Text message marketing, also known as SMS marketing, has started to gain considerable acceptance by consumers over the past few years. A 2014 study by Salesforce Marketing Cloud found that about 64% of American consumers think SMS is a good way for brands to communicate. According to Adobe, SMS marketing has an open rate of 98%. The average American checks their smartphone at around 80 times a day, which explains why they’re willing to open up a commercial SMS message. With those kinds of numbers, it’s no wonder that more businesses are looking to SMS marketing to increase sales.
Open rate is only the beginning — if your SMS marketing campaigns aren’t compelling and useful, a customer is more likely to open, scan and bounce. If you currently use or are looking to start using SMS marketing, here are 5 smart tips on how to get your SMS marketing to drive sales and boost customer engagement.
Get Creative
SMS marketing allows you to market to those customers who have provided you with something incredibly valuable, their phone number. Don’t waste that chance by sending out a simple text that tells someone to shop at your establishment. You have to get creative in order to catch the attention of your readers and get them interested in your brand. Below are a few suggestions:
- Promote a new product or service that you are rolling out
- Encourage readers to fill out a review/survey for your business
- Promote a loyalty program
- Include an image for visual effect
While not every suggestion may work for your SMS campaigns, it’s important to find that “niche” in order for your SMS messages to keep recipients engaged and interested in your brand.
Use Links
Cash in on that high open rate by adding URLs to your SMS messages that direct customers to specific pages on your website.. Using links in your SMS campaigns tells you how many recipients are actually engaging with your campaigns by tracking the click-through rate for the links.
Take your customer engagement a step further by using vanity URLs when inserting links. Vanity URLs allow you to create a unique name for your link that helps remind customers of a specific page on your website. This simple tactic can be important for your SMS links since it helps your URLs stand out with a branded name or a specific call to action.
Inform Guests
One of the best ways to keep customers engaged with your brand is to provide them with something valuable without expecting something in return. Below are some examples of providing something valuable to your customers.
- Informative blog posts
- Appointment reminders
- Providing hours of operations and pricing
- Offer a free coupon and deal promotions
- “Welcome” and “thanks for visiting” texts
This builds brand affinity and encourages customer loyalty. Especially since recipients will be able to view these pieces right from their smartphone.
Make It Light!
While it’s important to be professional when talking to a B2B audience, don’t be afraid to be more light-hearted when it comes to B2C. You wouldn’t be all professional and serious when texting to a friend or relative, so why be a bore when marketing to your SMS recipients? Breakaway from that stuffiness and start being fun in your SMS marketing. Add some humor, make a personalized greeting and be more direct with your reader. Whatever you go with, just make sure that you are using campaigns that are approachable and relatable to your guests.
Less Is More
Since SMS marketing involves a personal touch, it’s crucial that you are not overloading your SMS recipients. Sending too many SMS messages is a great way to get an “unsubscribe” real fast. Guests that share their phone numbers with you have given you a powerful marketing resource — don’t abuse that trust with constant, spammy messages. SMS campaigns should only be sent when you have content that a recipient will find valuable.
Even when you do find that piece that is worth sharing through SMS, keep the messaging short and to the point. Text messaging is great for sharing something in a short amount of time, but there’s a way to use it correctly. Don’t ruin that aspect by creating SMS messages that resemble a long-winded speech.Â
Are you ready to boost your SMS marketing efforts?
GoZone WiFi is here to help. With our Marketing4WiFi platform, WiFi guests can provide their phone numbers in a simple and effective way while accessing the guest WiFi you give away for free. GoZone WiFi has to tools to not only grow your SMS list but to also help you create fast and efficient SMS campaigns. Contact us today to learn more.
