Although SMS marketing or SMS messaging is a potent tactic, it’s crucial to constantly respect the channel and your audience. We discuss appropriate behaviour as well as, more crucially, inappropriate behaviour.
Your clients text their partners, kids, family members, and close friends to stay in touch. It’s a pleasure to have access to their text messages, so you want to make sure you make the most of this chance. Here is all you need to know to ensure that you are effectively employing this kind of communication while avoiding upsetting your clients.
SMS messaging: What is it?
SMS messaging or SMS marketing is the practice of using short messaging services to transmit marketing-related promotional campaigns or transactional communications (SMS). Most likely, you refer to it as texting.
These messages are perfect for engaging with busy people who are on the go as well as for time-sensitive offers and updates for mobile users.
Why SMS Messaging Is Important
In addition to providing a different communications channel, SMS messaging has an average open rate that is much greater than email.
Although greater open rates don’t necessarily translate into better response and click-through rates, they do indicate that more individuals are seeing and reading your communications.
What You Must Do for SMS Messaging
Get approval
You must obtain consent from your contacts before launching your SMS Gateway campaign so that you may send them SMS messages. Always explain in detail how you intend to utilise a customer’s mobile phone number when requesting it, allowing them to determine whether or not they are happy to provide it. Additionally, you should confirm that your strategy for using the acquired data complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a legislation on data protection and security.
Create an opt-in technique if you want to obtain more consenting phone numbers.
You may invite your audience to opt-in in a variety of ways, such by providing a perk to join your text messaging list, adding an opt-in option in an email, and cross-promoting the option on your social network pages.
Make Certain Your Text Has Meaning
Every communication you send needs to be valuable to the recipient, whether it be news about sales, invites to events, or alerts about limited-time deals. Remember the significance of segmentation as well. You won’t frequently want to send an SMS message to all of your customers. Frequent buyers, one-time buyers, geography, stage of the buying process, and website activity are a few examples of list segments.
Text Personalization
Keep in mind that SMS texting gives you access to your contact’s mobile phone. The majority of their text messages come from their loved ones, close friends, and coworkers, therefore now is not the time to adopt a pushy demeanour. Keep the language informal and personalised. Likewise, always address them by their given name. The standard greeting “Hello there” has no place in a text message.
Funnelfly makes it simple to customise your SMS messages. You can customise each message for each contact by using the account’s variables, such as the first name of the client, the name of the business, the nature of the industry, etc.
Keep It Brief
Keep your communications brief and concise. Paragraph-long texts are not appropriate for SMS Gateway. The majority of people view texts as a short means of communication when they are on the go, thus they are unlikely to read longer texts, but they are more likely to become irritated by them. There should only be a few phrases in the message, and there should always be a clear call to action. To avoid being divided into numerous messages, try to limit the length of your SMS messages to around 160 characters.
Shortened links allow you to use less characters so you have more time to tell your narrative.
What Not To Do in SMS Messaging
Sent fewer messages than necessary
Never send an excessive number of SMS to your contacts. Nobody enjoys receiving a barrage of texts, especially on their personal phone.
Since text messages have a very high open rate, there is usually a reason why your contacts are not replying or taking the desired action. Either your messaging is not capturing their attention, or the receiver is not a suitable fit. Consider changing your approach and segmentation instead of sending additional SMS through the SMS gateway. You could want to try a new audience or adjust your call to action. Or maybe you’re sending your mails on the incorrect day or at the wrong hour. It can require some patience.
Remember to “Unsubscribe”
Don’t assume that everyone knows they may answer with “Stop” or “Unsubscribe” to be removed. Make it explicit in your texts that customers may reply “Stop” to stop receiving SMS communications in the future. Sending a welcome letter informing contacts of their options once they enrol is a fantastic method to do this.
Sending relevant messages at the ideal moment is the greatest approach to stop your contacts from unsubscribing. However, be truthful and let them know how to unsubscribe from your mails at any time. A group of irate consumers receiving communications they don’t want and complaining to others about how angry they are with your brand is absolutely not what you want.
Remember the call to action
The most crucial aspect of your message can be the Call to Action (CTA). Without a compelling and distinct call to action, your contact will be forced to make inferences and is more likely to ignore your message and get on with their busy day. You can determine who is interested in your product or service using the CTA. Make sure your CTA is simple to grasp and complete since if a lead completes one, they are seen to be a highly qualified lead. Clearly state what you want your contact to accomplish. You can ask them to carry out one of the following actions:
- Go to a link.
- Fill out the form.
- Answer the text.
To improve the probability that your contact will take action, you could even want to provide a reward for completing the CTA. This might be entrance into a drawing for a gift card or other item, access to a How-to Guide or eBook with special material, a momentary discount on a specific item, a service upgrade, or a limited-time discount (iPad, AirPods, etc.).
SMS messaging opportunities
Almost any message you would send via email can be sent using SMS Gateway as long as you remember to keep it brief.
Below, we’ve included some of the most effective SMS Gateway strategies for B2B and eCommerce businesses:
Call and Demo
Nothing is worse than dialling a lead at a certain time and getting no answer or joining a demo where the lead does not appear. When you inquire further to find out what transpired, you discover that they either just forgot the call was for today or they were disoriented.
This is why it’s beneficial to send your lead a reminder, and SMS is the ideal method to employ.
The message must be succinct and understandable. Remind your contact of your identity and the purpose of your follow-up. In the message, either include a link to your meeting or mention that you’ll phone them when it’s time to meet.
Rapid Check-In
Move your conversations away from email and develop a relationship with your clients using SMS texting.
Building a repertoire with the lead is the foundation of sales. This is made possible through SMS texting, which converts your conversations from email to text messages.
