Follow The Rules
SMS Marketing can be one of the most effective ways to move people forward in their customer journey. First and foremost, there are rules and regulations that must be followed to the letter of the law. This can be done by selecting an SMS marketing service that will make sure your campaign is compliant with the litany of ever-changing most current SMS marketing regulations. Select a reputable provider and you are ready to engage your customers.
Opt-In Equals Trust
When customers opt-in to receive text messages from your business you have gained their trust. Customers are more likely to open and read a text message than almost any other type of communication. Texts still carry with them a sense of urgency.
To stay in a consumer’s circle of trust businesses need to be upfront about the data they collect, how it is used, and with whom it is shared. A survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP or PwC found that “consumers want honesty and transparency. In our surveys, 80% of respondents said they were willing to share personal information if the company lets them know up front how they are going to use it.”
What’s In It For Me?
The same survey found that 73% of consumers surveyed were willing to share personal information, depending on the benefits they will get in return. Make it advantageous to opt-in to join your list with call-to-action carrots with real value. Limited -time discounts, instant mobile coupons, free reports, and exclusive offers reserved for SMS subscribers only can be effective. The more subscribing to your list feels like being a VIP in an exclusive members-only club the more likely people will want to be on it.
Contests, sweepstakes, and giveaways can entice SMS subscribers to come on board with you. make it fun to join your list. Tie your marketing to big events or holidays. Special occasions can make your marketing really work. Give special vouchers for a free gift with purchase for popular gift-giving holidays like Mother’s Day. Hold contests on big sporting event days to give your brand added oomph from the enthusiasm surrounding the popular teams in your local area. Give your clients a short code number to send via text to be entered to win the contest.
Stop For Website Problems
Before you start using SMS marketing, you need to invest some money to ensure your website is well-optimized for mobile use. Fixing problems for mobile users should be your first priority. Developing an appealing and effective mobile site can be a major challenge if you haven’t made any effort to do so. Outsource this to reputable companies who have a proven track record of success.
The only way to convert sales with mobile marketing is to make visiting your site a pleasurable experience for people. Smartphone users browse more swiftly than PC users. If your site is confusing or hard to navigate on a mobile device you are losing business
Sharing Is Caring
Make it easy for your customers to share your mobile marketing message. Offering additional discounts based on referrals or special offers subscribers can forward to friends can encourage spontaneous word of mouth advertising. Many consumers love to make recommendations to family and friends, so making it easy to share your mobile offers can significantly increase your advertising reach. Also, opt-in rates can soar when your subscribers send your offer to people they know. The subscriber’s personal recommendation adds another layer of trust and credibility to your brand.
Be Meaningful, Direct, Concise and Correct
Obviously, any information you send via text especially must be meaningful if you expect to receive a meaningful response. Little reminders about nothing but your existence are not only annoying but also will send opt-outs your way. So when you contact someone via mobile marketing, make sure that you have a worthy cause for doing so. You want your list to see a text from your business and know it is delivering something that they want.
Always keep your mobile messages succinct. People are accustomed to text messages that cut to the point quickly and decisively. Mobile phones also have relatively small screens so it is essential that you tailor your messages to reflect this limiting factor. Short messages that can be digested at a glance are what you need to send.
Create a message that is crafted to the number of characters allowed perfectly. You can shorten words using text lingo your customer base will understand. You want to send messages with the characters allotted per message that communicate what you want to share clearly. Do not ever include ambiguous language or anything that has multiple meanings. Remember a text is a split-second communication. You can instantly turn off or horrify all your subscribers in the blink of an eye with the wrong phrase.
Think about what you want to offer. You can send everything from simple text messaging to an instant mobile coupon. Planning ahead will help the actual implementation process easier for you.
Again, planning is important in SMS marketing. Know exactly what you want to offer in your mobile message. Check and recheck your wording to make sure it makes perfect sense. You also want to be sure you are offering what you intended. Composing a mobile marketing message without thoughtful consideration could cause issues. Imagine sending your entire customer base a 50% discount when you intended to offer 15% off. It does not matter if your voice-to-text misheard you say 15%. The mistake could destroy your business financially if you honor it and could destroy your credibility if you don’t.
Where And When Matters
When you send a mobile marketing message is important because your customers are not always in the same place. So, when you send a message is related to where your customers are or are likely to be. Where your customers are located when they get your message is something you need to consider. Are subscribers likely to use an instant mobile coupon when they are out and about and out on a Saturday afternoon? Maybe they are or maybe not. You need to think about where they are and what they’re doing when.
Know your customers and the hours they keep. As a general rule, people respond to texts immediately or not at all, so sending texts at the wrong time is just a waste of your time and resources. You do not want to text message customers while they are driving to or from work as most places have no texting while driving laws in place. Don’t bother sending SMS when people are likely to be sleeping or having dinner either. Try to avoid bothering them on holidays or Sundays, unless it is important or your offer is time sensitive and truly irresistible.
SMS Marketing Options
You can invest in mobile banner ads. Of course, any ads you run on mobile websites also need to be properly formatted. You can find mobile ad services if you want to look into running mobile ads. Check out services like Apple’s iAd and MobClix to find various ways to run banner ads on mobile websites.
SMS marketing service providers will have many options for you to use to deliver your offer to your list. Offers that ask people to text a word to a specific number to get something are easy to set up with most providers. You can direct your subscribers to text SUPER to your number to receive an offer. When customers complete the action it gives them a sense of satisfaction and trains them psychologically to feel comfortable making transactions with your business.
When creating Quick Response codes (or QR codes), use a URL shortening service first. By using the URL shortening service, you can create a simpler QR code, as QR code complexity is determined by the number of characters in any block of text that you use. A block of text with fewer characters creates a simpler QR code that is easier to scan. Always make things easier for your mobile subscribers. If it is not easy it will not get done.
Communicate With Purpose
Every communication you have with a customer or prospective customer must be purposeful. Remember to include a call to action. All of your mobile marketing efforts must contain a clear call to action directing the consumer to do something. You only have the attention of your audience for a split second before they may turn elsewhere.
Take your customer by the hand and lead them to the next logical step in their customer journey. Step-by-step lead them to the moment that purchasing your product solves their immediate problem or fills their emotional void. Everyone wants to make a purchase that showers them with feelings of absolute satisfaction even if the feeling is fleeting.
Key SMS Marketing Takeaways
1. Make your website mobile user-friendly
2. Use a reputable SMS marketing service
3. Comply with all SMS marketing regulations
4. Offer value for opting-in
5. Communicate clearly and correctly
6. Consider where they are and what they are doing before you send a text