Definition: SMS marketing

The essential basics

Every brand owner should know that establishing strong, trusting relationships with customers is how you get them to keep coming back. And few things provide a more direct and proactive approach than texting them and sharing what's going on in your world.

It's an opportunity to reach out and make one-on-one contact in real time; something that's invaluable for growing and established brands alike. And with more and more people relying on their phone for everything from texting to shopping to working on the go, text message marketing, or SMS marketing, is a pillar for your future success.

That said, there are a few rules you should follow to properly employ SMS marketing.

Opt-in required

While a direct text message is a really great way to communicate directly with customers, it's important that they want to hear what you have to say. That's why you should always seek out permission before sending them SMS messages and have a way for them to opt-out easily if they aren't happy. While open rates are super high, it can negatively impact your business if people are angry with your messaging. 

Timing is everything

How many times have you got a random text at 3AM and thought, "I hate this person for waking me up."? Right. You don't want to be "that guy". People generally respond to text messages in real time, which means you only need to send them information when you want them to take quick action or there's something they can actively do with it. And remember, many countries do not allow SMS marketing on certain days or after specific times. 

Rep your brand

"New phone, who this?" Yeah, nobody likes to get a text from a stranger. It's weird and you're just going to hit the delete button and move on. When sending out a message, let people know who sent the message. It builds trust, certainly, but it also helps people remember your brand and build your reputation.

Complementary marketing

Digital marketing is a revolutionary way to interact with customers and turn them into true brand advocates. And when you're tying SMS messaging into your other social channels, including websites, social media, and email marketing, you're able to develop a much stronger and cohesive sales strategy.

What's more, when you're able to utilize SMS and email marketing together, you can ensure your delivery valuable information with more effectiveness.

Fast, efficient, and effective

The ability to connect in real-time makes SMS marketing one of the more crucial ways to target customers, especially because of how reliant we've become on smartphones and the immediacy of the connection. 

• Generation smartphone: Like we said before, people rely on their smartphones for pretty much everything they do. In fact, nearly 75 percent of people in the U.S. alone have one, which means people are always connected.
• Play the short and long game: Email marketing still has its place but adding SMS marketing to the mix helps enhance both avenues by providing short bursts of info in real time and longer content when required.
• Unimaginable engagement: People today are always connected to the world with their smartphone, which is why the standard SMS message is read within 3 minutes. That's a 90% engagement rate. Yeah, they're a big deal.
• Smarter, more affordable solution: Some areas of the world have slow or inaccessible internet speeds or expensive services, which makes SMS messaging even more vital to staying connected with customers.

SMS marketing made easy

Almost every business in any country is given a "short code" for the SMS marketing messages instead of a telephone number to help differentiate them and streamline the sharing process. These are generally created by your provider and cannot be altered by your business. As such, it makes it vital your brand name is included with the message.

Here are two types of messages that can be send via SMS marketing:

1. Direct campaigns: A classic "bulk text", use these to share things like sales, coupons, limited-time offers, or general updates or messages.

2. Transactional messages: Trigged by an event or behavior, these are "one-to-one" messages that occur to communicate things like shipping confirmations, times, or updates.

Crafting the right message

While every business has different goals, the same ideas can be applied when it comes to utilizing SMS text messaging effectively. Here are just a few ways it can be implemented to help your business or service thrive:

Ecommerce or retail promotions

People still are quick to respond to a good deal, especially when they feel like it's only available for a limited time. Use SMS messaging to share coupons, promotions, or limited-time sales to get people "in the door". Just remember not to oversaturate this angle or people will begin to think it's all a ruse.

Real-time updates

If you're hosting an event, providing a service, or want to share important information to keep customers or clients in the know, SMS messaging makes a great way to communicate general information, changes, policies, cancellations, or other important data to help everyone stay on the same page.

Important reminders

Many businesses require scheduling to keep everything organized and flowing smoothly, so when you have a client, patient, or customer who is late or doesn't show up at all, it can make things challenging. Sending out appointment reminders through text message helps people show up, pay on time, or stay on schedule.

Company-wide alerts

The bigger your business gets the harder it can be to talk to each and every one of them. And while emails can be sent out, not everyone has an internal email system to manage. That's why SMS text messaging is great for a quick way to send out things like office closures, emergency info or updates, or even to say a quick thanks and build morale.