Why SMS marketing is so effective?

Carla Bourque is the CEO of Rebrandly, a leading provider of link management solutions, and an expert in branding and growth strategies.

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Buzz (or ding)! A new text (SMS) message lights up your , and you see it&#;s from a brand you recognize. In most cases, whether you click the link or type &#;stop&#; depends largely on how that message&#;and the brand behind it&#;appeared to you. Did the text reach you at a convenient time, with an intention that&#;s credible and clear? Does it help you in some way? These questions and more are key for marketers to consider before hitting send.

Increasingly, brands are seeking to prove their SMS chops because that&#;s where the volume and the money are. A recent survey shows that more than seven in 10 consumers (71%) say they&#;ve signed up to receive texts from businesses within the last year, and 86% of businesses have used SMS marketing to reach customers.

With consumers admittedly addicted to their phones&#;Americans check them over 140 times per day&#;it&#;s no wonder that SMS has become a critical part of the marketing mix in the last few years. With SMS open rates reaching 98%, compared to typical open rates of 20%, marketing text messages are much more likely to be seen.

SMS marketing has other advantages: instant delivery (and near-instant viewing), cost-effectiveness, high conversions and clickthrough rates, quick and easy implementation and more. Many industries&#;particularly e-commerce, travel and logistics, financial services, fashion and healthcare&#;use SMS marketing in innovative ways to ensure the delivery of time-sensitive information, while other sectors look to SMS to solve for efficient, effective marketing ROI and scale.

The Rules Of SMS

For brands, tapping into SMS marketing&#;so consumers can, literally, tap into their campaigns&#;requires strategic planning and a unique approach. I advise against assuming that the standard rules of social, influencer, brand or marketing apply. It&#;s important that you know your audience well and design the content, call to action (CTA) and customer experience (CX) carefully, then test and refine your campaigns based on performance data and insights as you go.

Frequent or egregious missteps can be costly. When brands get it wrong, they risk consequences beyond just &#;stop&#; or &#;unsubscribe&#;: eroding brand trust, negatively impacting customer loyalty and retention, and undermining overall CX. Plus, although brands today communicate across multiple channels and touchpoints, consumers tend to (and should) see the company as a single entity. This means that a poor experience on a single channel can have a ripple effect that impacts brand perception as a whole.

Communicating strategically and avoiding consumer &#;pet peeves&#; are table stakes to winning in this channel. When it comes to SMS marketing, data shows that the biggest turn-offs include a constant barrage of messages; long, generic and "spammy" links that can&#;t be recognized or trusted; texts that encroach on weekend hours; annoying tone/language; and content that&#;s not relevant to the recipient. More than 60% of consumers will immediately unsubscribe from SMS marketing that doesn&#;t have a clear message or purpose.

The Right 'Type' Of Behavior

While a sloppy or poorly executed approach can be damaging, a thoughtful SMS strategy can yield big rewards, such as higher deliverability, greater engagement, improved retention and exponential revenue.

Keep in mind that consumers want brands to text them; they opt in. That means it&#;s incumbent on companies to make it worth consumers&#; while and not take advantage of the privileged access they&#;ve been granted. Based on my experiences in marketing and growth strategy, here are five tips you can use to elevate your marketing SMS game.

1. Deliver value.

Consumers typically prefer to receive SMS marketing messages that will save them time (&#;check in now," "skip the line&#;) or money and that provide helpful information (appointment reminders, shipping updates). Too-frequent, ill-timed and irrelevant attempts to engage&#;such as multiple survey invitations and promotions on items that aren&#;t of interest&#;typically don&#;t perform as well and can cause brand burnout.

2. Timing is (almost) everything, but time-to-value (TTV) tops the charts.

Want customers to click a message? They need to be able to grasp what&#;s in it for them. Ultimately, you're reaching out hoping they&#;ll act in a particular way&#;whether that&#;s buying or doing something else of mutual benefit. Making it clear what those benefits are for the consumer and providing a clear, fast line to receiving those benefits can decrease the amount of time it takes for customers to act in a way that also helps your business.

3. Keep it real&#;really personal and relevant.

Trust is important in all relationships, from personal ones to ones that consumers forge with brands. Marketers need to honor the &#;trust circle&#; they&#;ve established with customers: leveraging data responsibly and effectively across all touchpoints to show customers they know them and care about their preferences and intent.

For example, what has the customer previously purchased, demonstrated interest in, left in their cart, etc.? Are they a member of your brand&#;s loyalty club? Are they often enticed by special discounts and sales? Your brand can use this information to deliver personalized messages that will resonate.

4. Cut to the chase.

Keep consumers&#; interest by keeping text message copy simple and effective. Use language that creates connection, engagement and value and that reflects the brand&#;s voice across other channels.

5. Consider your links.

Behind every click, tap or swipe, there&#;s a link: a digital asset brands need to own and optimize for their customers. For SMS marketing, you need to understand not only the content, information and experiences your customers want on that channel, but also what types of links will perform best. In my experience, generic, spammy links&#;where customers can&#;t tell if the call-to-action link is actually associated with the brand or where it directs to&#;don&#;t tend to get delivered or perform as well. In contrast, short links with a custom, branded domain demonstrate relevance and brand affiliation and foster trust, prompting consumers to click.

Better Results: Just A Tap Away

By following these tips, your brand can improve its SMS game in a way that&#;s a win-win. And as consumers unlock their phones and come to trust the brand that sends them messages, both your company and consumers can tap into a more valuable relationship.

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Businesses of all sizes are discovering quickly that they can (and should) integrate text message marketing into their overall marketing strategy. According to Pew Research, 97 percent of Americans own a cell , with 85 percent owning a smartphone specifically. Most of these people prefer texting over talking, making short message service (SMS) a compelling marketing solution.

You can acquire customer numbers easily through various methods. Once you curate your customer database and establish a thoughtful marketing strategy, SMS can be a great way to connect with customers and increase sales.

Want more information on bulk sms marketing service? Feel free to contact us.

FYI

Text message marketing shouldn't be used on its own. It works best when it's one component of a larger digital marketing strategy

Why should businesses use text message marketing?

Text messaging has become one of the best ways for businesses to communicate with customers and leads. If you&#;re on the fence about implementing SMS business marketing into your digital marketing strategy, here are 10 ways it can benefit you.

Marketing text messages get noticed. 

Your SMS marketing message will likely be seen and read. A widely touted industry statistic states that 98 percent of text messages are opened and read, with most being read within three minutes of delivery. This effectiveness, coupled with excellent customer service in the form of quick follow-up and replies to questions, can prompt immediate purchases. 

&#;Texting allows for small businesses to get their message directly in front of customers. This can build customer loyalty, drive sales with timely discounts or promotions, or [let you] answer customer questions in real time through a quick text,&#; said Sidharth Ramsinghaney, director of corporate strategy and operations at Twilio.

Tip

Use SMS text message marketing to sustain and grow customer relationships by communicating with consumers directly and cultivating respect and goodwill.

Texted marketing messages are delivered instantly. 

Text messages typically arrive within seconds of being sent. The average SMS delivery time for most mobile carriers is less than 10 seconds. This capability allows brands to deliver time-sensitive marketing messages and offers instantly. 

&#;Put simply, SMS text message marketing meets customers right where they are, considering that the average person spends as much as three hours and 50 minutes per day on their mobile devices,&#; said Jamal Miller, senior director of product marketing at Mailchimp.

Another great thing about SMS marketing is that even people who don&#;t own a smartphone can send and receive text messages. This makes SMS marketing one of the most accessible and effective tools for instantly delivering promotional messages to consumers.

Marketing text messages have a higher open rate than emails.

&#;Text message marketing for small business is an effective means of reaching customers because of its high open rates and almost immediate reach,&#; said Ramsinghaney.

As mentioned above, 98 percent of texts are open and read. This number contrasts starkly with the average open rate of about 37 percent, according to Constant Contact. A higher open rate makes a marketing campaign more effective. Plus, brands don&#;t have to worry about crafting a great subject line that will encourage recipients to open and read a text message. The buzz going off in a mobile user&#;s pocket is all the motivation they need to open a text message.

With brands struggling to increase deliverability, the high level of SMS deliverability makes this marketing channel a worthwhile investment.

Marketing texts have high conversion rates.

SMS has an impressive conversion rate. Mobile users respond to calls to action in text messages more than any other marketing channel. Studies show that SMS messages have an average response rate of 45 percent, compared with an average response rate of 6 percent. The reason conversion rates are higher with SMS is the simplicity of the marketing message. Text messages are short, don&#;t include many links and aren&#;t bogged down with excessive images. The call to action is clear and concise.

It&#;s easy to personalize and customize marketing texts.

Text messages are more personal than other forms of communication. Since your marketing messages are delivered directly to your prospects&#; and customers&#; personal messaging inboxes, you can use casual, friendly language instead of traditional marketing and sales language. You can communicate as you would with a friend &#; an approach that helps you build a rapport with consumers and create a great customer experience. It&#;s also easy to personalize your messages with recipients&#; names and send customized offers. 

FYI

There are pros and cons to using multimedia messaging service (MMS) vs. SMS for text message marketing. While MMS allows longer messages with images, these messages cost more, and some customers may not be able to receive them.

Text message marketing can boost brand awareness.

SMS marketing is an excellent way to increase brand awareness. Implementing effective SMS messaging between brands and mobile device users helps attract and engage customers throughout the buying process. Since users check their text messages multiple times a day, consistent messages can help you stay top of mind.

Personal, consistent and reliable messages can also foster trust and loyalty among your consumers. When customers are loyal and engaged with your business, they are more likely to recommend your product or service to a friend, thus expanding brand awareness.

Text messages help you get quick feedback from customers.

You can initiate surveys and polls via SMS and receive results quickly. Customer feedback is valuable for helping companies improve their products. It could also help you learn more about market trends and better understand customer preferences.

Text message marketing is cost-effective.

SMS marketing efforts are inexpensive compared to other marketing solutions. Since text message marketing has a high open rate and response rate, it can garner a high return on investment as you connect with your target audience. This makes it a cost-effective tool to add to your overall marketing strategy. See our picks for the best text message marketing services to evaluate pricing.

Text message marketing is easy to implement.

Text message marketing is permission-based, so you already know your customers are opting in to receive your messages. Once you&#;ve created an SMS campaign, you can track, manage and optimize performance easily. With the help of SMS marketing automation, brands can create, schedule and automate smart targeting campaigns.

Did You Know?

According to a Klaviyo study, 72 percent of people bought something after receiving a text from a brand.

Marketing texts won&#;t get caught in spam filters.

Marketers don&#;t have to worry about their promotional text messages ending up in the spam folder &#; the filters marketers must battle with do not exist in the world of SMS. When someone opts in to receive SMS marketing messages, marketers don&#;t have to remind them to safelist their shortcode, so their messages don&#;t accidentally land in a spam folder.

For more information, please visit Two-Way Communication Service.