Beginner’s Guide to SMS Marketing for Small Business

It can be easy to forget the humble SMS in the jungle of messaging services from Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, LinkedIn and so on. The problem is that many of the newer services are saturated. 

That’s why many businesses are now benefiting from using old-fashioned text messages as a marketing channel. Want to get in on the action? Then read on…

In this article, we’ll cover the following:

• What text marketing is and why it works
• Useful tips for SMS marketing strategy
• Text message marketing examples
• Why you should use a business SMS platform

Ready to learn more about why there’s so much hype around text messages? Let’s dive in.

What Is Text Marketing?

Text marketing, or SMS marketing, is quite simply the practice of advertising your products or services to potential or existing customers through text messaging. 

On the face of it, text marketing may seem no different from other marketing strategies. After all, isn’t it just another form of communication you can use to get your message across?

True.

But text marketing offers some interesting benefits that you won’t enjoy with other types of marketing channels, such as email, social media, and PPC ads. 

So let’s have a look at how exactly text marketing sets itself apart.

Why Use SMS Marketing?

When you, as a business owner or marketer, consider different marketing tactics, you have to do so in the context of your budget. Put differently, which methods will give you the most bang for your buck?

Look at these statistics about SMS marketing and consider the ROI:

• The average SMS is read within three minutes of being received. 
• There’s an over 90% open rate for text messages (compared to 6-20% for emails)
• Text messages have an impressive 45% response rate.

Take a moment to consider which other channels of communication will be opened, read, and responded to on the same level as text marketing. They’re far and few in between.

But that’s not all — here are some more benefits of SMS marketing:

• Recipients don’t need an internet connection to receive a text message.
• SMS inboxes don’t have a spam filter that’ll catch your messages.
• Your message won’t have as much competition as it would on other channels.

That last point is perhaps the most important one. Whereas your message could easily be drowned out and missed in a cluttered email inbox or Facebook newsfeed, it’ll be clearly visible in the SMS inbox.

How to Do Text Message Marketing

Now that we’ve covered what SMS marketing is and why it’s so beneficial, you’re probably eager to learn about the actual SMS marketing strategy and send bulk SMS campaigns. Let’s have a look at some tips below!

1. Keep It Short and Sweet

SMS messages have a character limit, just like tweets do on Twitter. In this case, you have 160 characters at your disposal, so make sure you keep your message short and sweet.

2. Segment Your Audiences

As with email marketing, it’s important that you segment your audience so you only send recipients content that is relevant to them. Otherwise, they’ll quickly unsubscribe to your list.

3. Always Include a CTA

Calls-to-action are important in all forms of marketing, and text messages are no exception. Make sure you include a CTA in your SMS and that you make use of branded links to build trust. 

4. Offer Text-Only Deals

Your audience may already subscribe to your mailing list and follow you on social media. So it’s important that you keep them engaged on SMS by offering them text-only deals as an incentive. 

5. Get the Timing Right

Your audience has other things to do in the course of the day, so the timing of your message is important. The most common time of day to send out text marketing messages is around noon.

Text Message Marketing Examples

Chances are you’ve already experienced text message marketing personally. Maybe you’ve received an offer from your local pizza delivery service. But what other examples are there?

1. Deals and Discounts

One of the most common examples of text message marketing is the exclusive offer. Got a two-for-one deal or a 75% time-limited discount on your products or services? Text it!

2. News and Sneak Peeks

SMS is also a great way to make brief announcements about company news. You can also give your SMS subscribers an exclusive sneak peek on a new product or event you’re planning. 

3. Booking Confirmations and Reminders

Text marketing can be a useful way to confirm any bookings or appointments, such as for restaurants and dentists. You can also remind people of their booking closer to the time. 

4. Dispatch Alerts and Order Notifications

If you’re in the eCommerce space, then SMS is also a handy tool. You can use it to alert customers of when their orders have been dispatched and in the case of delivery issues.

5. Customer Feedback and Surveys

Finally, you can utilize text message marketing to gather valuable insights from your target audience. Ask them for feedback on your service or send them a short survey to complete.

Why Use A Business SMS Platform?

By now, you may be sold on the concept of SMS marketing but not the prospect of having to send out messages all day. Fortunately, you don’t have to do that. 

Business SMS platforms make it a breeze.

You can send, receive, and reply to text messages online just like you would do with email or any other online messaging system. You can also create distribution lists to segment your audiences, and integrate your SMS marketing with your website and other web applications. 

What about SMS marketing pricing? Won’t it cost a fortune?

Not at all — there are many affordable text marketing options. 

In fact, it’s a lot cheaper to use a business SMS platform that it would be to use your own phone plan. Most platforms use a pay-as-you-go system so you can easily monitor and control your budget. And unlike many personal phone plans, you can cancel at any time and have any remaining credit refunded. 

Ready to Join the SMS Renaissance?

Hopefully, you’ve found this guide to SMS marketing for small business a useful starting point. If you’re eager to get started, then check out these 42 ready-made text message templates you can use for your own business. 

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