SMS Trending In 2022 Marketing
SMS marketing is on the rise. Text messages can be read quickly, are easy to respond to and perfect for communicating something simple. Physical stores are using texted coupons or sales notifications to draw customers to their location. Other businesses are using SMS to keep customers updated about the status of their order or changing details regarding their event or service.
Have you created or updated your SMS marketing strategy for 2022 yet?
Why Create an SMS Strategy?
SMS has a high open and conversion rate compared to other marketing communication strategies. Have you ever spent hours brainstorming ways just to get customers to open your emails? Because 98% of messages sent through SMS are opened compared to 20% on average for emails. Plus, they’re opened faster. Text messages are typically read within less than five minutes of being sent.
And customers prefer texting over other forms of communication. 48% of consumers say they prefer SMS as the mode of communicating all brand updates. Why? A text message is quick, easy, and efficient. No need for long blocks of text or fancy designs to create a whole experience. A text message gets to the point quickly.
How to Create an SMS Strategy
But how do you use SMS for your marketing? Make sure to make it personalized, use a 10-digit number, and use SMS as a tool that works with the other marketing communications you currently have.
Make it Personalized
As with every marketing move this year, keep your SMS strategy personalized. Use a customer’s name. Use something you know about them in the text. For example, target customers in a specific state and tie a current weather event to their need for your business. Or target customers who love football and use that angle to build a relationship with the customer based on the upcoming Super Bowl.
But remember, marketing strategies don’t stop when people make a purchase. You can use text messages to keep people updated about their order or promote repeat business.
Use a Real-Looking Number
Good first impressions start with any sense of familiarity you can give a customer. For SMS, this means using a real-looking phone number. In the past you may have seen companies text you using a short number, about 6 digits long. You know immediately the text is from a company, not a real person.
But rising issues including spam have made many companies move over to a 10-digit long code, or 10DLC. This is good, as a 10DLC will appear as a normal 10-digit phone number to a customer and increase their chances of reading your message.
Use SMS and Email Together
This is all not to say you should now choose between email or SMS for your marketing. They can work really well together. Email and SMS are different forms of communication with their own strengths and weaknesses that can balance each other out.
Email is long-form content. SMS is short-form content. These two strategies can complement each other if used together. For example, in one campaign you can use a text message to introduce a sale happening for your business. In the email you send next, you can go into more detail: what is on sale, why they should be excited, and directly link them to shop with you. Every communication strategy you use should add another layer of depth.
Marketing with SMS
SMS is one more tool you can use to keep in contact with your leads and customers. It is a form of communication many people use today. And one that is viewed and replied to quicker than other modes communicating. Organizing a text campaign can be faster than email or social media marketing because you don’t need to worry about graphics or long-form content. SMS is a fantastic option for businesses looking to get a quick update out to their followers and customers.
