Trying to faucet into the advertising and marketing technique that will get 4x extra open charges than electronic mail?
It’s one thing 6.57 billion folks are already utilizing, and the most effective methods to get your message throughout within the digital age. It’s SMS advertising and marketing—one of many best and simplest methods to attain your audience.
On this put up, we’ll check out what SMS advertising and marketing is, several types of SMS advertising and marketing campaigns and share some examples of how companies are utilizing SMS advertising and marketing to achieve their objectives.
What’s SMS advertising and marketing?
SMS advertising and marketing (or “textual content advertising and marketing”) is a type of cellular advertising and marketing that permits companies to ship textual content messages to clients and prospects. These messages could be something from promotional affords and reductions, to appointment reminders and delivery notifications.
Advertising by SMS has a number of benefits over different cellular advertising and marketing methods like electronic mail advertising and marketing and push notifications. For one, SMS messages have a practically 100% open fee, which implies your viewers is more likely to see your textual content message than your electronic mail (common open charges for emails are round 22%).
SMS advertising and marketing is a good way to achieve your audience with a concise and clear message. For instance, should you’re operating a weekend sale or promotion, you possibly can let your clients know by way of textual content. Or, should you personal a restaurant, you possibly can ship SMS messages along with your each day specials.
Forms of SMS advertising and marketing campaigns
There are numerous varieties of SMS advertising and marketing campaigns, from easy and simple to extra advanced.
Listed here are two of the best kinds:
Promotional campaigns
Promotional SMS advertising and marketing campaigns are designed to generate curiosity in a services or products. They will embody reductions, coupons and different particular affords.
Coupons and promotions could be a superb technique to drive extra folks to your retailer or web site, particularly when accompanied by a high quality name to motion (CTA). Right here’s an SMS advertising and marketing instance from style model Jenni Kayne, which features a personalised coupon code and a direct hyperlink to their store web page:
Transactional campaigns
Transactional SMS advertising and marketing messages are despatched in response to an occasion or motion. These campaigns provide data that’s time-sensitive and related to the shopper, reminiscent of appointment reminders, delivery notifications or password resets. As a result of these messages are so well timed and related, they’ve a excessive open-rate and could be very efficient in driving conversions.
An instance of a transactional SMS marketing campaign is an order affirmation from an ecommerce buy. Right here’s an instance from Baking Metal that features order affirmation, monitoring data and an unsubscribe choice.
Why do companies use SMS advertising and marketing?
Do you know 75% of shoppers are snug getting SMS messages from manufacturers, so long as they opt-in?
SMS enterprise advertising and marketing reaches your audience with well timed and related data that may assist enhance model consciousness and enhance engagement.
Listed here are just some methods you should utilize SMS advertising and marketing for your enterprise:
Attain clients quicker
When you have time-sensitive data to share, SMS is the correct medium, as 90% of textual content messages are opened inside three minutes of receipt.
For instance, should you’re operating a limited-time provide, you should utilize SMS to let your clients know.
Improve response charges
In contrast to different advertising and marketing channels, SMS means that you can attain your clients instantly on their cellular units. Due to this, textual content messages have a a lot greater response fee than different advertising and marketing channels. Response charges may also help preserve your clients engaged along with your SMS advertising and marketing and open alternatives for additional affords.
To extend response charges, strive together with a CTA in your textual content messages to encourage clients to take the subsequent step. For instance, you can embody a CTA like “Reply YES to RSVP,” or “Click on the hyperlink to study extra.”
Complement different advertising and marketing channels
Whereas an SMS advertising and marketing technique is powerful by itself, it may also be used to reinforce different advertising and marketing channels. For instance, you can use SMS to advertise a contest or sale on social media or embody a hyperlink to an electronic mail e-newsletter in your textual content messages. You can additionally use SMS to remind clients of an upcoming occasion or webinar, so as to enhance signups.
Construct buyer loyalty
SMS advertising and marketing can construct loyalty along with your clients, because it means that you can ship personalised messages and affords to people. It is a nice technique to make your clients really feel valued, and enhance the possibilities of them returning to your enterprise sooner or later.
Improve income
SMS advertising and marketing may also help you enhance income by driving visitors to your retailer or web site. You need to use SMS messages to advertise particular gross sales and occasions and embody a name to motion that encourages clients to make the most of the provide. You can additionally use SMS messages to remind clients about gadgets they’ve left of their purchasing cart, encouraging them to finish their purchases.
SMS advertising and marketing methods (with examples)
Able to ramp up your SMS advertising and marketing? Listed here are some artistic SMS advertising and marketing methods, together with examples, to get you began:
Ship welcome messages to new subscribers
As soon as a buyer subscribes to your SMS advertising and marketing marketing campaign, ship them a welcome message! It will guarantee they know they’re subscribed, and it offers you a possibility to interact with them straight away. Plus, it units the tone for future interactions.
Welcome messages don’t should be lengthy or advanced. A easy, “Thanks for subscribing!” will do. You can even embody a coupon code or particular provide to sweeten the deal.
Announce new product releases
One other sensible use of SMS promoting is to announce new product releases. In the event you’ve bought a brand new services or products you’re enthusiastic about, let your subscribers know as quickly as (or earlier than) it’s out there.
It is a nice technique to generate buzz and curiosity, and it would even encourage clients who haven’t bought from you shortly to come back again and take a look at what’s new.
You too can strive driving visitors to your web site or storefront by together with a hyperlink in your SMS marketing campaign. For instance, textual content “Try our new arrivals!” and embody a hyperlink to your web site or on-line retailer. This could enhance visitors and provides folks a cause to go to your web site.
Observe up on deserted purchasing carts
The common cart abandonment fee for e-commerce companies is 69.82%. That’s a whole lot of potential income that’s left on the desk!
SMS advertising and marketing may also help you get well a few of that misplaced income, by sending deserted cart messages to clients who’ve left gadgets of their on-line purchasing carts.
Right here’s an SMS advertising and marketing instance from CB2, a house furnishings retailer.
Inform clients when merchandise are again in inventory
Probably the most irritating issues for purchasers is discovering an merchandise they need to purchase is out of inventory. With SMS advertising and marketing, you possibly can notify clients as quickly as merchandise are again in inventory, to allow them to purchase them earlier than they promote out once more. You too can let clients know when merchandise they could be involved in are about to go on sale.
Gather buyer suggestions
Buyer suggestions is crucial for companies to grasp what they’re doing nicely and the place they should enhance. SMS surveys accumulate buyer suggestions shortly and simply.
You need to use instruments like Google Varieties or SurveyMonkey to create a brief survey, then ship the hyperlink by way of SMS. Or, merely ask a buyer to answer to your textual content with a ranking from one to 5, then observe up with any clients who give a low ranking to search out out what you possibly can enhance.
Present text-based customer support
You need to use textual content messages to supply customer support. That is particularly helpful for companies which have a cellular workforce, like plumbers or supply drivers.
If a buyer must get in contact with somebody, they’ll merely ship a textual content reasonably than having to make a telephone name. This could save the shopper time, and it may also be much less disruptive for the enterprise.
Right here’s an SMS advertising and marketing instance from U-Haul, which affords clients the chance to check-in and out by way of textual content:
Ask for manufacturing or service opinions
Many corporations use SMS advertising and marketing to assemble opinions about their service or workers. You’ve in all probability seen this from corporations like Uber, which ask clients to fee drivers after their experience. Asking for buyer opinions is an efficient technique to get suggestions on their expertise and determine areas that want enchancment.
In response to The Nielsen Firm, 92% of shoppers belief suggestions from household, mates and different clients. So, think about displaying these opinions in your web site or social media pages, in addition to in your SMS advertising and marketing messages.
Promote on-line and in-person occasions
Selling your upcoming occasions by way of SMS advertising and marketing may also help get folks excited and engaged.
Your SMS occasion reminders can embody:
- Date, time and placement of your occasion
- A CTA to encourage folks to purchase tickets or enroll
- A hyperlink to your web site or occasion web page
- Particulars about what attendees can anticipate
- Hashtags to advertise on social media
- Emojis to extend engagement
When you have a restricted variety of spots out there, make sure to embody an RSVP hyperlink in your textual content so subscribers can reserve their spots straight away.
Begin a VIP program
A VIP program encourages loyalty amongst your clients and subscribers. Individuals like to really feel like they’re a part of an unique group, so make them really feel particular by providing VIP-only reductions, early entry to gross sales and new merchandise and different advantages.
To advertise your VIP program, embody a signup hyperlink in your SMS messages when clients buy a product. You too can promote your VIP program on social media, in your web site or in-store.
Be sure to’re utilizing an SMS advertising and marketing service that means that you can phase your record so you possibly can ship completely different messages to your VIPs and normal subscribers.
Segmenting your record ensures you’re sending probably the most related messages to every group, which ends up in greater engagement and conversions.
4 SMS advertising and marketing greatest practices to observe
Now that we’ve gone over the best way to do SMS advertising and marketing for your enterprise, let’s check out some greatest practices you need to observe to get probably the most out of your campaigns.
1. Solely ship texts to those that opted in
Solely ship texts to those that have explicitly given you permission to take action. One of the simplest ways to do that is to incorporate an opt-in type in your web site or different on-line channels.
Even in case you have an opt-in, it’s a good suggestion to ship an preliminary textual content thanking a brand new subscriber and asking them to substantiate opt-in with a easy reply of “Sure” or “No.”
2. Make it straightforward for purchasers to opt-out
Make it straightforward for purchasers to cease receiving texts from you by together with an unsubscribe choice. This could possibly be so simple as replying “STOP” or “Unsubscribe” to the textual content itself.
3. Establish your model early
Upon getting your buyer’s telephone quantity, make sure to introduce your self. Your message will seemingly be coming by way of as an unknown quantity, and also you don’t need them to delete your textual content earlier than they learn it. We name this SMS branding.
Together with your model title at the start of the message lets clients know who you might be straight away, and get them engaged along with your content material.
4. Maintain messages quick and to the purpose
When utilizing SMS, you’ve gotten a most of 160 characters to get your message throughout. That’s why it’s so vital to get to the purpose shortly and keep away from any pointless fluff.
When structuring your SMS, use this framework:
- Firm title
- Buyer title
- Supply or promotion
- Relevant circumstances
- CTA
- Choose-out choice
If that you must present extra data, think about using a shortened hyperlink clients can observe for extra particulars.
Potential drawbacks of SMS advertising and marketing
Whereas SMS advertising and marketing is an efficient technique to attain and have interaction your viewers, there are a couple of potential drawbacks to contemplate:
Restricted character counts
As we talked about, SMS messages are restricted to 160 characters. This may be each good and unhealthy. On one hand, it forces you to get straight to the purpose with none fluff; however, it may be tough to incorporate all the knowledge you need in such a restricted house.
Customers are protecting of telephone numbers
One other factor to remember is that buyers are typically fairly protecting of their telephone numbers. So despite the fact that SMS advertising and marketing requires an opt-in, you continue to want to supply worth along with your messages, otherwise you run the chance of individuals unsubscribing.
Requires appreciable planning and administration
Like every other advertising and marketing marketing campaign, SMS advertising and marketing requires cautious planning and administration so as to achieve success. You might want to think about components like frequency, affords, calls to motion, and so forth.
Adherence to privateness legal guidelines and laws
Lastly, that you must ensure you’re complying with Phone Client Safety Act (TCPA) privateness legal guidelines and laws, which apply to SMS advertising and marketing.
Benefit from SMS advertising and marketing in 2022
SMS advertising and marketing may also help you attain your audience and enhance engagement. By advertising and marketing to your clients the place they’re most energetic, you’ve gotten a greater probability of retaining their consideration.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with several types of SMS methods initially. Some clients might favor reductions or offers, whereas others could also be in search of customer support assist by way of order affirmation or delivery updates. You’ll be able to discover social testing (A/B testing) to get began and discover out what works in your audience.
