Best Practices for SMS and Text Marketing

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The effectiveness of SMS or text message marketing is no longer questionable. With the average American checking their phones at least 47 times every day, the open rate of text messages averages at 98%. Besides, recipients read messages within three minutes. This explains why text message marketing has a high response rate of 209% compared to email and Facebook.

A Techcrunch survey of 6000 plus customers found that over 85% of participants appreciate text messages from businesses. The success of mobile messaging heavily relies on how you text and if your messages meet customers’ expectations. Below are SMS marketing best practices to consider for success.

  • Obtain consent

The first step to any SMS marketing campaign is obtaining consent from your target audience. Consent in SMS marketing is a way of saying that someone has voluntarily agreed to receive marketing and promotional messages from your business. This is quite similar to email marketing.

You can obtain written consent or customer consent by keyword. Written consent is where the customer signs up to receive promotional messages. On the other hand, concept by keyword is where the business picks a specific keyword for the marketing campaign. Anybody who texts using the keyword consents to be automatically enrolled to receive marketing messages.

  • Carefully craft the message

SMS marketing allows marketers a maximum of 160 characters. Therefore, you should craft a sharp and concise marketing message that is valuable to the recipients. Even though prospects may consent to receive these messages, they can easily opt out if your messages don’t add value.

Like other marketing communication, ensure that your messages are relevant and personalized. In addition, avoid the thought of using abbreviations to save space. Your message will look unprofessional. Instead, craft a short, impactful marketing message.

  • Add some exclusivity

You should reflect on what customers expect from your business when deciding the type of messages to send. Remember that they are giving you direct and personal access. You should offer something valuable in return.

Using the same marketing campaigns on Instagram, Facebook, and email gives them enough reason to unsubscribe. You should avoid recycled content and offers already on your social platforms. SMS marketing should be relevant and exclusive to subscribers. That said, unique content, such as first dibs on upcoming promotions and flash sales, can make the cut.

  • Highlight important disclaimers

Before the smartphone era, there was a large fear of costly text messages and data rates. However, the introduction of unlimited texting and data plans means that your subscribers won’t be charged for receiving messages. Nonetheless, including disclaimers is both a good practice and a legal requirement. Complying with industry guidelines requires that you highlight the following;

  • How often your subscribers will receive promotional messages
  • If message and data rates will apply
  • Link to your terms and conditions and privacy policy
  • How to unsubscribe

Endnote

Mobile marketing allows businesses to connect and interact with their customers. However, before rolling out your SMS marketing campaign, you should understand some basic practices that guarantee the success of this marketing strategy. While these best practices are paramount, working with reliable SMS messaging vendors contributes to SMS marketing success.