SMS can help you increase your marketing reach exponentially if you know what to do. Think about it – the customer has their mobile device with them all the time, and according to many studies the open rate for text messaging is over 97 percent. With results like that, you can’t turn down the opportunity to incorporate SMS marketing into your business practices.
Target the Right Audience
You want only people on your SMS lists who want to be on them. Get permission to market to them via SMS by being direct and up front about why you want their mobile number. Give them options so that if they want to receive messages in other ways that they can.
Follow the Law
Just like there are anti-spam laws for email messaging, there are laws regarding SMS messages. You must have an easy way for consumers to opt out of receiving messages and the system must work to remove them immediately when they ask.
Use a Service
The easiest way to follow the law and to run a profitable SMS marketing campaign is to use the right services and software which help you automate the system, follow the laws, set up all your marketing messages in advance of the campaign, and send messages on the fly when you feel like it.
Create Thought-Out Messaging
Don’t just throw anything together when it comes to SMS marketing messages. Ensure that your message has a reason for being, and that it leads to some sort of action or conclusion by your recipient.
Host a Competition
People love competition and SMS is a great way to host one using polls, voting, and surveys to complete the competition and allow participants to win something of value.
Announce Last-Minute Sales
SMS messaging is a perfect way to announce last-minute or time-limited sales. Sending out a text message that gives the recipient a code with three hours to respond is going to get a lot more buyers than you can imagine if you’ve done the work to build a responsive, targeted list of customers.
Be Viral
SMS messages need not be boring. They can even become viral if you take the time to think about what message you want to send. You can include links to images, videos, and more right to your customer at any time of the day or night that they can then forward to their friends.
Use for Product Verification
Need a way to get people to join your SMS list? Ask for phone numbers to verify the product and to provide free training for your product or service. Most people who have already bought from you will have no issue entering their number for verification.
Create Awareness
Using SMS campaigns to create awareness of new products and services is a great way to circumvent the unopened emails. For example, if you’ve collected email addresses and SMS information, try sending the information via SMS to the people who did not open the email. You’ll probably get a higher open rate and the awareness will be spread.
Offer Coupons, Deals and Specials
Everyone loves a special deal and your SMS list members are no exception. In fact, if you send out a coupon or deal at the right time, you’ll be surprised at how many people will take advantage. The key is to understand your customer enough that you know which deals to offer at which time.
Engage Customers
Don’t forget that SMS marketing is much like any other social media marketing – it’s social. Therefore it’s important to engage with your members strategically so that they will help spread your message and answer your calls to action.
JV with Others
An SMS marketing campaign isn’t really that different from an email marketing campaign. You must build your list, send focused messages, engage them, and provide value to the people who trust you enough to give their information. If you do that, your SMS marketing campaigns will be successful.
SMS marketing is a powerful marketing method that many small businesses should be involved in. If you’re not using SMS marketing yet, why not?