We talk about everything related to texts on this website, but do we even know how text messaging got started?
Today, text messaging is used by as few as 6.57 billion people! and that number is only set to go up with the rise in smartphone sales
But, the text message had a much more humble beginning, which you can trace back to the 1980s. The first action plan of the CEPT Group GSM was approved in December 1982, requesting that "The services and facilities offered to the public switched telephone networks and public data networks should be available in the mobile system." This plan included the exchange of text messages either directly between mobile stations or transmitted via message handling systems used at that time.
The first text message was sent on December 3, 1992, by a software engineer named Neil Papworth. He sent the message "Merry Christmas" from a computer to a colleague's mobile phone. At the time, text messaging was primarily used for notification purposes, such as alerting people to voicemails or paging them when they were out of the office.
Well, now that we got that history lesson out of the way let's dive deep into how we can effectively use SMS as an integral part of our marketing strategy
SMS as you all know stands for (Short Message Service) contrary to what the acronym stands for, many businesses send long, droll messages that either make the reader move your business into the spam folder or end up in the bin.
So the million-dollar question is "How do we get the maximum eyeballs for our text campaigns?" Read all about it in this article and stay tuned till the end where you can see 10 examples of SMS
1. Send texts to only to leads that have opted-in to receive your texts:
One of the ways to grab attention is to make sure you send a text to people who want to see the latest from your business. In this case, the people who have opted-in are people who are aware of your business as well as interested in knowing more, therefore it is important to obtain explicit consent from individuals before sending them marketing messages. 2. Keep it concise:
I cannot stress this enough, SMS messages should be kept brief and to the point. Why?
Think about it an SMS has a near-perfect open rate (~100%), so when you have that perfect a score in anything you should pack a punch in the message that you are sending to your leads.
Keep the message as short as possible, choose your words wisely, and include a clear call to action.
3. Use targeted messaging:
Personalize the messaging to make it more relevant to the recipient. Segment your audience and tailor the messaging to different groups to increase the effectiveness of the campaign.
Check out how you can do a user target text campaign using TXTImpact's SMS marketing products
4. Use a clear sender name:
Nobody likes an anonymous text, use a sender name that is recognizable and related to your business. This will help the recipient trust the message and be more likely to engage with it.
5. Include an opt-out option:
Provide an easy way for recipients to opt-out of future messages if they wish. This helps to ensure that your SMS marketing efforts are perceived as respectful and professional.
6. Test and analyze:
What cannot be measured cannot be tested. Test different approaches and analyze the results to see what works best. Use the insights gained to improve future campaigns.
[[ Download the ultimate guide to tracking your SMS metrics here ]]
Anatomy of a Text Message
The anatomy of an SMS message consists of various metadata fields that provide information about the message and its delivery, as well as the message body, which is the actual text of the message.
Some of the metadata fields that may be included in an SMS message include:
- Sender's phone number: The phone number of the person or device sending the message
- Recipient's phone number: The phone number of the person or device receiving the message
- Time and date: The time and date that the message was sent
- Message-ID: A unique identifier for the message
- Message type: The type of message being sent (e.g., SMS, MMS, etc.)
- Status: The status of the message (e.g., delivered, read, etc.)
Types of SMS Marketing Campaigns
There are many types of SMS marketing campaigns, from simple to more complex, let's look at them:
1. Promotional Campaigns
A promotional SMS campaign is a marketing strategy that involves sending SMS messages to a group of people to promote a product, service, or event. These campaigns can be an effective way to reach a large audience quickly, as most people carry their phones with them at all times and are likely to see and read a text message within a short period.
Make sure you put in a strong call to action in your promo message
[[Check out how you can do a promotional mobile coupon message using TXTImpact]]
2. Transactional campaigns
Transactional SMS campaigns are a type of SMS marketing strategy that involves sending text messages to customers for transactional purposes, such as order confirmations, delivery notifications, and account updates. These messages are typically automated and are triggered by specific actions, such as making a purchase or signing up for a service.
They are very useful in improving customer satisfaction and loyalty, as they help to ensure that customers receive the information they need in a timely and convenient manner.
[[Check out how you can keep customers transaction up-to-date with TXTImpact]]
3. Reminder SMS campaigns:
These are text messages that are sent to remind customers about upcoming events, appointments, or deadlines. They can be used to improve customer attendance or participation. Be careful not to increase the frequency of reminders and annoy the customer
4. Survey SMS campaigns:
These are text messages that are used to gather feedback from customers about their experiences with a product or service. They can be used to improve customer satisfaction and gather insights for business improvement.
[[Check out how our guide on how to create effective Text messaging polls here]]
SMS marketing strategies (with 9 examples)
1. Welcoming new subscribers
There's nothing warmer you can do than to welcome a new customer into your business. It makes them feel happy to be recognized and aware of what you have to offer
Here is a simple welcome message you can use for your 1st-time customers
[[ "Hi {Jeff}! Welcome to Bob's Burgers. We will let you know when you earn a reward
In the meantime, you can stay up to date with your rewards account by clicking the link
{insert link here}"
Text STOP to UNSUBSCRIBE ]]
2. Announcement of a new product or service
Anytime you decide to roll out a new product/service or both, you need to create a buzz around it. So it is imperative that you send a text blast to your customers about it. Don't forget to include the key features of the product or service that you are offering and a link to the webpage explaining it in more detail.
[[ "Hi {Jeff}! here are the weekly baked products available for delivery for the week of 7/5-7/11, feel free to browse our menu and try them out by the end of the week :)
www.bakemyheartout.com
Text STOP to UNSUBSCRIBE " ]]
3. Follow-ups
In 2022 the average cart abandonment rate was a whopping 69.99%! That's a lot of abandons, true, you can go with re-marketing campaigns on ad networks such as Google. Facebook, and Amazon, but with increasing online advertising costs versus the eyeballs and cost to that of text message re-marketing I would put follow-up sms campaigns as one of my top priorities.
[[ "Shopme: Ikea light pink table lamp catch your eye? Complete your order now, your home will be thrilled
http://shopme.us/I/OH/"
Text STOP to UNSUBSCRIBE "]]
4. Inform customers about products that are back
These messages go out to those customers who love your products and couldn't buy their favourite products because they are currently out of stock or unavailable. These customers are sandwiched between the desire and action stages of the AIDA model. Do not keep them hanging! Send them a follow-up message as soon as their product is in stock.
[[ "Hey {Jeff} Good news! The product you inquired about IKEA HYLLIS LAMP TABLE model no: 687-900-100 is in stock as of May 16th 2022. Since this is one of our most-bought products we urge you to click on the link and buy it today!
{insert link here}
Thank you for being patient and shopping at IKEA!
text STOP to UNSUBSCRIBE" ]]
5. Collect customer feedback
Customer feedback is the cornerstone of any successfully run business. Continuous feedback not only allows the management to know where there are bottlenecks but also allows the business to improve its existing portfolio of products and services and in some cases, generate new ones as well.
[[ "Hi there! How was your experience with Capital1 finance?
Please reply with the following numbers as your feedback:
Great--(4)
Good--(3)
Fair--(2)
Poor--(1)
Thank you!
Text STOP to UNSUBSCRIBE" ]]
6. Providing Text-based customer service The saying "Take care of your customers, and they will take care of you" remains timeless. Providing well-rounded customer service through effective customer service campaigns can work wonders for your business in the long run.
This is especially useful for businesses that have a mobile workforce, like plumbers, delivery drivers, or rental car drivers.
[[ "Thank you for choosing Hertz! The number 1 in Rent-a-car. Your order number is 123456 and your rental is due in 8 hours. Your drop location is OAK DRIVE located at 322 OAK ST VANCOUVER BC.
If you would like to extend the hours please reply by entering 3122 and the number of hours you would like the rental to be extended. Thank you and we look forward to helping you with any queries that you may have, dial 312-21220-01 to get in touch with our customer support or text SUPPORT to 3122 and we will have one of our support staff call you back." ]]
7. Reviews
92% of customers trust reviews from friends, family members and other customers [[ "Hi {Jeff}! If you loved the IKEA PINK TABLE LAMP MODEL NO 818-265-11 that you recently bought, share the love by clicking on the link below and giving us your feedback and rating.
{insert link here}
Your feedback is invaluable to not just us, but 100s of other customers as well.
Thank you!
Text STOP to UNSUBSCRIBE" ]]
8. Promoting online and in-person events
Do you have an upcoming Podcast? Event? Webinar? Blog? Content?
Let your audience know about it through an event campaign.
When you are creating an event campaign make sure to:
- Date, time, and location of your event
- A CTA to encourage people to buy tickets or sign up
- A link to your website or event page for your audience to sign-up
- Details about what attendees can expect
- Hashtags to promote on social media
- Emoji's to increase engagement
[[ "Join our live webinar on the 31st of Dec at 4:00 PM to hear Dr Muhammed Ali talking about the "Biggest technologies that will take over our lives in 2023".
Only limited seats are available, book yours today by clicking the link--> {insert link here}
Text STOP to UNSUBSCRIBE" ]]
9. Starting a VIP program
Many companies, especially e-commerce companies have a VIP program for their customers.
A VIP program may constitute special deals, delivery times, turnaround times, priority support etc, all for customers willing to pay a few extra dollars.
You can create a VIP promotional event campaign for your existing customers and new leads to get them on board.
[[ "Hi {Jeff}! We are excited to announce Shopmore's VIP program starting on Monday next week.
By joining our VIP program you get:
Products delivered in 1 day
Turnaround times of 2-3 days for custom-made items
24x7 priority support
Exclusive deals, rewards, and discounts before our non-VIP customers
Upgrade your account to VIP for just $25 extra a month
See you there!
Text STOP to UNSUBSCRIBE" ]]
That brings us to the end of this article, we hope you found it useful and we hope you integrate the strategies mentioned in this article into your marketing campaigns.
Good luck!
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Check out the other articles from TXTImpact to turbocharge your SMS marketing efforts:
1. https://www.txtimpact.com/blog/Text-Message-Appointment-Reminder-For-Dentist-Office
2. https://www.txtimpact.com/blog/7-benefits-of-appointment-reminders
3. https://www.txtimpact.com/blog/5-highly-effective-text-messaging-strategies-to- boost-business
5. https://www.txtimpact.com/blog/7-automatic-text-reply-prompts-for-your-business