It’s truly a technological age and SMS marketing is just another way that companies and businesses can run a successful campaign. Just about 100% of mobile devices, whether they are phones or tablets, are SMS enabled. That means you can run a marketing campaign that your audience can access just about anywhere, anytime. It also means that your reach is vast, and you have the opportunity to be visible to millions of people through a simple app or web browser on your smartphone.SMS messages, more commonly known as text messages, are read very frequently, and 90% of SMS messages are read within 3 minutes of receipt. What does this mean for your business? Your campaign can be read by thousands of people within just minutes of launching it. SMS marketing campaigns have become so popular and mainstream amongst businesses and corporations that almost every industry is taking advantage of their success possibilities. More and more energy and time is being dedicated to perfecting SMS marketing campaigns in an effort to make them as effective and productive as possible.
Make Your SMS Campaigns Manageable – and Measurable
A reason why SMS marketing is so attractive to companies – and recipients alike – is that it’s budget-friendly, immediate and has a wide reach. When used accurately and appropriately, SMS marketing campaigns produce a great ROI for the company as well, which is always a plus. Just like with anything, though, your SMS marketing campaign will only be as successful as the strategy you have in place to measure it.Prior to running a successful SMS marketing campaign, you must have strategy, tactic and goals in mind. This way you can craft your SMS accordingly so that it has a true relevancy to what your over-arching campaign is all about. Don’t just dive into it – instead, take your time to really figure out what your campaign’s true message is, where you want it to go and what you want it to achieve.A wise way to measure your objectives is to have an end goal in mind, but one that’s are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time sensitive. Making sure of these five factors will ensure that you meet your objective(s) the way you intended. Also, be aware of your more concrete measuring methods. After all, metrics matter most.
Keyword CTAs
Having a keyword in your SMS marketing campaign that is applicable to the campaign itself is extremely important. When people open up that text message, they should know exactly what it’s saying by simply reading one word. For example, if you are running an SMS marketing campaign for an Instagram photography contest, your SMS keyword should be something like ‘SMARTART’ or ‘2016ARTCONTEST’. This tells your consumer who you are and what you’re doing all in one, easy to digest keyword that they’ll associate with your brand.Check out HubSpot recently compiled list of 30 great examples of successful CTAs
Respect, Value, and Reward Your Consumer
Another key factor to a successful SMS marketing campaign is to respect the audience you’re targeting. This means avoiding the spamming of customers and rewarding their trust with incentives. Share a link to a coupon they can print out or, better yet, give them an e-coupon they can use right on their phone or a code they can input from their device.This will help keep the customer interested and wanting more from your business. Once you’ve locked in your customer, offer them frequent rewards such as ‘buy one, get one’ – this will show them that you actually appreciate their following. Remember the power of ‘word-of-mouth’, as when the rewards are good, your customers are more likely to promote your brand and tell everyone they know what they received from your campaign.
Lastly, Be Aware of Laws
This is one of the lesser included tips on SMS marketing advice posts – but it’s definitely the most important. There are certain national laws that SMS marketing is governed by. These opt-in rules are extremely important for business owners to understand in order to practice effective and legal SMS campaigns.For example, the U.S. has its own set of SMS laws. Every SMS subscription service or marketing campaign must have a ‘HELP’ function, as well as a ‘STOP’ option for subscription termination. Having this kind of knowledge at your disposal can both help you perfect your marketing endeavors, as well as keep you from making grave legal errors. Research your own country’s SMS laws to make sure you’re playing it safe.
