SMS Marketing has been growing since 2003, but unlike other emerging channels in this time, SMS has grown much slower for Marketers. Until now!
This week we added new SMS features to both Maxemail and Maxautomation, making it possible for our clients to maximise this channel.
So does SMS marketing work?
There are 7.6bn mobile connections in the world, with 3bn of those being smartphones, which makes reaching you audience very easy.
SMS messages are the perfect accompaniment to other channels, for example, following up on an email with an SMS message to remind customers of a sale starting or to deliver special codes to your best customers, the opportunity with SMS is plentiful.
SMS messages are instant, well very very fast!
Not only is your message delivered quickly but also it will be read/actioned quickly too, with 95% of text messages being ready within 3 minutes of being received –
Direct and to the point.
When you opt to use SMS marketing, you are effectively putting all of the power in to your words and you can’t support your message with an image. That is why it is important to really think about how you use this channel. For example you are not going to send a monthly newsletter via SMS, full of text and stories, as this would be the wrong channel.
Instead, think about how the message will be received by the subscriber. Your message should be urgent, like a reminder for an appointment or an alert to a item back in stock, something the recipient will need to action.
You will also need to make the message very clear as one text message can be no more than 160 characters. You can send more than 160, but you will be charged per message (153 characters if your message spans over more than one). This is particularly important as SMS marketing is more expensive than email, however using it in conjunction with your email marketing you can create a powerful programme that is incredibly cost effective.
Trackable
SMS is trackable like email. We recently added link tracking in to our SMS feature in Maxemail that means you can… Well do exactly that, track your links in your SMS messages!
Tracking your SMS campaigns is important as you will be able to identify what is and what isn’t working, allowing you to hone and improve your programmes.
SMS as part of your multi-channel automated programmes.
Your SMS messages can become part of your automated programmes. For example, if you have a specific programme that has a limited time offer, you can use a mix of email and SMS to make sure that your subscribers are aware by using a mix of the channels. Initially you may send you offer by email, and then for everyone who hasn’t opened the email after 1 day you can follow up with an SMS message alerting them to the offer.
If they haven’t taken the offer up a day before it expires you can send them another SMS to remind them to use their code before it’s too late. All together making this a very powerful programme.
So back to the original question, does SMS marketing work?
Yes, it sure does!
Here are a few statistics from The State of SMS report
After receiving a SMS
3% immediately purchased a good or service from their mobile phone
8% have go into store to make a purchase
6% purchased a good or service via an alternative device.
7% purchased a good or service at a later time
10% booked an appointment
9% downloaded an app.
These are quite amazing stats to show you how valuable SMS is. You can read the full guide here
Find out how you can use SMS in Maxemail & Maxautomation