The world of digital marketing is ever-expanding. This is great news for your business! Many methods of digital marketing mean there are always innovative ways to reach your customers and target audience. Social media marketing , email marketing and paid advertising are just a few examples. However, one more channel you should strongly consider including in your digital marketing strategy is SMS !
Also known as text message marketing, SMS marketing is a great way to connect with your customers in a direct way that can drive great results. In fact, 95% of SMS messages are read by recipients in the first three minutes! But we're getting a little ahead of ourselves.
What Does SMS Mean, and Why Should You Care?
Let's start with the most basic question: What is SMS marketing ? SMS stands for short message service, which is a type of text message. Therefore, as previously stated, SMS marketing is another term for text message marketing. Similar to email marketing, SMS messages are sent to users who opt in to receiving promotional content from a business or organization.
SMS marketing generally works with an automated system that individuals can opt in to by sending a short code to the designated number. The system then catalogs the number and sends both a confirmation message and a code for opting out at any time. Remember: your intended recipients must opt in to receive your messages. Unsolicited text messages can result in heavy fines , such as the almost $10 million fine that Domino's Pizza was ordered to pay in 2013 for unsolicited texts.
However, when you follow the regulations, SMS marketing is one of the easiest ways to grow a database of loyal followers who are interested in receiving information about your business - such as sales - and who are likely to act on any calls-to-action (CTAs) you include.
You can also share reminders about upcoming events and the latest news about your business. Include shortened URLs to drive traffic to your website or for quick customer surveys. Allison Holt of OptinMonster offers six ways that businesses can use SMS marketing to boost brand awareness or improve customer engagement:
Customers feel positively about SMS marketing, too! Consumers are almost five times more likely to reply to an SMS marketing message than a marketing email. Lauren Pope - content marketing manager for Oracle - provides the following fascinating statistics in her article for G2 :
- 85% of consumers prefer to receive an SMS to a voice call or an email.
- 66% of consumers either prefer mobile messaging or consider it their second choice for communications when compared to phone and email.
- Consumers are 134% more likely to respond to a text than an email, and 86% of businesses using texting find it generates higher engagement than email.
Other benefits of SMS marketing include easy customer segmentation and cost-effectiveness. The bottom line is that your business could benefit greatly from an SMS marketing strategy!
How to Do SMS Marketing Right
It might be easy to get started with SMS marketing, but your business will only see those benefits if you're doing it right. Here's how to effectively leverage the power of SMS marketing :
Know your customers - Using a CRM in conjunction with your SMS marketing campaigns will ensure you're sending the correct messages and campaigns to the correct segmented customers.
Avoid These SMS Marketing Mistakes
Not only are there things you need to make sure you're doing right when it comes to SMS marketing, but there are also four important mistakes to avoid :
Leaving out CTAs - Not including a CTA makes your marketing messages nearly pointless. If you want to see an increase in sales and conversions, be sure to include one of those quick but clear CTAs we mentioned earlier.
The Take-Home Message and Our Blatant Self-Promotion
Unlike many other marketing channels, text marketing is economical and within easy reach of most businesses. Virtual Stacks Systems offers a robust SMS text marketing solution ideal for every need - and provides tracking and reports so you can see the success of your campaigns.
Combined with our other services - such as email marketing and social media marketing - we can give your company a comprehensive solution that positions it as the ultimate destination for the customer journey. today to learn more and get started!
