Select the SMS marketing platform that works best for your business.
To take advantage of SMS marketing you will be using a third party to help expand your business, you will want to be sure that you have the right people in your corner. There are many different vendors out there that you can work with, and they all offer their own strengths. It is important to do your research and pick the one that fits your needs.
Select the right plan.
You’ve chosen your vendor, now what? Choosing a plan that fits your needs can be difficult to do. Look at the numbers to help with this step. Think about how many texts will you want to send out per month, how many numbers will you be texting to each time, how much money can your business afford to spend on marketing per month.
Learn the laws concerning SMS marketing.
There are laws in many places that put restrictions on what you can and cannot send out in bulk messages. For example, in most places, you MUST allow the recipient the option to opt-out of receiving your texts.
Represent your business well.
Think about your business and the image that it has. Make sure that your keywords are related to the business and the promotion. It should be easy for customers to get the vibe of your business through the text message.
Keep things grammatically correct.
It is often important to present yourself well, even if you are using a casual approach to SMS marketing. Do this by double-checking your texts over before you send them to make sure that you have typed all of your words out completely and correctly. This will help all of your clients understand what you are trying to say, and make your company look better.
Get your timing right.
Timing is important with SMS messaging. A message sent too early before a sale or event will allow too much time for a client to forget about it. A text sent out too late won’t allow the customer enough time to get to the event or to take advantage of a promotion. An ideal message would be sent the night before an event like things, however, there are exceptions to this rule. Think about the customer, what is going on, and how long before the event they would need to know in order to make it.
Market for the season.
Seasonal marketing is tried and true, so why not use it in your SMS marketing campaign as well? Send out messages like “Beat the heat with…” in the summer, or “Spring has sprung with this deal…” in the spring. This is a simple but effective way to make people think about your business and feel more connected to it.
Don’t be too pushy.
The last thing that a client wants is to feel bombarded with texts, emails, and other promotions for a company. If you send messages too frequently, it can begin to seem a lot like spam. If you continuously send out rapid-fire messages, you will most likely see a lot of clients unsubscribe.
Let recipients know who you are.
Many people have received texts from numbers that they don’t recognize asking them to do something like click a link, or test a reply word. In that situation most people delete the message, assuming that it is a scam. Because of this, it is extremely important to make sure that the recipients of your texts know who you, the sender, is. Do this by putting your company name in the text somewhere.
Use contests.
Text-to-win contests are an exciting way to generate more clients. These can be created on many SMS platforms, and prove to be effective. Many radio stations and businesses alike use this feature to get more business and add people to their SMS list.
Keep it simple.
Remember, most people are using text messaging because it is a quick, easy, simple way to get the necessary information from one person to another. If you frequently send out long texts, clients are more inclined to opt-out of your SMS list.
Send reminders for events.
Have an event coming up? It’s a good idea to send a list of your clients who registered for the event. This will show them that you’re still hosting the event and that you look forward to them being there.
Use SMS for confirmation messages.
This is an easy yet effective way to be engaged with your customers and make them feel connected and valued by your business. If someone orders a product or schedule an appointment, send a quick text to let them know you’re working on it and appreciate the business.
Show your clients new products.
Have a great new product or service that your company is launching? Send a text to your clients telling them to check it out!
Keep the call to action short.
Make sure that you only have one call to action in each text, and that it is simple and clear to the recipients what that is. If you ask them to do multiple things or you are too vague in what you’re asking them to do, there is a good chance that they will lose interest or not understand what you want them to do.
Encourage word-of-mouth marketing.
Adding “Tell your friends” or “Bring a friend” to a message is a great way to increase turn out for an event or a sale.
Plan ahead.
Try to avoid throwing texts together and sending them out immediately. It is a better idea to plan, draft, and schedule your texts so that you have time to proofread and make sure that the texts are good to go
Put your SMS opt-in instructions by the door in your business.
This way, people will see the instructions when the come in and when they leave. This increases the chances that they will remember the number and join. If you have an online business, putting the opt-in instructions somewhere on the top of the homepage is ideal.
Give customers a reason to join.
If you are trying to grow your SMS list quickly, offering a great deal for new opt-ins is a great way to do this! Offering a free coffee, or 25% off of an order for people who sign up for SMS marketing messages is effective to grow your list.
Give customers a reason to stay.
Most importantly, if you have clients in your SMS list, you want to make sure they stay there. Sending periodic insider deals and promo codes is a great way to make sure that clients don’t opt out of your messages!
