Getting to the point is vital when it comes to text messaging. You have 160 characters to capture your recipient’s attention but you want to get there in less if you can. Keep messages as short as possible while still including all the relevant information, this is certainly not the place for waffling. You also need to bear in mind that recipients need to understand the value in your message, otherwise they will label you as spam and feel irritated by the intrusion on their day.
Great ways to add value include offering vouchers or discount codes, segmenting based on customer behaviour to ensure the messages they receive are relevant, and using texts for appointment reminders and other useful information. By using text messaging in a way that is useful for your recipients you reduce the risk of being ignored and help recipients see the value. The best messages will address the recipient by name, state who you are, and why you’re messaging them, with your offer front and centre.
You don’t need us to tell you that all marketing you put out should have a clear call to action. The whole point of marketing is to encourage the recipient to take action and engage with your business, so calls to action are really important.
With Smart Messenger Text Messaging you can create rich messages, with links and attachments, to encourage action. Attachments are a effective way to encourage engagement and, with Smart Messenger, have the added bonus of being able to track click-through rates. You can upload documents, photos, audio and even video to create a better experience and give your recipients really useful interesting content. Links can be used with great success in text messaging, so if you’re not able to say everything you need to in your message include links to mobile-optimised landing pages.
Personalisation is definitely your friend here, the more targeted and personal you can make your messages, the better. Creating a sense of exclusivity in text messaging can significantly increase click-through rates so make your recipient feel special.
If you’re sending out a discount code or promotion, your customers should feel as though they’re receiving a hot tip that no one else knows about. It goes without saying that if you’re using text marketing as a way to remind customers about upcoming appointments, you should definitely be personalising every message. At the most basic level, you should be including recipients’ first name but any additional information is a bonus. A great example would be recent activity and interactions with your business to suggest other products or services they may enjoy.
Timing your message correctly is really important. While they’re less intrusive into people’s day than a phone call, you’re still contacting them so you want to make sure it’s at a convenient time. You’ll need to experiment with different timings to figure out the best time to send to your list, with detailed text marketing reporting it’s easy to see what’s working and what could use a little tweaking. You can also prevent messages being sent at unsociable hours.
Smart Messengers detailed reporting includes delivery information, opt outs, and the ability to track campaign attachment and link clicks.
Whenever you send out marketing you always need to give recipients the ability to manage what they receive from you, and text messaging is no different. This could be in the form of opt-outs or updating their preferences. You also need to make sure you have permission to contact them in the first place, whether it’s via an opt-in form on your website or from capturing information during a visit, at point of sale or other means. You must be clear about how you’ll use their data. If you are unsure, speak to one of our inhouse GDPR data practitioners for some free advice.
If you’d like to discuss how text marketing could work for you, get in touch.
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