SMS marketing, what is it and how do you use it for best effect?
In recent years, there has been a major change in customer behaviour, marketing channels and customer expectations.
In this digital age, the old tricks are becoming more outdated. Customers now expect swift responses and personalised messages all throughout the journey.
And to keep track of all of this, you need traceable and adaptable marketing channels that support the evolving customer trends.
SMS marketing has therefore exploded in popularity, as it covers all points of what the customers expect, and what you need. Think of it as an extension of your email marketing or as the "new revolutionary" evolution. But today we will go through what it is, why it is good, and how you can grow your business with SMS.
Lets go!
So what is SMS marketing?
When we talk about SMS (Short Message Service), we're talking about messages of up to 160 characters between phones. An SMS can include everything from plain text and numbers to emojis.
Like e-mail, SMS has developed into a valuable marketing channel that allows brands to contact consumers with personalised messages and also measure the degree of open rates, clicks and conversions.
Of course, there is also MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) which can sometimes be used for content such as video, images, audio and GIF files in text messages.
In just a few years, SMS has become one of the strongest marketing channels for e-retailers, but also for many other industries.
With a service like Jojka, you can personalize, segment and automate your text messages to increase sales, build customer relationships and encourage engagement with your customers.
How your e-commerce can use SMS marketing
Just like email, you can use SMS to capture unengaged customers, reward VIP customers, send out abandoned cart reminders or send out promotions/offers.
SMS has the absolute best response of all direct marketing channels. You often see over 90% open rate and a very high click-through rate (CTR) on campaigns. An SMS channel also gives you the opportunity to offer an "exclusive" club for your customers where they'll be the first to take part in everything that you have to offer.
You should see SMS as a 'better' alternative to emails. Sure, it's harder to build an SMS list than an email, but the results are always much better.
Why is SMS marketing so effective?
Our mobile numbers are very personal and are rarely changed since a portion of our daily lives are connected to them.
In addition to family and friends in your contact list, there may also be bills linked to the number, or services such as Swish/venmo/cashapp or other P2P services.
Due to the GDPR, SMS marketing requires the consent of the customer in the form of an opt-in. This makes your SMS list extremely valuable, as the customers on it have approved that you contact them with your news and offers - it means that they simply love and trust your brand enough to give you their personal information.
For marketers, text messages appear as a channel that is uniquely data-informed and measurable. Because SMS receives an immediate response, it allows you to customize your strategy in real time to create conversions.
SMS is an invaluable tool for customer contact and sales in a variety of industries:
- E-commerce brands convert mobile users through relevant text messages, such as important news, new product launches or abandoned cart ..
- Physical stores increase visitor traffic to their stores with site-specific campaigns via segmentation.
- Restaurants use text messaging to build your customer loyalty with special offers or discounts.
- Entertainment brands and influencers get in touch with their fans by marketing goods and events.
- Media and publishing companies can increase page views and get paid subscriptions via SMS by segmenting their audience based on interests and past behaviors, such as topics they care about most and stories they have read.
SMS marketing has grown enormously due to changes in consumer behavior, but also the digital growth. Customers now expect faster response, more personalized marketing and face-to-face communication with their favorite brands.
Continue reading and we will tell you how to use SMS in the best way.
Best practice - tips for SMS marketing
Before sending any text messages, make sure that your program meets legal and regulatory requirements. According to the GDPR, the following (and more) applies:
- Create an opt-in. Subscribers must explicitly consent to receive SMS.
- This opt-in must be separate from your email marketing.
- You need to clearly explain to potential subscribers what types of messages they will receive and how to opt out of them.
- You must respect opt-out requests.
To learn more about how to build a good SMS strategy, please see our articles here.
Reading tips:
How to send your first marketing SMS
How Jojka helps your e-commerce grow
Use data
Data is just as important and works in the same way as email marketing does. With the right data, you can create personalised texts that are completely tailored to different people, situations, places, age groups, target groups and steps in the customer journey.
Depending on how you integrate Jojka and the type of data you collect, you have the opportunity, with reporting and analytics, to always create more effective campaigns. By reviewing your previous campaigns, you can easily see what is going well and what is not going well in order to improve the strategy for better results.
Start now - better late than never
Email, which has long been the king of direct marketing, has seen lower and lower averages on its metrics in recent years.
Times change, and so do customers. Nowadays, customers expect direct contact with the brand, usually via social media. Or in this case, SMS.
Digital ads have also seen a decrease in effectiveness due to the new rules for iOS14.5 and iOS15. If there's ever a time to put your eggs in multiple baskets, it's now. Diversify your marketing channels!
Personalized SMS gives the effect that the brand speaks directly to the customer and that the brand is available for feedback and answers.
It's also been proven that most customers are interested in receiving offers via SMS, but there are still many businesses who think otherwise. This, of course, gives you an edge in securing new traceable revenue and new customers.
Grow your list
To be able to use SMS marketing effectively, you first need to focus on your subscriber list.
The requirement for opt-in must be taken seriously, but the process does not have to be complicated. It is usually enough with a clickable check box where the customer fills in that they want to receive promotions and offers via SMS.
Pop-up windows are a great way to bring in new subscribers. It can often also be necessary (at least in the beginning) to provide a valuable incentive to get the customer to leave their number. This can be anything in the form of a discount code, an offer, a first-pick on product launches/sales or the like.
Measure and optimize: As you begin to expand your list, keep an eye on performance and monitor growth statistics to understand where you gather the most opt-ins. Analyzing and implementing your list growth strategy over time will help you continue to scale your list.
Now you know where SMS marketing is and how it is best used! We recommend that you read further in our blog to find out more about how you can get better at SMS.
