SMS Marketing Best Practices and Key Tips

SMS marketing is a powerful way to reach your target market. When done correctly, SMS marketing can produce amazing results for your business. However, there are some key things you need to keep in mind when creating your SMS marketing strategy. In this blog post, we will discuss SMS marketing best practices and key tips to help you create a successful SMS marketing campaign.

What is SMS Marketing?

SMS marketing is an effective way to reach customers via text message. “SMS” stands for Short Message Service and is commonly referred to as a text message. This type of marketing allows you to send messages directly to a customer’s mobile phone, delivering targeted offers, product information and other promotional content right into their hands. With SMS marketing, businesses can customize campaigns to target specific customers with relevant content.

As a powerful tool for businesses, SMS marketing allows you to send timely and relevant messages directly to your customers in a very cost-effective way. Additionally, it’s easy to track campaign results so you can measure the success of your efforts. SMS marketing also offers other benefits such as higher open rates than emails, the ability to target specific groups or customers, and increased customer engagement. 

With all these advantages, it’s no wonder that many businesses are turning to SMS as one of their main channels for communication. If used correctly, SMS marketing can help drive more business and generate more revenue for your company. 

7 SMS Marketing Best Practices

If you are a business owner or marketer, you’ve likely heard about SMS marketing and the benefits it can provide as a communication strategy. Text message marketing has become extremely popular due to its unmatched open rates and promotions with high success rates because customers receive them on the device, they carry with them 24/7. When implementing an SMS marketing strategy, follow these recommended best practices:

1. Only Send Messages to Someone Who Permitted You to Do So

Make sure that you only send messages to people who have explicitly opted in to receive them. You can do this by providing a text message keyword that customers can use to join your list, or by having them sign up on your website. Getting permission is important because it helps build trust and strengthens the relationship with your customers. There are also laws and regulations surrounding SMS marketing that you must follow in order to remain compliant.

2. Associate Appropriate Keywords with Your Business Goals 

When setting up your SMS marketing campaigns, use keywords that are associated with the product or service you are promoting. By doing this, customers can easily recognize and remember what type of messages they will receive from your business. For example, if you own a clothing store, you may opt to use “Fashion” as a keyword for customers to text in order to receive further information about your products.

3. Use A Rememberable, Unique Phone Number

Choose a unique and memorable phone number that is easy to recognize. This increases the chances that customers will remember it and can help with brand recognition. Brand-friendly short codes are easy to remember and optimized for marketing. For example, Pizza Hut’s short code is “Pizza”.

4. Don’t Abuse the Privilege Granted to You

When customers opt in to receive text messages from your business, they are granting you a valuable privilege. Make sure that you don’t abuse this privilege by sending too many messages or irrelevant content. Sending too many promotional messages can lead to customer fatigue and unsubscribes, so make sure that you keep it to a minimum.

5. Be Courteous of All Subscribers

Be courteous of all subscribers by sending messages at appropriate times and avoiding text message spam. There is nothing worse than receiving a promotional message in the middle of the night or when you are busy with something else. Make sure that you send messages during appropriate hours and provide an opt-out option if customers no longer wish to receive messages from you.

6. Detail and Track Campaign Goals

When running any campaign, it is important to track how well they are doing so you know what to keep the same and what could use adjustments. Hence, when setting up an SMS marketing campaign, it’s important to set and detail measurable goals. This will allow you to track your progress and make adjustments if needed. Tracking also helps in determining which messages are working best for your business. For example, you can track how many customers opened or clicked on your message, how many opted out, and how much revenue was generated by the campaign.

7. Implement an Autoresponder

An autoresponder is a great way to add efficiency and personalization to your SMS campaigns. An autoresponder automatically sends out a customized message when someone opts in or performs an action, such as clicking a link in your message. Autoresponders can help save time by eliminating the need for manual responses, while also offering personalized customer service. In order to keep subscribers satisfied, make sure you have an autoresponder set up for any questions you might receive. 

Build a Reliable SMS Marketing Contact List

A reliable SMS contact list is key for any successful SMS marketing campaign. Make sure your contact list is regularly updated and cleaned of inactive contacts. Also, keep an eye out for any customers who have opted out from receiving messages from you. Removing these contacts from your list will help ensure that only interested customers receive your messages. Additionally, it can be helpful to segment your audience into different categories when developing campaigns so that you can target specific groups with personalized content. 

Some tips for growing your SMS contact list include offering incentives to customers who opt in and promoting your SMS list on other channels such as email and social media. Of course, you should also always make sure that you are following all applicable laws and regulations when it comes to SMS marketing. In the United States, SMS marketing is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991 and the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM) of 2003.

Final Thoughts

SMS marketing can be a very powerful tool for connecting with your customers. By following the strategies outlined above, you can ensure that your SMS campaigns are successful and effective. With the right approach, SMS will help you stay connected to customers and drive more sales for your business.  

Keep in mind, the right tools can make all the difference. That’s why Zeta Global offers an omnichannel marketing platform that powers customer growth. By adopting Zeta Global, you gain access to powerful first-party data and results-driven AI that can take your campaigns to the next level.