Long gone are the days of traditional marketing methods that fail to deliver superior results. As consumers become more comfortable interacting with brands on their mobile devices, more businesses are leveraging SMS marketing tactics to break through the noise and directly engage their target audience.
With 98% open rates, 60% of customers reading texts within just one minute, and higher click-through rates than any other digital channel, SMS is an effective way to engage with shoppers at scale.
However, your SMS marketing campaign can frustrate leads and land you in a legal hot spot if done incorrectly. That’s why our communication specialists have put together this comprehensive SMS marketing guide for beginners to ensure your campaign goes off without a hitch.
What is SMS marketing?
Short message service (SMS) marketing uses text messages to directly reach potential and existing consumers. Companies use this opt-in marketing communication to send customers personalized promotions, notifications, appointment reminders, and exclusive offers. “Opt-in” means that you only send texts to people who have explicitly consented to receive them.
There are three main types of SMS marketing communications:
- Promotional texts encourage prospects to purchase, including promotions, coupons, and discounts.
- Transactional SMS messages contain time-sensitive information about a customer’s purchase, including confirmations, alerts, and verifications.
- Reminder messages are a non-intrusive way businesses can help customers remember appointments, events, or payments.
Why SMS?
SMS can significantly bolster the ROI of your existing marketing channels and is a cost-effective way to reach customers worldwide. Some of the top benefits of SMS marketing are:
- SMS has a 98% open rate, compared to email at just 22.7%
- 60% of consumers read texts within the first one to five minutes of receiving them
- Two-thirds of Gen Z shoppers prefer text over email during eCommerce interactions
- If sent an SMS reminder, three-fourths of shoppers will return to their abandoned carts
- SMS has 40% click-through rates and 30% conversion rates
- SMS is a global ubiquitous channel, allowing brands to reach over 7.4 billion active users
- An SMS loyalty program can increase retention
Are you ready to start enjoying these fantastic perks? Use these five SMS marketing best practices to generate optimal results.
5 SMS marketing best practices
1. Maintain compliance
While SMS is a highly effective marketing channel, its one caveat is the rigid compliance regulations. To avoid hefty fines and legal ramifications, brands must adhere to all SMS compliance laws, including the CAN-SPAM Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
Additionally, you must obtain clear consent from subscribers before sending them texts. You can set up an SMS opt-in form on your website and send automated confirmation texts to subscribed customers.
2. Make it worth their while
Over 80% of customers unsubscribe if businesses send too many messages, including texts. To reduce churn, brands must send valuable, personalized messages to customers.
Businesses can use data stored in their customer relationship management (CRM) system to segment customers by past purchasing behavior, location, age, and other key demographics. This ensures you’re always sending the right messages to the right people.
3. Develop an appropriate cadence
Most people hate being bombarded by unwanted texts. Develop an appropriate texting cadence to avoid non-compliance and turning off potential customers. The TCPA states that business-related texts must be sent between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipients’ respective time zones.
We recommend sending up to two messages per week to your subscribers during regular business hours. Don’t be afraid to experiment with the timing and frequency of your texts to find the perfect balance. Just don’t overdo it.
4. Use SMS with other marketing channels
According to Mitto’s State of Customer Experience report, brands with a mature omnichannel strategy were four times more likely to report loyal customers and three times more likely to report annual revenue growth.
Using SMS alongside other marketing channels, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and Viber, can maximize your results.
5. Ensure optimal delivery
Your SMS campaign is only as effective as its deliverability. To ensure your texts are received, you must choose an effective SMS communications platform, like Mitto’s. Our proprietary AI-routing platform analyzes and prioritizes traffic, runs simulations, and actively monitors our mobile carrier network to guarantee optimal delivery at the lowest price points.
SMS marketing templates
Here are five customizable SMS templates brands across all sectors can use to delight customers.
Ready to launch your first SMS marketing campaign?
Mitto Campaigns makes SMS marketing easy! Our user-friendly platform allows you to craft compelling messages, launch your campaign, and monitor results from one unified dashboard.
Our intuitive platform simplifies SMS marketing. Start engaging customers in just three steps:
- Choose the subscribers you want to message
- Craft your text
- Send texts now, or schedule them for later
Mitto’s integration capabilities also enable you to seamlessly integrate our SMS API with your existing tools and CRMs, including HubSpot, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Shopify, and more.
Contact us today to start turning more conversations into sales with SMS.