It doesn’t matter how big of an expert, guru, or mastermind you are – if you’re not marketing you’re not getting noticed. Marketing is the most crucial aspect of building your brand, boosting online visibility, and ultimately landing customers, clients, and sales. There are a myriad of marketing strategies, and some are more effective than others.
For instance, a growing number of businesses use SMS marketing to generate leads, keep in touch with clients or customers, and grow bottom-line income. Read on about what SMS marketing is, how it can be revolutionary for your business, and ways to improve your SMS marketing campaigns.
What is SMS?
Most of us are familiar with the term “SMS” but what does it really mean? SMS stands for “Short Message Service” and these short messages are sent via text on user’s phones. Essentially, when a customer or a client signs up for your newsletter, client list, or subscription list, they can anticipate brief announcements from you by text message.
Increasingly, SMS is becoming a popular way for business owners, churches, educators, coaches, and executives to stay relevant and keep their audiences current with the latest offerings, discounts, trending news, or upcoming events.
What Are the Advantages to SMS Marketing?
These days, almost everybody’s email in-box is stuffed with ads, and social networks are constantly jammed with screaming promotions. SMS offers an alternative to these overly congested marketing platforms. To explain, emails and social networks are often way too overcrowded with everyone shouting to gain attention. However, SMS is a more immediate and direct marketing strategy. In fact, 75% of people prefer SMS notifications over email or Twitter.
What’s more, SMS is more effective in keeping you connected with your demographic and broadening your audience reach. A report by Statistica indicates over 50% of online traffic was generated through smartphones in 2021. This means a large segment of your audience already uses phones and is more likely to see and respond to SMS texts.
Furthermore, text messages don’t require the internet to be received, which offers another advantage to SMS marketing. Lastly, studies show that 98% of consumers are more likely to open SMS texts versus email promotions. This leads to better conversion rates, as more eyes are on your offerings which could potentially result in higher sales.
Ways to Improve Your SMS Marketing Campaign
Now that we’ve discussed what SMS is, and the advantages to this type of marketing, let’s take a look at how you can improve and get the most out of your SMS marketing strategies. Here are a few tips for improving your SMS marketing campaigns.
Watch Spam Filters
Most SMS text carriers have safeguards against spam. Avoid getting blocked and improve SMS deliverability by resisting spammy behavior in your messages. This entails making your text personalized, and avoiding alphanumeric codes. Also, be sure to include an opt-out as this helps prevent undeliverable text messages.
Have 2-Way Text
Feedback is crucial for any business, and 2-way SMS texts are a great way for your clients or customers to share their thoughts about your offerings. Communicating with your audience in this way also builds consumer trust and boosts your credibility.
Time Your Texts Well
While it’s impossible to send your SMS text campaign at the perfect time for everybody on your list worldwide, you can get a rough idea about the proper timing to send. For instance, if most of your subscribers are local or within the US, try to send out your campaign during less busy times of the day. Inc. Online recommends sending texts before 9:00 am or after 9:00 p.m.
Keep it Brief
Keep to the “S” in SMS. Meaning, keep your messages short. Also, make sure your messages are clear and to the point. Additionally, always give your subscribers valuable content – something usable and helpful they will appreciate. In this way, they are more likely to have a positive reaction to your texts, as well as remain connected with you via future notifications.
Have a Clear Call to Action
While SMS texting is a way to stay connected with your people, its ultimate purpose is about inspiring your subscribers to attend, buy or engage themselves in your offerings. Make this easy for them to do by establishing a clear call-to-action (CTA). An example of a good CTA is finishing your SMS with a “Buy Now” button. Or, you may opt to include a “Click Here” or “Get More” button if you want your subscribers to read the latest content on your website.
The Last Word on Improving Your SMS Marketing Campaigns
It’s true that Facebook, Twitter and email marketing campaigns can be effective. However, SMS marketing yields far better results in capturing and keeping your subscriber’s attention. When done correctly with a clear objective, SMS marketing campaigns have incredible potential to build your audience, improve brand trust and ultimately enhance your sales.