What is SMS Marketing

by | Apr 22, 2021 | Blog | 0 comments

What is it?

SMS marketing is pretty simple. It’s just sending promotional campaigns or marketing purposes using text messages. These messages are great for communicating time-sensitive offers, updates, or alerts. These messages are usually limited to 160 characters. It’s important to keep them short and sweet and not spam the user’s phone.

 

Rules and Practices of SMS Marketing

SMS stands for short message service. When applying SMS marketing it’s important to keep that in mind

  • Permission based

      1. SMS is a form of permission based marketing – meaning a consumer has to opt into getting messages from you. Never send a text message to a number that has not consented to your company sending them messages. When a consumer opts into text/email messages, it means they are interested in what you have to offer. This breaks through a user’s “outer shell.” It has been theorized that due to how many advertisements a person sees daily on the internet, they create an “outer shell” to block out the advertisements’ communication. Using permission marketing strategies gives you the upper hand.

  • Timing

      1. Unlike emails, text messages are usually opened instantaneously, making SMS marketing great for urgent messages. Send the SMS during the time your target audience is most active on the phone. Try to avoid sending them at weird hours such in the middle of the night. Be aware of your country’s laws. A few European countries have a law that marketing text messages can not be sent on Sundays, holidays, or anytime after 10pm.

  • Include company’s name

      1. Add your company’s name into the message. It’s important your customer knows who is sending the message. If it is unknown, they might think it’s a spam text and just delete it. 

  • How to use it to complement the rest of your marketing

    1. SMS marketing is best complemented with email marketing. Emails can have bulk information that is not time sensitive and SMS can be saved for urgent messages that need action almost immediately. 

 

Why it is effective

It’s a mass communication tool

81% of adults in the US own a smartphone. That’s a lot of people you can potentially reach! SMS reach people instantly and directly. By including a link in your text you can increase the amount of visitors to your online website. 

Higher engagement rates

Through the recent years of using SMS marketing, we have noticed that SMS engagement rates are much higher compared to email marketing rates. Not only are they opened almost instantaneously, but the SMS gets more link clicks than emails do. 

 

It’s instant

As previously mentioned, SMS is instantaneous. This means you are able to control what day and time a person reads your promotions! Use this wisely as this is a powerful tool.

What to use SMS Marketing for

SMS Marketing is used for urgent promotions. This includes, time sensitive coupons, reminders for items left in a cart, sales, important business updates, new products, job opportunities, appointment reminders. The list goes on!

 

What type of businesses can benefit from SMS Marketing

  1. E-commerce stores
    • SMS is a MUST for companies in retail or selling goods. Sending out alerts for coupons, sales, and items left in carts is a great way to reengage cold leads or get a previous customer to purchase more from you 
  2. Service businesses that require appointments
    • SMS are great for a different reason. Doctor appointment reminders or reminders for what to bring to an appointment. You can also ask them to confirm their appointments in SMS. 
  3. Large Organizations with 100+ employees
    • Reaching out to your employees is super simple. You can send out urgent updates in the company instantaneously and they will be opened  just as quickly.
  4. Non-profit organizations
    • You can updated interested participants about events or volunteering with SMS marketing.
  5. Hospitality
    • Airbnb’s, hotels, and more can greatly benefit from SMS marketing. Keep customers informed about their room status and other time sensitive information. You can also ask them to leave reviews and they are more likely to leave one due to the overall engagement of SMS marketing.

 

SMS Marketing Tools

  1. TextMagic (https://www.textmagic.com/)
    1. This software is super easy to use and allows replies to go right to your email. You can easily build contact lists by importing an Excel spreadsheet or CSV file. This service is pay as you go with a start of $0.04/ text sent, with an average of $4/month.
  2. Twilio https://www.twilio.com/)
    1. This is a great software because you can build redirections and have dozens of features at your fingertips. You can also use this platform to build apps with no previous coding knowledge. The price points for Twilio is 0.0075/message with an additional 0.005/message carrier fee.
  3. SimpleTexting (https://try.simpletexting.com/business/)
    1. Simple texting is a great way to start, they offer 8 pricing plans with high customization and integration via API. Their platform is affordable and user friendly. Their basic plan offers 500 credits for $25 per month. You can also test their software with a risk free 14 day trail! 

 

How Gravity Rail Media uses SMS marketing for growth

SMS marketing has been a huge success with our overall growth marketing strategy. We primarily use it for our client 5th wheel hub where we send out both text messages and emails about job opportunities to potential drivers. We have noticed a huge difference in engagement and link clicks in our SMS compared to our emails. SMS marketing has allowed us to connect with our clients much faster and more effectively. If you are struggling with SMS marketing or with the general growth of your business, please reach out to us for a free consultation!