If you are searching for a new form of marketing, stop! You’ve found it.
Over the last decade, mobile marketing experts have seen an increase in marketing through a technology called SMS messaging or texting.
With the way society has evolved, the ability to instantly connect with consumers has changed on a daily basis. It’s important to realize that people are always on the go.
SMS marketing is also a cost-effective solution for businesses of all sizes. Because it’s such an effective channel, many companies are jumping on board to try it out.
But is it right for your business?
We’ve got you covered. This guide will walk you through SMS marketing basics, examples, and best practices to even step you through creating an SMS campaign of your own.
What Is SMS Marketing?
SMS marketing is a tool to send your customers text messages. You can use it to announce new products, coupons, sales, etc.
SMS marketing is one of the most effective ways of communicating with your customers. You can use SMS for many different purposes, including promotion, communication, broadcasting, etc.
You can use SMS to send your customers special offers and discounts on their birthdays or any other occasion they choose. Sending an SMS message to your customer is quick and easy. It takes only seconds!
Is SMS Marketing Legal?
As with any business practice, it’s essential to understand SMS marketing laws before sending your first campaign.
The good news is that most countries have laws regulating commercial communication by phone. All members of the European Union have agreed on standard rules for sending commercial SMS messages (also known as “short message service” or “text messaging”).
Why Do You Need SMS Marketing?
Businesses of all sizes can benefit from SMS marketing. It’s a great way to increase customer loyalty, promote new products and services, and drive sales.
SMS marketing is an effective way to reach customers who may not be actively searching for your business. It allows you to build relationships with your customers before they ever become customers, making it easier to convert them into paying customers later on.
Why Is SMS Marketing So Effective?
SMS marketing is one of the fastest-growing channels in marketing today.
Why?
Because it’s simple to set up and use, it’s convenient, and people are used to receiving text messages on their phones. ( We can see it in detail in the upcoming section)
SMS’s key advantage over other forms of communication is its speed. Text messages can be sent quickly, which means they’re often read more rapidly than emails or direct mail pieces.
If you have something urgent to communicate, like an offer or sale, then SMS is an excellent channel for communicating it quickly with your customers.
7 SMS marketing Examples For Your Business
SMS marketing is a great way to keep your customers coming back for more. It’s also an excellent tool for getting new customers through the door.
Here are seven SMS marketing examples you can use in your business:
1. Promotions and discounts
Offering promotions through SMS can increase the number of customers who purchase from you while encouraging them to spend more on each transaction. You could provide a valid discount code for 24 hours or give a time limit on any other special offer.
2. Customer service
SMS is widely used by consumers for customer service queries — especially in industries such as hospitality, where there may be no telephone line available for customer contact.
Using SMS as part of your customer service strategy means that you can respond quickly and efficiently to any questions or concerns raised by your customers.
3. Lead generation
SMS is a great way to generate leads because it’s so easy for people to opt in by sending a text message back to you. If you’re running a lead generation campaign, sending out text messages with links would be an effective way of getting people interested in what you have to offer.
You can also send out automated responses when someone sends a text message containing specific keywords to get information about what they’re looking for right away.
4. Loyalty programs
Loyalty programs are a great way to keep customers coming back and spending more money with you. By sending them special offers, discounts, and promotions via SMS, you can help them feel appreciated and incentivize them to continue buying from you.
It is particularly effective for businesses that sell various products or services, as it allows them to target specific customers based on their past behaviors.
5. Customer engagement
Customer engagement is another way that SMS can work wonders for your business. Sending out automatic thank-you texts after every purchase shows that you care about your customers and helps build trust between the two parties.
For example, if someone purchases something online but doesn’t receive an immediate confirmation email or text, they might worry about an error or mistake in the system.
An automated message confirming an order eliminates customer worry and increases customer satisfaction with your brand and product or service.
6. Upselling
You can use SMS marketing for upselling. You can send these messages to customers who have already purchased a product or service, asking them if they would like to buy the same product or service at a lower price.
The message should indicate an invitation to buy the same good or service at a lower price. You don’t want to look like you’re trying to trick people into spending more money than intended!
7. Customer onboarding
SMS marketing is a great way to welcome new customers and remind them of the value of your products or services. You can use SMS to send a welcome message and follow up with additional information on how to use your product or service, upcoming events, etc.
Top 7 benefits of SMS marketing
1. It’s cheap
SMS marketing costs less than other forms of advertising such as print, radio, and TV. The only expense involved in the cost of sending the message. There are no printing costs, no airtime costs, or equipment rental fees to worry about.
2. It’s flexible
With SMS marketing, you can use different approaches for different campaigns, such as sending an automated message on a particular day of the week or period to catch people with limited data plans at their most receptive moments (i.e., during lunch hour).
You can also send messages on specific dates or occasions, such as birthdays or holidays, and personalize them based on demographic information about your customers (age, gender, etc.). It allows you to target your audience more effectively than other advertising methods.
3. It’s a personal connection
SMS marketing allows you to connect with your customers personally. Other forms of digital communication don’t.
For example, when you send an SMS message, it’s delivered immediately and directly to a person’s phone — this makes it feel more like an actual conversation than an email or social media post.
4. It’s more targeted
SMS marketing is highly targeted because it only reaches people who have opted to receive messages from your business.
And because the messages are sent via text, recipients can read them on their own time, at their convenience — they don’t have to stop what they’re doing or wait for someone else to send it along.
5. It’s easy to set up
SMS marketing is simple to set up and use. You can use a service like BayEngage or create your SMS gateway. The setup process is simple and doesn’t require any special knowledge of coding or development skills.
6. Its response is quick
You can send messages to your customers in seconds, which means you can respond quickly when something urgent happens — such as a price change or an announcement about new products or services — that your customers need immediate attention.
What’s the difference between SMS and MMS?
SMS stands for short message service, while MMS means multimedia messaging service. The difference is that SMS refers to text messages, while MMS refers to messages with a picture or video.
SMS was introduced in 1992 and is part of the GSM/EDGE standard. It can only send 160 characters per message and is limited to 160 characters (including spaces). It also has a maximum size limit of 70 KB.
MMS was introduced in 2002 as an extension of SMS. MMS can send photos, videos, audio clips, and other media files to anyone with a compatible phone. Your carrier sets the maximum size of an MMS message at 2 to 4 MB.
Next steps for your SMS marketing strategy
The next step for your SMS marketing is implementing the strategy and tactics you’ve been learning about.
It may be scary, but it’s also exciting!
If you’re ready to start using SMS marketing, the first step is getting a text-marketing software tool.
Now, think about the kind of experience you want to create for your customers. Do you like to offer them a text-only tool, or do you want to introduce them to a full suite of tools like BayEngage’s that includes campaign, automation, and even emails for a seamlessly integrated experience?
Why Choose BayEngage For Your Next SMS Campaign
List of features that makes BayEngage stand out from others:
- Get a dedicated bulk text shortcode
- Dedicated toll-free number
- Setup & onboarding assistance
- Optimize the checkout page for collecting phone numbers on the checkout
- Design assistance
- 24/7 support assistance
- Unlimited keywords
- Scheduled texts
- Custom fields
- 2-way communication
- Segments
- MMS marketing
- Templates
- Analytics
- Sms automation
- Multiple opt-in methods
- Free compliance guide
- Automated compliance text
- Easy unsubscribe
- Effortless privacy policies
Here’re simple steps to get started BayEngage’s SMS marketing software:
1. Log in to your BayEngage account, and click “SMS” on the left side of the screen.
2. Go to SMS Settings and fill out the information required to start your SMS campaigns.
3. Once you’ve finished setting up the essentials of your SMS campaign, move on to setting up keywords like STOP, YES, and UNSTOP.
( You can also use special keywords in your promotional messages, like OFFER, GREATDEAL, and DISCOUNT.)
4. Now, it’s time to send your opt-in message and track the result for future SMS campaigns.
Get Started With SMS Marketing
In a nutshell, texting is the best way to reach your customers because they are already in the habit of checking their phones when they hear them go off with a text alert.
The research backs it up, too- SMS offers an average six times higher response rate than email. So leverage the power of SMS marketing and reach out to your clients.
