According to
https://www.forbes.com, texting has become very common all over thernworld ever since the very first SMS was sent around 25 years ago. With mobile phonernbecoming ubiquitous, SMS marketing has gained a lot of momentum and today evenrnafter other forms of messaging have come into existence; it remains a preferred way ofrncommunicating by leading marketers. Typically, with an open rate of 98%, it gets farrnmore eyeballs than even email that has a maximum of 30% open rate. Because peoplernare rarely too far away from their phones, SMS is just the perfect way for brands tornreach out to customers and prospects, however, you do need to keep in mind a fewrnimportant tips for maximizing the impact of your SMS campaign.
Obtain Permission of Recipients before Sending
The General Data Protection Regulation enacted by the European Union and similarrndata protection policies followed in America make it mandatory for marketers to obtainrnthe permission of the recipients so that you can send SMS to them. This is necessary tornprevent unsolicited messages from disturbing the peace and privacy of the public atrnlarge who may not be interested in receiving your messages. Gaining consent is not a bigrnissue if you use the right SMS platform that sends the request message to the recipientrnasking for a single word response like “Yes” back to your number as consent for optingrnto receive messages from you. Tracking the opt-ins on your CRM platform will ensurernthat you send messages only to those who have given their consent.
Make It Easy to Give Consent or to Opt-Out
To make your list of recipients grow fast, you should focus on making the process ofrngiving consent to receiving messages form very simple. Most contemporary SMSrnplatforms or texting service providers like
simpletexting.com will be able to give you thernfacility of sending out a message, which if replied in the affirmative, will make thernrecipient eligible to receive messages. As a responsible and ethical marketer, you shouldrnmake it equally easy for recipients to opt-out of your SMS list. Not only do yourndemonstrate your willingness to respect the privacy of recipients who indicate that theyrnwish to quit but also you make your SMS list more refined and save yourself the troublernof sending messages to recipients who are not interested in your brand. Every SMS thatrnyou send out should have the necessary opt-out procedure information in simplernlanguage, for example, “If you do not want to receive messages in the future, send OPT-rnOUT” to any number you specify.
Ensure Messages Are Brief and Succinct
Nobody likes to receive rambling or unnecessarily lengthy messages. Often SMS servicesrnhave a limit of 160 characters per message and messages longer than that are cut andrndelivered in succession, which is annoying to the recipients. By ensuring that yourrnmessages are short and crisp, you can maximize their impact and ensure that yourrncommunication is clear to the recipient.
Limit the Number of Messages per Recipient
Even though the recipients might have indicated their interest in your brand by givingrntheir consent, you can be sure that bombarding them with messages will annoy themrnand they will opt-out very quickly indeed. It is extremely important to be selective aboutrnthe messages that you send to ensure only communication that has some realrnimportance are sent. According to best practices of SMS marketing, you should send notrnmore than three or four messages per month to a single recipient. By restrainingrnyourself and sending only messages that are of value to the recipient, you will find yourrnconversions increasing and delivering better ROI.
Never Forget to Include a CTA
The principal reason why you undertake an SMS marketing campaign is to encouragernthe recipients to do something specific. Often, marketers fail to provide a compellingrnCTA in the message, which takes the impact out of the message and the conversions arernnot maximized. Since most users use smartphones, you can link the CTA to yourrnwebsite, which can then take recipients to a special landing page on your website thatrncan add impetus to the conversion process. If you are using an integrated CRM system,rnyou can very easily track the performance of your SMS marketing campaign byrnmeasuring the number of unique visits to your landing page.
rnPersonalize Your SMS
It is well known that when you personalize your marketing communication it producesrna far higher level of engagement. Even though most messages sent by marketers haverntended to be the generic type, it is actually quite easy to set up the SMS platform tornaddress recipients by name and even to make the contents of the message personalizedrndepending on earlier interaction and past purchase behavior. A modern CRM platformrncan customize messages taking into account multiple parameters like the geographicalrnlocation, interest in a particular product and more in addition to the recipient’s namernfor the best impact on conversions.
Use Short-Code for SMS
The normal 10-digit mobile numbers are not only cumbersome to use in your marketingrnmessages but also very difficult for customers to remember. Using a short-code that isrnnormally a four digit or a six-digit number makes it easier for customers to respond tornyou, as they need to only remember a lesser number of digits. It is a marketingrnconvention to use separate short-codes for separate products so that people interestedrnin one specific product can opt-in to receiving messages only for that product and notrnfor others that have no interest in. Marketers should use every opportunity available tornthem for popularizing their short-codes; displaying them on the website, social media,rnemail, or even billboards can be particularly effective in making your SMS list grow andrnincrease the number of conversions.
Conclusion
SMS marketing campaigns can be incredibly effective in spreading your brand messagernand encouraging conversions. The smartphone revolution has made it even morerneffective because now even more powerful CRM platforms can be used to integrate SMSrnmessages with the web and social media. As effective as SMS is, marketers have tornremember that the privacy needs of the recipients are paramount and they should onlyrnbe sent SMS after they give their consent.