, ultimately maintaining trust with customers and avoiding potential legal consequences.
How does SMS marketing work?
Due to the high open rate of text messages, SMS marketing can help you reach your customers effectively, as well as foster loyalty and engagement.
Mobile phones allow you to stay in touch with customers, day or night, much more efficiently and, compared to other forms of direct marketing, for much less money.
But it will only be effective, of course, when used correctly.
How to do SMS marketing step by step?
- Define clear objectives
There is a very important part of any strategy that is often overlooked: what is the objective of our SMS campaign? Some of your objectives for an SMS marketing action may be: Increase visits to your blog or site, increase your sales, obtain ratings through a survey, generate brand awareness, or simply have a relationship with your audience. If your objection is simply to get a sale, then you need to start thinking more critically. How will you get the sale? What steps will you take?
- Define your strategy
Now that you have defined your objective, you have to choose what type of strategy you are going to use to attract customers. This can be through promotions, discounts, or new products, among other things. Define clearly what will have an impact on the results you have defined as your goal.
- Choose the SMS marketing software
Choosing a good SMS Marketing provider is fundamental when generating your campaigns! At Channel Automation, we stand out from the crowd by offering not only SMS but also MMS capabilities. While SMS is limited to text messaging, our MMS service allows you to include videos, pictures, and multimedia in your campaigns. This added versatility is why many clients prefer us over other providers. With our simple, fast, and intuitive panel, you can focus on crafting effective SMS and MMS marketing strategies that align with your goals. Look for services that allow you to focus on your strategy, your goals, and how to do SMS marketing correctly.
- Be clear and assertive
Don’t forget that you only have 160 characters to write your message. You can technically write more, but it will go to message 2. You’re going to completely eliminate that temptation to always say something more in the message. Therefore, make sure you get straight to the point and deliver value to the customer. Read and reread the message several times to ensure there are no spelling errors in your campaign. A mere spelling mistake can harm your reputation. Avoid complaints from consumers who feel cheated due to lack of information.Make sure your messaging is concise, but informative. If you have more to say, you can always link them to a larger write up on your website.
- Don’t be untimely
Don’t be untimely. Always pay attention to the schedules of your target audience and avoid being annoying to them. We don’t want them to associate our brand with the SMS that wakes them up in the middle of the night! It’s not only annoying but also very illegal. It’s important to note that the average legal time to send text messages is between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM. However, it’s advisable to check with your state’s text regulation laws to ensure compliance.
- Don’t create SPAM!
But, doesn’t that only happen in email marketing?
Of course not!Sending messages without consent, be it in email marketing, SMS marketing, push notifications, or through any other channel, is spam anywhere in the world.
As a consumer, be particularly attentive to attempts to access confidential data that lead from email to SMS, it’s called smishing.
- Create a sense of urgency
Creating a sense of urgency by pressuring purchases is vital, offering discounts for a limited time, tracking shopping carts, or showing “unique offers” will better capture the attention of your customers.
The SMS is not only for promotional purposes.
Don’t forget that getting ratings is decisive to continue improving your service and, consequently, the satisfaction of all your customers regardless of whether they are the most valuable or not. - Analysis and testing
After going through these stages, it’s time to analyze the results. It is very important to measure the results of your campaigns and have information when correcting
Advantages and disadvantages of SMS marketing
Advantages
Quick contact with the user: The user receives a notification directly to their cell phone, which they usually read in less than 5 minutes.
Possibility of customization: SMS marketing allows you to personalize your target audience in a much more specialized way, choosing who to send the messages to.
High conversion rates: A large portion of users who access their sessions through an SMS already had purchase intentions and help confirm their purchases.
Disadvantages
Character limitation: Text messages are limited to 160 characters, which can make it difficult to convey a complete message.
Possibility of being labeled as spam: If you send irrelevant text messages or send them too frequently, you risk recipients marking them as spam.
Additional cost for the recipient: If your recipient does not have an unlimited SMS plan, they may have additional costs for receiving your text messages, which can make them uncomfortable and deter them from continuing to receive your messages.
Conclusion
SMS marketing can be a highly effective tool for reaching customers directly and quickly, fostering engagement, and driving conversions. However, it requires careful planning, compliance with regulations, and attention to the preferences of your target audience to ensure its success. By following best practices and continuously monitoring and adjusting your campaigns, you can harness the power of SMS marketing to benefit your business.
