SMS is a "short messaging service." SMS texts can be transmitted between mobile phones or through the computer to a mobile device. SMS marketing is the process of sending out marketing messages to customers through texts. Let us learn the most effective SMS marketing tips to achieve business goals.

 

Texting is the most engaging rate of any medium for marketing with an astonishing 82 percent rate of open. 90 percent of texts are read in less than 3 minutes of receiving.

 

How do you accomplish SMS marketing efficiently?

 

Learn the top 24 most effective SMS marketing tips to attract and increase the number of customers you convert. Whatever firm you are you can reap the benefits of SMS Marketing by giving your time to creating efficient messages, studying the demographics of your customers by establishing an SMS-specific sales and marketing team, and then promoting your SMS campaign across the company's media.

 

Here are 24 effective SMS marketing tips you should implement to increase sales and improve your brand presence.

 

1. Get Permission From Your Customers & Make Opt-out Clear

The company must be able to send text messages to users. Otherwise, you're just sending them spam and could cause irreparable harm to your brand. In addition, you're violating the law and possibly paying hefty legal costs.

 

Subscribers should be able to sign up to text messages with promotional campaigns that require users to add an appropriate keyword to their shortcode. You can also ask them to check an option during the checkout process to sign up for email newsletters. To encourage them to sign up make sure you know what subscribers will receive. What kind of emails will subscribers be receiving at what frequency?

 

For instance, " Text 'SAVINGS" to 12345 and you'll receive daily coupons." The shortcode is used as the number that customers send the keyword text to. The keyword appears within the text, to indicate the SMS campaign they're sign-up for.

 

2. Know the Rules

The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) requires SMS marketers to include "msg and data rates are applicable" within auto-reply messages. Many text marketing companies will automatically add this disclaimer however it's up to you to make sure it's there.

 

3. Less is More

How many SMS are enough? The in-depth study of Upland Software's optimal SMS frequency suggests beginning with 4-5 SMS per month, and gradually increasing to 10 messages per month as long as each message has value. Of course, it is important to be on the lookout for unsubscribers and an increase in the number of messages to find the perfect place for your subscribers.

 

It's an excellent idea to incorporate frequency into your welcome messages so that visitors are aware of how often they'll be contacted by you: When you're thinking about message length you should think of messages that are in terms short and sweet.

 

Most companies restrict text messages to 160 characters four characters, which means the quicker you can get the essence of your message, the more effective. Make sure you state the value upfront Include a clear calling to action and make use of a URL shortener tool like goo.gl or bit.ly.

 

4. Timing Matters

The fourth among the most effective SMS marketing tips is that when you're deciding on the best time to send texts, consider your reader's routine. What time do they tend to be checking their phones?

 

As per Mobile Marketer, According to Mobile Marketer, Mondays are the days with the lowest rates of response. If your message isn't relevant to the time of day, don't send the Mondays.

 

It is also important to avoid common commute times of 6-8:30 am and 4-7 p.m in the evening, when most people are driving and not able to respond or read messages.

 

In general, the standard working hours of 10 am between 8 pm and 10 am are the most efficient for SMS marketers. Be sure to set the sending times according to your client's particular time zone. Nobody wants to receive a coupon or appointment reminders at 4 am.

 

5. Keep it Fun!

SMS is a very personal and casual channel that makes it ideal to run entertaining campaigns. Think about promotions, games online polls, and one-on-one chats. Utilize it as an opportunity to provide memorable, enjoyable customer experiences.

 

Not all SMS marketers make use of short text messages such as "ur" as well as "txt" in campaign messages. You are free to make the same changes, as long as your message is clear and easy to read.

 

Starbucks has used SMS for years to delight its customers with trivia games, funny memes, and customized rewards. If you don't think these are effective SMS marketing tips, try for yourself and see the results.

 

6. Send Reminders and Confirmations via Text

The majority of consumers consider SMS to be the easiest method to communicate with businesses and service providers. This is evident in the following statistics on marketing via SMS: 67% of people prefer to communicate via communicating with businesses via SMS regarding appointments or scheduling rather instead of emailing or calling.

 

And this is especially the case for messages with short, useful content that may be lost in emails, like:

 

• Reminders for appointments
• Billing reminders
• Booking confirmations

 

7. Know Your Customer

Review purchase history and local demographics to ensure that you deliver the appropriate messages to the correct customers. If you're a cosmetics company do not send coupons for anti-wrinkle cream to a 20-year-old for your shop in Houston while she's in Boston.

 

Segment your clients to create targeted promotions. Send mass messages for general promotions and sales which anyone could benefit from.

 

8. Write Clear Messages

Be concise that you have only 160 characters to express your thoughts. Make it shorter than that, if you are able to. Be sure that your message is concise and clear written in clear English. Beware of emoticons, abbreviations as well as all capital letters.

 

Avoid using open-ended messages. A good instance of an open-ended text can be one that invites customers to a sale but does not specify when the sale is due to end. The buyer isn't aware whether it's for the duration of a day or month. By stating a specific date on when the sale will end or by putting an expiration date on coupons, customers tend to buy since you've provided them with enough details and incentives. Read to know more effective SMS marketing tips.

 

9. Use Call-to-Action Buttons

Calls to action increase engagement among customers when they receive your marketing SMS. This is exactly what you want them to do: keep them active, appreciate the messages you send out and take them in, interact with the messages, and then act upon them.

 

Here are some best the call-to-action:

Click Here- Sometimes you do not have enough space within your SMS to include all the details your client would need. Perhaps you're hosting an event and need to include a hyperlink to a map, a video that explains the event, or an address to your site with more information. In this case, the "Click this link" button will give you an option to access the required information.

Text-to-Win- Many customers are eager to take a shot to win a prize or a gift from your business. Inviting them to send a text message to win the contest can increase your level of engagement among customers. If you're not selling products or organizing an event, Text-to-Win campaigns can be a great method to make customers aware of your presence and keep to increasing sales and traffic.

Text-to-Vote- Get your customers involved through mobile polling to determine how your business is performing with regards to the quality of its products, services pricing, and much more.

Buy right now- This is the ideal CTA button for personalized messages. If you are aware of a person who regularly purchases a particular item, you can send a text message promoting the product using the "Buy right now" button that makes it simpler for customers to buy.

10. Get Your Timing Right

The SMS industry is all about speed. It takes around 3 minutes to read messages. Responses of clients to promotions, sales, and events advertised via messages sent via SMS are most efficient when they're impulses that happen at the last minute. If you're hosting an opening on a Friday night, make your message by Friday afternoon. If you are running dinner promotions at your restaurant, you should send it towards the end of the day, not in the morning.

 

Be aware not to walk on ice that is thin by sending out messages too early in the morning or late in the evening. The best times to send messages are between 8 am and 9 pm.

 

You can take your SMS timing one step further by figuring the most effective timing to send an SMS to a person by analyzing their previous interactions with your text messages. This kind of ultra-targeting extends beyond the region and demographics and allows you to tailor your marketing in order to get the best results.

 

11. Focus on Your Best Clients

Your most valuable customers are people who are loyal to your customers who regularly purchase from you, who provide your feedback, and recommend your brand to family and friends. An effective method is to find this group that includes customers (influencers) and devote extra funds and effort to their needs.

 

They are familiar with and love the name of your company, and leverage their expertise to your advantage and provide them with more thorough polling questions that you would give to your clients in bulk. Additionally, they're your business's special guests So treat them like VIPs. Recognize their commitment with exclusive offers and additional benefits.

 

12. Offer incentives

You can entice your customers with coupons or discounts via texts for those who sign up for your business's SMS. Customers will feel that they belong to a secret community or club.

 

13. Integrate MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service)

If you're having a difficult time with the 160 characters limit, you can use MMS to send videos as well as images or videos to clients. You can also add YouTube URLs for your customers, providing them with an image of your company.

 

14. Make contests more interactive

If customers participate in the contest or choose to opt-in and sign up for a newsletter, you can include your social media and website hyperlinks in your automated response. It's a quick and easy method of connecting visitors to your websites, and enticing users to click the hyperlinks.

 

15. Encourage your customers via SMS

Text messages can entice your customers to spread your Facebook and Twitter sites. The most effective way to promote your business is through word-of-mouth, and reward your best referrers with discounts or a free product. A few more effective SMS marketing tips to go on.

 

16. Make sure you create a sense of urgency

The inclusion of an expiration date can help customers respond quicker, enabling you to get results or gather data as fast as you can.

 

17. If you are texting an offer to customers, make it unique

Add the fact that the offer is made available to all VIP customers, and gives them the impression that they are part of something unique. If the offer was open to everyone, then becoming a subscriber would be less attractive.

 

18. Make use of your text messages as hooks for your Facebook and Twitter accounts

Make sure to promote any contests or sweepstakes you're running through the social media pages using the text messages that you're sending your customers. You can also engage them via these pages, but you should use your texts to point them to those pages.

 

19. Send surveys or ask questions

Have customers give their opinions regarding a product or an idea or even if it is time to start a company page on a brand new online social network. When you've got results, you can text the results to your customers, or share the results on your social media pages. You can also invite your customers to follow the page.

 

20. Text messages as a follow-up on an email

Your customers typically get both messages via their mobile devices these days, which is increasing the response rate and encouraging them to engage in conversations.

 

21. Text messages at the appropriate time

Choose times that your customers aren't busy, for example, between work and after or during lunchtimes. In general, avoid sending texts prior to 9 am or after 9 pm.

 

22. Engage with a younger audience

18-49 year-olds have grown up with many smartphones and are much more active on the phone than baby boomers.

 

23. Have customers share their preferences with you

Ask them the time they prefer to receive messages and the kind of information they'd like. You can then modify your SMS program according to the requirements of the user.

 

24. Use Personalization

People respond better to content directed directly at them, so include your subscribers' names whenever you are able to. You could also reach out to your clients by sending them more relevant content in line with their preferences.

 

As with any other method of reaching out to customers and prospects, the longer you work on your abilities, the more interactions you'll get from your audience. If you can improve your response rates SMS can aid in understanding the state of your business today. Your data analytics will assist you set goals and understanding the business as it is and then determining the direction you would like it to go.

Read More:

 

67 Crazy SMS Marketing Statistics You Should Know for Brand Promotion

SMS Marketing: Benefits of Text Marketing and How To Do it?