Connecting with your prospects and target audience when they’re on the go is crucial, and text message marketing can be an effective technique. Although it doesn’t guarantee success, it can be a great addition to your marketing efforts.
Also known as SMS (short message service) marketing, text message marketing is basically a method that businesses use to reach consumers by sending promotional messages via SMS to their mobile phones.
Typically, some businesses get started with text message marketing by working with a third-party provider. However, if your budget is limited, there’s still a way to do text message marketing effectively. Regardless of your experience in this kind of marketing, you can easily get started with the following:
- Know What You Want To Achieve
Like all marketing strategies, you should start with a goal in mind. When it comes to text message marketing, you must have clear objectives before you get started; they must be directly aligned with your marketing goals and broader business strategy.
- Use Simple Language
When using text message marketing for your business, always stick to using simple language. Because if your text messages look like spam, your consumers will just delete them without second thoughts. It’s important that you leave out anything too promotional. This may include marketing hype like ‘great offers.’
Another thing that entrepreneurs need to know is that text abbreviations and slang are a big NO for text message marketing. Such language will cheapen your brand’s perception and could ruin your campaign.
- Segment Your Recipients
You may not want to send the same messages to all your contacts. It won’t only annoy your contacts, but it can also be a red flag for spam filters. You can segment your contacts by using your customer relationship management (CRM) system’s tag functionality. When segmenting your recipients, you can categorize them based on their relevance to the products or services you’re offering.
You have to bear in mind that not all your customers are the same. Some would prefer products they’re used to while others would try the new items you’re offering.
So, make a tag for various kinds of buyers you have. It won’t only help you keep everything well-organized, but it can also make it much easier for you to send out text messages whenever you need to.
- Keep The Right Timing In Mind
Since most text messages are noticed and read within seconds, it’s best to send them in a time-sensitive manner. Make sure to avoid sending them during times that’ll annoy customers, like early mornings or late evenings.
If you want to know the right time to send text messages, understand your target audience and take advantage of using a scheduling tool to help you time your messages for the best possible moments.
- Don’t Forget To Include A Call To Action
If you’ve done your best to define your marketing goals and segment your recipients, you must also ensure that you include a proper call to action (CTA) in your text messages for better results. Your CTA will guide your prospects on what they should do next. Depending on how effective your CTA is, your prospects may end up purchasing your products or services immediately.
The most common CTA you can use at the end of each text message is a link to your website. For instance, you can include phrases such as ‘Read More,’ ‘Buy Now,’ or ‘Learn More’ with your link. With this, you may ask your customers to click the link to browse your website, sign up, or buy products you’re promoting.
- Keep Your Text Messages Short
No matter how long your text messages are, your customers will only receive 160 characters. So, always keep your messages short, and avoid breaking your messages into several parts as some recipients may get them in the wrong order. Always check the number of characters you use.
Keeping your messages clear and concise can be the key to getting the recipients’ attentions, improving the chances that they’ll make a purchase.
- Make Your Consumers Feel Special
If you want your SMS marketing to be effective, never clutter your customers’ inboxes with news and offers they could get from your website. Rather, make them feel special by giving exclusive promotions. They’ll surely feel that you’re giving them great value, which may make your offers more irresistible.
- Track Your Metrics
To know if your text message marketing is effective, you should track your metrics. In this way, you’ll know if your efforts are worth it or whether you need to adjust your strategies to get better results. Track your metrics regularly and see the difference when you make better decisions based on them.
You can track the metrics using any text messaging analytics tool, or other tools that you’re currently using. Some CRM software programs may also track text messaging metrics for you.
Conclusion
Text message marketing is no doubt one of the best and most reliable methods for business owners to connect with their consumers. If done properly, it works better than other communication channels available in the market, like email. So, make sure to keep those above tips in mind for you to do better and effective text message marketing.
