SMS marketing has quickly become an important channel for businesses. Here are seven best practices to help you get the most out of it.
If you were like the average American, you would spend about 36 minutes Use your smartphone to text or call people every day. Most of these communications are done without thought. However, your quick text messages with friends are not suitable for marketing communications.
SMS marketing is one of the more intrusive ways to communicate with consumers because people feel compelled to read text messages.This 2020 Mobile Consumer Engagement Report by Sinch found that two-fifths of consumers have more than 50 unread emails in their inbox, but only about two-fifths of consumers have more than 50 unread texts. Many bulk texting providers emphasize high open rates as one of the best features of SMS marketing. We see it as a sign of higher risk.
Our team at Campaign Monitor has compiled a list of SMS marketing best practices to help you meet consumer expectations when launching SMS marketing campaigns. Success requires following regular marketing rules while considering how consumers interact with text. Your customers may unsubscribe from your texts if you don’t fit in their inboxes. Follow these SMS marketing tips to ensure your text messages are popular.
1. Register a shortcode
It’s easier for consumers to send a 5- or 6-digit short code to sign up for marketing texts than a 10-digit phone number. It’s also not the only reason to get shortcodes. The numbers are pre-approved by cell phone operators and can send 100 messages per second. Long codes (10 digits) can send 1 message per second and may be filtered if too much text is sent in a row.
Any company can get shortcodes through the US Shortcode Registryoperated by the Wireless Industry Association CTIA. You need to develop a marketing campaign and submit a formal application for approval of the shortcode. This review process maintains the credibility of marketing text messages by protecting consumers from spam.
While you’re waiting for approval, here’s how you can prepare for your mobile marketing launch Build your SMS list.
2. Comply with all laws and industry codes
Calling legal compliance an “SMS marketing best practice” might be generous because it’s actually more of a necessity.
US legislation, including spam and TCPA, there are terms that apply to SMS messaging marketers. Many states have their own laws that apply to SMS marketing.you can download a State Guide From a contact center compliance firm. CTIA’s Short Code Monitoring Brochure There are more rules in its compliance framework.
Set up your own compliance by:
- Obtain written consent from consumers before sending any text messages and keep them for at least six months after they have opted out of text message communications
- Make your signup CTA clear so consumers know what you will be texting them and how many messages they can receive each month
- Set up double opt-in, where consumers must reply to a text or click a link before confirming on your listing
- Include a disclaimer about message and data rates in your signup message, if not every text message you send
- Include your company name in every message you send to identify it as a marketing communication
- Texting during business hours – usually between 8am and 9pm local time
If you’re not sure if a message is legitimate, err on the side of security.
3. Use SMS to send important instant messages
The best SMS marketing campaigns deliver consistent value to everyone on your contact list. Send time-sensitive information (like flash sale announcements) or important updates (like shipping notices or 2-step verification codes) via text to improve the consumer relationship with your brand.
We also recommend adding an element of exclusivity by offering special offers to reward subscribers. SMS-only coupons and free shipping are great perks to entice signups and keep shoppers on your list. Show readers the benefits of being on your list by including a clear CTA in every message.
4. Pay attention to how often you send
The optimal frequency for most text ad campaigns is one message per week. Start there – once you have a large enough list of contacts to collect meaningful data, then try changing the cadence of your messages. If you know your target audience very well, you may run the risk of starting with a higher sending frequency. Just don’t get too spammy.Highland data shows that there is a Significant increase in unsubscribe rate Once the brand reaches the threshold of 10-15 messages per month.
The reason why message cadence is so important can be traced back to what we mentioned earlier about text messages interrupting customers. Everything you send must be worth reading right away. If you don’t, you’re betraying the trust consumers place in you when they share their phone number. Triggered marketing texts or automated message flows must be constructed with this in mind. Ask yourself if drip campaigns and follow-ups are worth increasing the number of messages customers receive.
5. Be concise without sacrificing clarity
Do you want 2 rcv a MSG from your favorite brand 👀 lyk dis? Neither do we. Text talk is annoying and unprofessional. Avoid abbreviations as much as possible, as they make the text harder to read. If you must use them, stick with them.
Take Ulta, for example: instead of writing “24-piece,” the company wrote “24 PC.” Most people can understand the meaning of the message, but translation takes time. Capitalizing doesn’t help — to most people, a PC is a computer.
Start with something exciting that makes the most of your limited space. Mark the sale as “4 hours only!” Or let SMS subscribers know when the deal ends by telling them this is the “last call” for their purchase. You can also start with an item. “BOGO” and “50% off” are what customers love to hear. Craft the Perfect SMS Marketing Message It takes more time than you own the character, but it pays off when done right.
6. The feeling of being part of the conversation
Your SMS marketing efforts should respect the primary purpose of the medium: conversation. Even if you’re not doing two-way messaging, readers should feel like you’re talking to them.
Start by using personalization and segmentation to send messages that reflect consumer interests and past behavior. Then, write a text message, not the subject line. The message should sound like it should be for one person, not the entire marketing list.
The following efforts by bebe and Sally Beauty demonstrate the importance of these details. One reads and connects with customers naturally. The other is painful to scan and looks like a lot of text sent by the computer.
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Autoresponders and transactional messages allow you to go beyond and create a true conversational experience. However, delivering real-time responses requires more resources than a one-way SMS blast. If you enable two-way communication, make sure you can promise a good experience. It’s better to just run promotions than screw up conversational exchanges.
7. Use SMS as part of an omnichannel strategy
Your SMS marketing strategy can benefit from integration with other marketing efforts. If you have a CX or CRM system, connect it to your SMS marketing software to leverage existing data and add new insights. The lessons you learn from other customer interactions can guide your SMS marketing efforts. Likewise, SMS campaigns may present interesting data points that point to new opportunities elsewhere.
Successful omnichannel marketing Send the right message through the right medium. Not everyone will sign up for SMS, which means you can’t use it as your primary way of contacting people. Given the other constraints we’ve discussed – namely message length and frequency limits – SMS works best when integrated with emailsocial media and other marketing tools.
Rules are made to be broken
You can build SMS messaging campaigns based on existing customer data, but preferences are not interchangeable across distinct channels. What is valid in email may not be valid in text. We recommend that you follow SMS marketing best practices until you have solid data that you should deviate from them. Stick with what others are doing until your list is large enough to return meaningful insights.
All campaigns and marketing strategies evolve over time, and as consumers become more accustomed to SMS marketing, their preferences may change. Go ahead and test your audience’s reaction. Getting a high open rate isn’t enough to win – what matters is what you do once you have the customer’s attention.
