Are you looking for an effective marketing strategy that can be used for time-sensitive marketing communications? Do you need a way to increase engagement among existing customers and reel new customers in? SMS marketing could be for you.
SMS or text message marketing may not cast quite as wide a net as traditional marketing channels – at least, not at first, but it allows you to get your brand messaging in front of customers that have already proven their interest in your products. Many customers enjoy the exclusivity they feel they get from SMS marketing programs, and they open marketing texts at a rate of 98 percent. Here’s what you need to know to bring SMS marketing into your marketing campaigns.
Stay above Board
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) governs the use of telephones and faxes to send marketing messages, including the use of text messaging for marketing purposes. If you don’t adhere to federal regulations, you could end up paying hefty fines to the Federal Communications Commission — $500 per violation or $1,500 if they can prove that you knowingly violated the TCPA.
Under the TCPA, you can only send marketing texts to customers if they’ve given you their permission in writing to do so. Many companies use what are called keyword campaigns to get customers signed up for marketing text messages — they just have to text a keyword to a short code to sign up.
A keyword campaign can be a good way to get lots of customers to sign up for your marketing messages since you can plaster it on all your other advertising. But you can also invite customers to sign up for marketing texts via a form on your website. You can even get them to sign a physical document.
Once you have your customer’s express written permission to send marketing texts, you can send opt-in SMS campaigns containing the following information:
- The name of your business;
- The purpose of your text messages (in this case, marketing);
- How often you plan to send text messages; and
- A link to your SMS messaging service terms and conditions.
You also need to include a notice warning that text and data rates may apply to marketing messages, instructions to opt out, and instructions for getting help. You can only send marketing texts between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., and you should include your business name and opt-out instructions in each text message.
Give Customers What They Want
Customers who sign up for your marketing texts are expressing a level of interest in your company. So they’re already going to be more receptive to your messaging than customers who don’t choose to sign up for your marketing texts. So, give the people what they want — exclusive access to coupons, discounts, company updates, and other stuff that isn’t available to those not enrolled in text messaging.
Think about what your customers want, not in general, but during specific times of the day or week. You own a restaurant downtown and it’s mid-morning on a weekday — your customers are starting to think about lunch.
You can use text messaging to communicate with that segment of your customer base that works downtown and tell them about the delicious lunch special you have on offer for that day. Offer them a discount that outsiders aren’t
Send Bulk and Individual Messages
Any text messaging service that lets you send and receive SMS marketing messages online should also give you the option to send bulk texts to large segments of your customer base, or send more personalized texts to individuals. A bulk text could go out to your entire customer list, or just to that part of it that’s most likely to want to redeem a specific offer.
Messages should be kept short. Text messages traditionally had a character limit of 180 characters, and while most people aren’t still living that life, someone out there might be. In any case, customers will get bored with long text messages and stop reading them or opt out. Leave out any fluff and stick to your greeting, company name, value proposition, and call to action.
SMS marketing can be a great tool to boost engagement and sales among your most loyal customers. Customers love getting exclusive offers delivered right to their SMS inboxes. It’s an opportunity to engage on a more personal level with your biggest fans — and keep them coming back for years.
