Everything you need to know to create a successful SMS marketing strategy.
So you’re looking to take advantage of the benefits that come with SMS marketing, but how do you get started?
When it comes to developing an effective SMS campaign that engages and converts your audiences, you need first to understand the essential elements that come with SMS marketing.
Once you’ve mastered that, you’ll be sending high-performing messages to your customers in no time.
In this article, we’ll provide you with everything you need to get started building a successful SMS marketing strategy.
From setting a solid foundation to understanding the benefits, you can expect to see — by the time you’re done with this article, you’ll be ready to take on your own SMS strategy.
We’ll also provide you with a list of 10 SMS marketing platforms to help you better manage your strategy.
This will give you a place to start and identify potential companies you can partner with to improve your SMS marketing reach.
Here’s a quick rundown of what we’ll cover:
- The basic elements of SMS marketing
- The benefits of SMS marketing
- 10 SMS marketing platforms
The Basic Elements of SMS Marketing
When it comes to developing your SMS marketing plan, ClickSend describes a few things you’ll want to consider.
Before diving in too far, it’s important to build a solid foundation for your SMS marketing strategy.
To do this, you first need to understand the basic elements that make up SMS marketing.
In this section, we’ll take a look at a few elements that will help make your SMS messages successful. Each of these elements will help you to build your foundation and set your campaigns up for success.
Call to Action
All of your SMS messages should have a call to action that tells the recipient what their next step should be.
Having a call to action is one of the most important elements in a message because it leads the customer towards the action you want them to take.
This action can vary based on the goals of the message.
So during the campaign creation, you need to clearly identify why you’re sending each message and map out the actions you want your customers to take next.
Here are a few examples of call to actions you might include in an SMS message:
- Shop now
- Complete your purchase
- Learn more
- Download our helpful PDF
You want your call to action to be direct and let the recipient know what is going to happen next.
The more effective your call to action is, the more likely you are to convert customers and have a successful campaign.
Provide Value
Each SMS message you send needs to provide your customers with some sort of value.
If you continuously bombard your customers with general messages that don’t give them an incentive, they’ll likely unsubscribe sooner or later.
There are tons of different ways that you can add value to your messages to make them more appealing to your audiences.
Here are a few examples of how you can provide value for your subscribers:
- Offer a discount or coupon code
- Give them the information they need
- Send transactional messages
- Provide time-sensitive alerts
However, you choose to do it, make sure you’re providing your customers with something of value.
If your subscribers don’t feel they are receiving enough value from your SMS messages, they will quickly unsubscribe.
Don’t Forget the URL
Including a URL in your SMS message is just as crucial as crafting an attention-grabbing call to action.
If you forget to include a URL, then your customer will have nowhere to go once they receive the message.
Adding a URL to your message is a very simple process, you just have to make sure not to overlook this important step.
In most cases, all you need to do is paste the URL into the message, and the platform will automatically turn it into a clickable element.
One problem you may run into is the length of your URL.
SMS only allows you to send messages with 160 characters. This means that if you have a lengthy URL, it could be cutting into your valuable text space.
To solve this problem, you can create shortened URLs.
If you’re using an SMS marketing tool, it will most likely provide you with a way to shorten your
URLs to make the most out of your message.
Include Personalization
Adding personalization into your SMS marketing strategy is an excellent decision.
Not only will they resonate better with your audiences, but they will result in higher engagement and conversations.
There are plenty of different ways to incorporate personalization into your SMS messages. It all depends on how complex you want to get with your program.
You could start off simple by adding small touches like names, or you can use the data you have on hand to present something even more customized.
Here are a few examples of how you can add personalization to your SMS marketing campaigns:
- Use the customers name
- Include order specific data including confirmations and shipping details
- Leverage geographical area to send relevant messages
- Segment your list to send more targeted messages
However you choose to do it, personalization is an extremely important element in your SMS marketing strategy.
The more relevant your content is, the more likely your audiences are to click-through and engage.
The Benefits of SMS Marketing
SMS marketing provides businesses with a number of benefits. Whether you’re looking to improve customer engagement or understand campaign metrics for continuous improvement opportunities — SMS messages can help you achieve these goals.
In this section, we’ll take a closer look at a few of the benefits you can expect to see when implementing a Magento SMS integration marketing strategy.
Of course this isn’t a full list and there are plenty of other benefits that come with this channel, these are just a few highlights.
Improve Customer Engage Metrics
Using text messages to reach your customers is a great way to increase customer engagement.
Text messages have quickly become the preferred method of communication for people across all age groups and demographics.
This means that people now appreciate and want to receive SMS messages from the brands that they love.
This is just one of the reasons why SMS messages often outperform other marketing channels like email.
When you compare the engagement rates of email and SMS messages, it’s easy to see which channel is the most engaging. In fact, text messages have a 209% higher response rate than phone, email, or Facebook.
If improving custom engagement is one of your top priorities, you’ll definitely want to consider implementing an SMS marketing strategy.
Reach Them Anytime, Anywhere
When was the last time you left your house without your cell phone? Chances are good you can’t even recall when that was. This is likely the case for the majority of your customers, but also presents a huge opportunity.
With the growing adoption of smartphones, you can reach your customers anytime, anywhere.
Smartphone usage has continued to rise year after year. If you’re not using SMS messaging to reach your customers, you could be missing out on a direct opportunity to reach people where they’re most active. Image courtesy of Statista.
This means that whether they are sitting at home watching TV or out to dinner with friends, your message will make it to them. By leveraging this idea, you can reach a wider demographic and keep your brand top of mind for your customers.
Track Campaign Success
Collecting data and tracking the success of your campaigns is extremely important to continuously improving your marketing efforts. Luckily, SMS messages can easily be tracked and most marketing platforms provide you with detailed analytics on your campaigns.
Here are a few things that you’ll want to track with your SMS marketing campaigns:
- List growth rates
- List size
- Attrition rates
- Response rates
- Acquisition cost per subscriber
- Return on investment
The more you track, the more you’ll learn about who your customers are and what they want from your SMS messages. Taking time to review your metrics monthly will provide you with the data you need to identify areas of opportunity and put that data into action.
SMS Compliance and Regulations
We’ve already discussed how SMS is a great way to engage and interact with your customers, but you do need to keep some specific compliance and regulations in mind while developing these messages.
The two main governing agencies include the Cellular Telecommunications Industry ASsociation (CTIA) and the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
While we won’t go into a deep dive on these regulations, here are a few tips to help keep your SMS marketing efforts inline with these regulations:
- Follow the opt-in requirements
- Send a confirmation text
- Have a clear terms and conditions policy and make it visible
- Send messages at appropriate times
- Inform subscribers when you change your program
By following this general checklist, you’ll be off to a good start, but you’ll want to do a little more research before getting too far into your marketing efforts.
If you don’t follow these rules and regulations you could quickly find yourself receiving fines and with unhappy customers.
Maximize Your Efforts With the Right Tools
If you’re planning to dive into the world of SMS marketing, then you’re most likely going to want to invest in a platform that will help make your process more scalable.
Once you’ve grown your subscriber list beyond a few hundred, manually sending SMS messages will become unrealistic.
With the help of the right tool, you’ll be able to automate your messages, improve personalization, and see higher campaign metrics.
To help get you started on your search for the right tool, we’ve put together a list of 10 SMS platforms.
While each platform has its own pros and cons, this list will provide you with a great starting point.
Listrak is an integrated digital marketing platform that will allow you to create, manage, and expand your SMS marketing capabilities. Whether you’re just starting out or ready to integrate your SMS message into a cross-channel strategy — Listrak can help you achieve your goals.
SMS marketing is a great way to engage your customers and provide incentives that drive them back to your website. WIth the right tool in place, creating and sending these messages can be easier than ever before. Image courtesy of Listrak.
SMS marketing tools you’ll get:
- Broadcast and triggered SMS message capabilities to send general marketing messages and targeted action-based follow-ups
- Text-to-join acquisition and SMS keyword campaigns to grow your subscriber list and reach more customers
- Filtering abilities to send highly-targeted campaigns and make the most out of your SMS budget
- Tracking and compliance assistance to keep up on campaign success with the reassurance that you’re meeting all regulations
Price: Listrak provides customized pricing based on specific business needs
Current Customers: Soft Surroundings, DTLR Villa, Vineyard Vines, Journeys
Customer Testimonial: “Accelerated SMS subscriber sign-ups by implementing a Tap-to-Join Popup Campaign and saw SMS messages out-perform email during the holiday period.” – Listrak Customer Testimonial
TextMagic is an all-in-one bulk SMS service that can help your business manage your messaging needs from sending marketing campaigns to reminders and confirmations. This tool is a great solution for small businesses.
TextMagic makes sending SMS messages simple with an easy-to-use platform. With the ability to create, manage, and send all your messages in one location you can save time and create more comprehensive campaigns. Image courtesy of TextMagic.
SMS marketing tools you’ll get:
- Quickly and easily send bulk SMS messages to over 200 countries from one central platform
- Convert emails to SMS to make the most out of your marketing efforts on both channels
- Interact and engage with your customers by sending and receiving messages with two-way SMS chat capabilities
- Create SMS distribution lists that automatically convert emails to SMS messages
Price: TextMagic has a pay as you go plan that takes into consideration the countries you’ll be sending and provides you with a price per text
Current Customers: Maxus, Patronus, MarketplaceHomes, Koder
Customer Testimonial: “QiQ has used TextMagic for a year now. It is flexible in how we send and receive messages and it is cost-effective.” TextMagic Customer Testimonial
Birdeye is a marketing tool that will help you manage all of your SMS messaging needs. With solutions for both small business and enterprise-level companies, this platform has the ability to meet your current needs and grow with you.
With text templates, you can easily create customized SMS messages that provide your customers with the information they want and need. Image courtesy of Birdeye.
SMS marketing tools you’ll get:
- Send mass text messages to your customers to get the word out about your newest campaign or promotion
- Create one-to-one conversations to increase engagement and interaction
- Add personalization into your messaging strategy through personalized text templates
Price: There are three plan options that you can view pricing for by providing your contact information
Current Customers: David’s Bridal, OPTUM, Nissan, SquareTrade
Customer Testimonial: “I am now able to easily find, reply to, and act on reputation influencing moments with a speed and reach that I hadn’t before enjoyed. Birdeye is not only helping our digital presence remain current, but it is also providing invaluable information on patient experience.” – Birdeye Customer Testimonial
SimpleTexting is an SMS marketing platform that makes it easy and affordable to send text messages to your customers. Whether you’re looking to automate marketing campaigns or engage in two-way conversations — this tool can help you achieve your goals.
With the right tool, your text marketing strategy can be brought to life and simple to manage. From identifying keywords to segmenting your messages, it can all be done from one central platform. Image courtesy of SimpleTexting.
SMS marketing tools you’ll get:
- Automation capabilities that allow you to schedule texts and keep customers engaged with autoresponders
- Engage with your audiences through 2-way messaging to improve customer satisfaction and continue the conversation
- Grow your subscriber list by creating SMS keywords
- Improve message relevance by using real customer data and segmenting audiences for targeted campaigns
Price: pricing is dependant on how many messages you plan to send a month, pricing starts at $25 per month
Current Customers: Toro Eyewear, A-1 Self Storage, Delta Sonic, Eu Natural
Customer Testimonial: “The SimpleTexting team was incredible, even before I was a customer. Just when I was in the trial they had me up and rolling completely in a heartbeat. I don’t think I’ve ever had a better onboarding experience with that level of support and help. From sign-up to sending out thousands of these texts in an hour.” – SimpleTexting Customer Testimonial
Text-Em-All is an SMS marketing platform that will allow you to send personalized messages to your audiences. With experience in various industries such as business, health care, schools, no-profits, and more — Text-Em-All can help you no matter what industry your business is in.
Quickly create personalized messages that can be sent out to your entire subscriber base. With the right templates in place, you can cut down on production time and become more efficient in creating and sending SMS messages. Image courtesy of Text-Em-All.
SMS marketing tools you’ll get:
- Text templates that include custom fields to incorporate personalization into every messages
- Mass messages that are sent out quickly, no matter how large or small the subscriber list is
- The ability to schedule messages, reply to subscribers, and make opting out of messages easy
- Tracking and analytics capabilities to provide you with valuable insights on how your campaigns perform
Price: there are multiple plan options including a free plan, a pay as you go plan, a monthly plan starting at $7.50 per month, and customized plans for enterprise-level businesses
Current Customers: Republic Services, Chewy, Amazon, Bayada
Customer Testimonial: “The Text-Em-All mass text messaging platform allows me to reach our customers when needed to provide them important information concerning their accounts. This service is valuable in our business.” — Text-Em-All Customer Testimonial
SlickText is a SMS marketing tool that provides businesses with all of the features and automation capabilities needed to create high-performing text messages. Whether you’re looking to send mass messages or create personalized marketing campaigns — SlickText can help make the process easier.
SlickText provides you with an easy to use platform that will help you create, manage, and track all of your SMS marketing campaigns. Image courtesy of SlickText.
SMS marketing tools you’ll get:
- Easily send mass text messages with their streamlined process and get your messages out quicker
- Create unique short codes to continue growing your subscriber list and reaching more people
- Schedule your SMS messages to send on any date and time and create auto-replies for quick response times and to save yourself time
- Text to vote and survey capabilities that allow you to learn more about your audience and create engaging messages
Price: there are four plan options including the Basic plan starting at $29 per month, the Step Up plan starting at $49 per month, the Lil Bro plan starting at $79 per month, the Big Bro starting at $139 per month
Current Customers: FedEx, Lyft, Snap Fitness, Universal
Customer Testimonial: “I love the ease of operation that SlickText affords me. The back-end support & dashboard that SlickText has in place is top notch. Anyone could use this service & succeed.” — SlickText Customer Testimonial
ManyChat is a chat marketing tool that will allow you to manage all of your SMS marketing needs. Whether you’re looking to integrate more personalized content or just need a platform to manage and send your text messages — ManyChat can help you achieve your goals.
Easily personalize all of your SMS messages and provide your customers with the information they really need. From adding their name to the intro to identifying specific details like delivery and shipment dates — it all makes a big difference. Image courtesy of ManyChat.
SMS marketing tools you’ll get:
- Easily send messages promoting sales and share coupon codes with all of your contacts
- Create a cross channel marketing strategy by connecting your SMS messages with your Facebook Messenger and email efforts
- Send 1-to-1 messages that engage your audiences and provide personalized conversations
- Collect reviews and feedback to better understand what your customers want
Price: there are three plan options, the Free plan, the Pro plan starting at $10 per month, and a customizable Business plan
Current Customers: School of Bots, Rapid Fired Pizza, Neil Patel Digital
Customer Testimonial: “Chat Marketing is a huge opportunity for entrepreneurs to create lasting, profitable relationships with their customers. ManyChat makes that easy to do.” — ManyChat Customer Testimonial
EZ Texting is a texting platform that allows you to send mass alerts and notifications to your customers in a timely and efficient manner. From growing your subscriber list to sending personalized messages — EZ Texting has everything you need.
EZ Texting makes it easy to keep your customers engaged and provide them with the resources they need. Whether you’re looking to send mass emails or send appointment reminders, it can all be done with this platform. Image courtesy of EZ Texting.
SMS marketing tools you’ll get:
- Easily create contest and sweepstakes to engage your audiences and continue growing your subscriber list
- Send alerts to your customers to let them know about emergencies, event notifications, and appointment reminders
- Improve customer service with fast response times, scheduling and confirmations, and more
- Grow your subscriber list by converting your current customer to text opt-ins
Price: there are four plan options including, the Value plan starting at $19 per month, the Essentials plan starting at $29 per month, the Premium plan starting at $49 per month, and the Custom plan starting at $299 per month
Current Customers: Dominos, Empowered Solutions, Fidelis Freightm, Aeroflow
Customer Testimonial: “EZ Texting has been a vital part of Aeroflow’s business growth. By using text communications to connect with patients, we see greater business efficiency, happier patients, and top-line improvements.” — EZ Texting Customer Testimonial
Emotive allows eCommerce businesses to communicate, at scale, with their customers through conversational text messaging. This platform will make it easier to reach your customers and provide them with a personalized, relevant experience.
Creating two way conversations can help encourage customers to make a purchase and improve their experience with your brand. By creating flexible flows, you can move your subscribers down various paths depending on their needs. Image courtesy of Emotive.
SMS marketing tools you’ll get:
- Automated two way conversations that convert abandoned carts, upsell one time buyers, and more
- Personalize campaigns through segmentation and real-time behavioral data insights
- Review campaign insights to better understand the performance of your SMS marketing campaigns
- Create custom flows that allow you to edit messages at anytime and incorporate flexible customization
Price: pricing is customized based on specific business needs
Current Customers: Parade, Hum, Beardbrand, Welly
Customer Testimonial: “Emotive provides the ability to directly and quickly interact with our customers on a more personal level. We use Emotive not only to aid in sales conversion but as a customer service response tool as well.” — Emotive Customer Testimonial
Twilio is an SMS marketing platform that can help you grow your subscriber list and provide your customers with the messages they want. From improving messages based on real customer data to creating automated messages that react to customer interactions — Twilio can do it all.
Easily send, track, and manage all of your text marketing needs from one central platform. Twilio makes it easy to see exactly how the message is performing and what areas might need a little extra help. Image courtesy of Twilio.
SMS marketing tools you’ll get:
- Better understand your customer journey by tracking interactions across various platforms, including SMS messages
- Continue to grow your subscriber base with short codes and targeted campaigns
- Automate your current process by sending messages to your audience based on their behaviors and interactions
- Send surveys to your audiences via SMS messages to increase response rates and gather more valuable data
Price: pricing is customized based on business needs but there are three payment options including, pay-as-you-go, volume discounts, and committed-use discounts
Current Customers: Zendesk, American Red Cross, ING, Dr+ On Demand
Customer Testimonial: “Integrating Twilio Voice was clearly a win for us in terms of NPS. In general, the responses by these communication channels provide much more information to the user and we end up winning in NPS points.” — Twilio Customer Testimonial
Is SMS Marketing Right for Your Company?
SMS marketing can be an extremely valuable tool. Whether you’re looking to use it from order confirmation and shipping details or to gather valuable feedback through surveys and polls — SMS can help you do it.
This article should provide you with a good starting point to get started on your SMS journey. You can now walk away knowing how to build a solid foundation for your messages, how you’ll benefit from the technology, and with a list of platforms to learn more about.
So what are you waiting for? If you think SMS marketing is just what your business needs to grow, now’s the time to get started!