Effective Marketing and Communication with SMS. Getting it right through ‘Good Practice’.

SMS Marketing. Getting it right through ‘Good Practice’.

Why Use SMS for Marketing Campaigns?

One of the main benefits of SMS (Short Message Service) marketing is how quickly it reaches users. In contrast to other forms of messaging, customers are far more likely to read and engage with a text the moment they receive it.
Text message marketing sends customers short, actionable messages containing promotional links, reminders, discount offers, and more. SMS is cost-effective and leads to a higher conversion rate than all other forms of written marketing.

Considering all this, you need to ensure you maximise the opportunity by following our ‘best practice’ guide for SMS marketing.

As mentioned above, SMS boasts greater immediacy and attention than other digital marketing methods. The interaction rates are undeniable:

• The open rate for SMS is above 95%. Push notifications pale in comparison, 3.10% for Android and 2.38% for iOS, and targeted Facebook Ads reach only 2% of their targeted audience.
• Response rates for push notifications, which require an app install, can take up to an hour, as opposed to only 3 seconds with an SMS message.

Enterprise companies in all verticals and sectors – including healthcare services, retail, gaming, finance, and many more utilise SMS marketing. Even small businesses, from Hairdressers and garages to Dentists, use SMS to send booking requests, reminders, and coupons directly to customers’ mobile devices. Plus, with some SMS platforms, you can engage customers even more by sending Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) picture messages, emojis, calendar invites, polls, and surveys.

Before we impart our knowledge and top ‘best practice’ tips, here is some additional information to help you better understand why we follow our best practice guide.

SMS marketing is a highly effective way to communicate with your customers. It strengthens customer engagement, works well alongside other marketing strategies, and is supported on all mobile devices (of which there are Billions). In addition, it is cost-effective and has a considerably higher open rate than emails.

The advantages of SMS are:

• SMS is widely used. Unlike most other instant messaging apps and social chat platforms, SMS is not an app and does not require downloading or updating.
• Around 95% of SMS messages are opened, and 90% are read within 3 minutes of receipt, meaning any call to action included in the messages is immediately actioned.
• Extremely cost-effective. You can reach each consumer for pennies or less. But average prices range between £30 and a couple of hundred pounds per month for thousands of text messages.
• SMS marketing is easily integrated into your marketing strategy
• It is reliable.
• SMS is versatile.

What are the rules and best practices for effective SMS marketing?

Use these SMS marketing best practices to maximise the efficiency of your SMS campaigns:

1. Identify yourself. Make your identity known, as customers need to know who sends them SMS text messages. Other marketing methods than SMS marketing provide more immediate brand visibility. Instead of a firm email address or smartphone app logo, clients have a random phone number to go to when they receive a text message from a business. Identify your business to the customer in every text using this marketing method.

2. Respect privacy and security concerns. Be aware that people are hesitant to click on links coming from unknown phone numbers. Optimise your messaging to offer verifiable evidence that you represent the company you claim to represent to promote a higher click-through rate. Avoid texting requests for credit card numbers or other transactional data. Additionally, for a more individualised touch, it’s beneficial to pick an SMS marketing service provider that sends out individual rather than group texts.

3. Ask customers to opt-in to receive messages. SMS marketing texts must be understood as a two-way conversation from the first text you send to a new client. From the beginning of your engagement, provide every consumer with a clear choice to accept or reject upcoming SMS messages. You can programme an autoresponder to give them a follow-up confirmation if they answer positively. To determine whether you can change your messaging to attract more opt-ins, keep watching your positive versus negative response rates.

4. Time your messages well. Consider the time zones of your customers while using SMS marketing messages. You’ll have a better chance of boosting brand awareness by ensuring that updates reach your users’ smartphones while awake. You can still send out bulk SMS messages, but to ensure you do it at predetermined hours or without any restrictions or controls, employ software that can search contact databases. Operating a consistent drip campaign over a prolonged period is preferable rather than continuously barraging the customer with updates and promos.

5. Offer immediate value. Use the immediacy of SMS marketing to offer your customers a sense of real-time value. Please provide them with a timely call to action (CTA). For instance, you could announce a short-term discount on a new product or information about a flash sale. These mobile marketing solutions to customer needs can quickly generate conversions and foster a more efficient and enjoyable customer experience.

6. Provide an opportunity to unsubscribe. Just as potential customers need to be able to opt-in to receive text messages initially, current SMS subscribers need the option to stop receiving messages at any given point. Ultimately, it’s better for both you and your customers to view SMS messages as welcome surprises instead of intrusive pop-ups. Marketing automation tools make unsubscribing easy for both companies and customers. SMS marketing platforms can automatically log new and cancelled subscriptions, streamlining the general workflow.

7. Use texts for real-time updates. In your SMS marketing efforts, use this tool for its innate ability to offer time-sensitive updates and reminders. Your SMS marketing service provider can offer customers abandoned cart updates, appointment reminders, general notifications, order confirmations, and information about pricing changes.

8. Ensure the numbers you are contacting have opted-in to receive messages from you.

What is SMS delivery rate?

The proportion of sent SMS and MMS messages that reach their intended recipient is known as SMS Delivery. While SMS delivery might sometimes relate to the status of a particular message, it often measures the proportion of messages delivered as opposed to those intended.

How to improve SMS and MMS message deliverability
1. Clean your contact list.
2. Set up double opt-in to your subscriber list.
3. Don’t send spam messages.
4. Don’t send bulk SMS too fast.
5. Avoid sending links from domains you don’t control.
6. Two-way text with your customers.
7. Is it under 160 characters, including spaces?
8. Is your SMS going to the planned audience?
9. Is the mobile number formatted correctly?
10. Have you validated the number to ensure it is live on a network?
11. Personalise your SMS.
12. Create your send ID.
13. Do you want a reply? If so, a virtual mobile number is required.

What makes a good SMS?
You should make sure the text’s purpose is obvious. Provide instructions on how the recipient can use the information you’ve supplied if you want them to respond to your text.
Effective communication should have four things in particular.:

• Simplicity.
• Specificity.
• Structure.
• Stickiness.

Now that you understand “best practices” for achieving the best results with SMS marketing and communication, you need a solution to get your messages out there.
Let us tell you about the features and benefits of utilising Saascoms SMS platform and how we can assist you in developing SMS marketing campaigns using our world-class technology. We facilitate and manage millions of SMS each month for our clients.

Our team will design an SMS campaign based on your requirements.
We have a number of features to ensure best practise and maximising ROI.

• Reporting – see what SMS was delivered, remove failed and opt-out SMS from lists.
• Sasscoms have Tier 1 connections in over 350 countries means your SMS content is safe and secure, with the highest level of premium routing for maximising delivery.
• No set-up, commitment, training costs, or monthly hosting charges for any Mailmaster services. You pay for what you use per transaction.
• Our number validation service ensures your contact list is current.
• Saascoms have a message length checker on the platform, which will advise of charges.

Make contact to arrange a demonstration of our technology and to get started on a SMS marketing campaign that will undoubtedly get you the results you want.

One of the Saascoms team will give you a 1-0-1 guide and demonstration of our technology and how it will benefit your business.