When crafting an SMS campaign, stick to what makes your brand unique, consider what is valuable to your customer, make it personal and easy for customers to take action and engage with your company!
The benefits of SMS marketing are hard to ignore:
- 98% open rate
- 90% open rate within 3 minutes
- 91% of people carry mobile devices all day
- 74% of people form positive impressions of businesses who interact via SMS
Between promotions on TV, radio, internet or social media, your SMS message is competing for your customers’ attention - don’t let it get lost in the noise. Resonate with your customers and let them know the message is from you by staying consistent with brand language, style and personality. With successful brand recognition and awareness, your SMS message can bring in the extra marketing and sales boost your company is looking for!
- Dedicated short codes, 5 or 6-digit numbers used by one business, are ideal for better recognition and campaign effectiveness. Customers recognize and identify who the message is coming from, giving your brand an opportunity to stand out.
- Keywords are another must for the ultimate branding and engagement experience. For example, you ask people to text “KEYWORD” (this can be anything; something in line with your business name or product/ service) to your short code. Depending on campaign parameters, that keyword could trigger an informational response with an accompanying URL, or simply a welcome message introducing the program.
2. Provide Value
Whether it’s a reminder for an upcoming event, news alerts, or holiday wishes with special promotions or giveaways, make your SMS campaign something of value for your user. Clearly specify what you’re offering.
3. Make it Personal
If you're not using the demographics and analytics at your fingertips, you’re wasting valuable time and money. From names and birthdays to shopping habits and purchase history, you know your customers. By including these small tidbits of info, you’re able to create personalized and targeted SMS messages that are relevant to the exact customer you want. Personalized SMS messages show customers you’re talking to them exclusively, which can help drive high engagement, and conversion rates.
4. Power Punch with a Strong Call to Action
Your business may have just sent out an SMS campaign about a promotion that you know will interest your targeted customers. But with no clear and direct Call to Action, (CTA), your customer is ultimately left with a purposeless message - a major opportunity and money lost.
The CTA tells the recipient what to do and should ultimately motivate customers to take immediate action. Make the CTA specific, clear, and easy for the customer to comply. Action words are crucial for engagement with promotional SMS messages:
- “RSVP”
- “Sign Up”
- “Reply ‘YES’ to opt-in”
- “Click here for the coupon”
- “Reply ‘1’ to confirm, ‘2’ to cancel, or ‘3’ to reschedule”
Bottom Line: When crafting an SMS campaign, stick to what makes your brand unique, consider what is valuable to your customer, make it personal and easy for customers to take action and engage with your company!
