Text Message SMS

text messaging sms

Nowadays, people are enjoying an era of connectivity. Wherever they go, they always have their mobile phones on hand, which they use to stay in touch with their peers and their workplace. It is approximated that 80% of people use Text message SMS business purposes.

It is approximated that 80% of people use texting for business purposes.

People are increasingly blurring the lines between home and work, and businesses are using this fact to their advantage.

As people have become accustomed to receiving business emails, they tend to turn off their email notifications once they are out of the workplace. Mobile phones, however, are perpetually turned on.

Businesses can use this fact to generate leads. A lesser-known fact is that 75% of consumers are quite open to receiving promotional text messages, as long as they have opted in for them.

Before going into the details of how you can effectively market through text message SMS, it is important to discuss the legality of it.

It is incredibly important to follow legal guidelines when it comes to marketing via text messages.

Taking such strict measures into account while carrying out SMS marketing can really improve a consumer’s impression of your business, and by sticking to the rules and regulations, you can gain more traction in the long run.

The FTC ruling has some exceptions, namely that if a company has a transactional relationship with a customer (as is shown in the above image), then their text messages are not spam.

Note how the image also allows the consumer to opt-out if they feel like it, making this interaction completely legal.

Non-commercial messages like political surveys or fundraising campaigns are also exempt from this ruling.

How to write Text message sms for marketing purposes:

Text messaging is unique in the sense that it requires no prior experience.

It doesn’t need any fancy graphic designing or clever layout, as text messages don’t have that kind of flexibility.

You can add graphics and images, but that would be MMS marketing, which is a different story entirely.

When businesses use text messages to market their products, they need to keep in touch with these basics:

#1. Keep it brief:

Long-winded text messages will get you nowhere. The luxury of text messages is that there is no real flexibility with regard to the format.

This means you don’t need to get too creative. Rather, being concise and getting straight to the meat of the matter will work out more favorably for you.

As text messages are being sent during all hours of the day, the best way to make sure your message gets across is to fit your promotional message under 160 characters.

Your message should be no longer than a regular text, and getting right to the point can work in your favor.

Note how in the text above, the business gets straight to the point and offers the customer a coupon right off the bat.

#2. Segment your market:

Marketing through text messages does have some similarities to email marketing.

Segmenting the target market into different groups can be super beneficial for generating new leads.

By segmenting your target market into different groups, you can cater to their needs more efficiently, thereby saving expenditure on drawn-out marketing techniques.

You can also avoid sending irrelevant messages to potential customers, thereby increasing the probability of lead generation.

You can segment your market into different groups such as loyal customers, new customers, potential customers, and you can even segment on the basis of gender and age group.

The better you are at creating such distinctions in your target market, the more effective your marketing campaign will be.

Some more distinctions on market segmentation are outlined below:

#3. Get to the point:

When marketing through text message SMS, you should be as straightforward as possible. Each message of yours should include a Call to Action and have a clear direction.

Do you have an ongoing sale on all of your products? Are you launching a new design or expanding your product range?

Be sure to be as precise as possible, and make use of branded links.

The usage of branded links can get you up to 39% more clicks as compared to generic links.

Branded links are more likely to have a higher click-through rate as the presence of the brand name in them can make them seem more reliable if compared to short links.

In this regard, short links are less likely to get clicked on.

Note how in this Uber eats message, they’ve included a branded link at the bottom of the text.

By adding the name “uber” into the link, it seems like a more reliable link than if it was just a short link as displayed below.

#4. Don’t go overboard:

While it may seem counter-intuitive to not bombard your customers with messages, it can actually be more productive.

By keeping your message limit to 2-4 messages per month for each customer, you can maintain a good relationship with your customers.

Don’t spam your consumers with the false hope that they may respond positively to one of your texts.

By maintaining a healthy distance from your consumers, you can actually rope in more loyal customers.

#5. Be personal:

If you have information about your repeat customers, then don’t be afraid to use it.

Mentioning personalized content for each consumer can help them find products that suit them as well, so it’s a win-win situation.

For instance, you can make use of software that allows you to access consumer history with regard to any products they’ve purchased in the past.

By making use of such information, you may be more likely to generate leads, as opposed to just general messages that are mass forwarded to all consumers.

If consumers have yet to purchase anything from you, you can personalize messages by simply addressing them using their name.

Even small details, like those shown in the image below, can make a huge difference.

#6. Timing is everything:

As obvious as it may sound, timing your messages to be sent at a specific time of day can get you more favorable responses.

This means you shouldn’t schedule your messages too late at night.

Instead, focusing more around the lunch hour around midday might work out more favorably for you.

What kind of messages should you send?

We’ve discussed some logistics about the messages you should send, such as the writing style, length, and timing of sending text messages to achieve the best results.

Here are some more insights about what your content should look like:

#1. Talk about the latest deals:

Every individual wants to feel like they have the inside scoop on something.

So, marketing by sending coupons and discount codes is by far the most obvious strategy you can try.

By making the deals seem super exclusive, you can encourage customers to opt-in for your texts.

By enticing your customers to sign up for text messages, you can circumvent the issue of sending unsolicited messages, which is illegal.

In this text, by adding a deadline for the coupon, you can instill customers with a sense of urgency to visit your business before the deadline.

#2. Talk about your upcoming products:

In case you don’t have discounts or coupons to offer, you can also talk about any new products you may be releasing.

This can also add an air of exclusivity to your marketing campaign.

In this way, you can build excitement about new products from the ground up.

You can even do what is shown in the text message sample above and ask for customer feedback regarding new products.

#3. Don’t forget your old customers:

If you feel like it has been a while since some of your old customers have visited your website or purchased your products, you can target them specifically.

By targeting old customers specifically, you can remind them about your products, especially those relevant to products they’ve purchased in the past.

By nudging old customers, especially during peak shopping seasons, you may get lucky enough to get a repeat customer.

By using prior knowledge of a customer’s old purchases, you can also strike up a conversation and improve your engagement in this way.

#4. Send confirmation messages:

If you’re running a business that requires people to keep appointments like a dental clinic or hair salon, then sending confirmation messages for reservations can be helpful.

You can also send messages on the day of the appointments to act as both a reminder and confirmation.

By doing so, you can provide a helpful service to your clients, maintain contact with them, and make sure they remember their appointments.

By keeping this channel of communication open, your customers can also get in touch with you if they want to reschedule or make a reservation.

This would be especially helpful as a majority of people prefer to talk via text instead of calling.

#5. Update them regularly:

If a customer has purchased a product from your site, you can make sure they’re aware of the product’s whereabouts.

This can help to dispel some of the stress they have with regards to their purchase’s arrival.

In the messages, you can mention at which stage of the process their purchase is in, whether it’s being processed, shipped, or delivered.

If your delivery service also provides tracking services, then you can send your customers a tracking order as well.

This can be especially helpful during the holiday seasons, as shopping is in full force at the time, so people prefer to do it from the comfort of their home.

By providing tracking services, your customers can take advantage of this, and think highly of your company.

You can even give them gentle nudges in case they haven’t checked out what they’ve added in their shopping cart.

Why should you market through text message SMS?

There are many benefits that are associated with marketing through text messages, some of which are listed below:

#1. Enjoy the high rate of engagement:

Marketing through text message SMS has the highest rate of engagement as compared to any other marketing platform, including emails.

Emails can go unread for days on end, and if they are sent by an unrecognized sender, they can even go directly into the spam folder, where it can never reach the consumer.

Text messages are much better in this regard, and on the whole, they are 90% more likely to be opened and read within the first three days of being sent.

Mobile phones are also widely used across the entire population, and as text messages require no internet to be received, they can have an even wider reach with people.

#2. Keep track easily:

Almost all SMS marketing software has different platforms that allow you to keep track of the messages you’ve sent.

With online software like Twilio, not only can you keep track of all the messages you’re sending, but you can also have access to analytics that can let you know about how many readers were engaged with your texts.

In this way, you can easily keep track of your analytics, and work out the kinks in the mechanism to provide an even better, unmatched service.

#3. Improve your engagement:

Marketing through text messages can allow you to receive quick feedback from your consumers.

This can be especially helpful if you run a small business because receiving feedback from customers quickly means you can legitimize your business and use their reviews as social proof.

You can also add additional links in your text messages, which will allow your customers to leave feedback directly on your website if they so choose.

#4. Get your message across immediately:

Another advantage of SMS marketing is that you can receive results almost immediately.

As messages require nothing but cell service to get across, you can simply send your text message and wait for the responses to trickle in almost immediately.

This can also help you analyze your engagement statistics and work on improving them.

#5. You can get personal with your clients:

By marketing via text messages, you can build a closer, less awkward relationship with your clients.

You can have conversations with them without appearing too stuffy or letting the conversation become stale.

By adding the name of the client in the message and also referring to them in the first person, you can build a solid footing with the client.

Note how well this interaction was handled by the business.

Their messages were short, personalized, and informative. They also immediately responded to the client’s query so that the customer service was performed well.

Conclusion:

There are many ways to market your business, but text messaging comes with a lot of perks.

By keeping in touch with your clients on a regular basis, you can also rank higher on customer service and responsiveness.

This method can really boost your business and is a fairly cost-effective way of keeping track of your current and future clients.

Marketing through text messages SMS has advantages that far outweigh the costs, making them one of the most lucrative ways to market your business.

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