The majority of start-ups don’t give SMS marketing a try. At least, during the initial phase! They somehow feel it might just upset customers. And at the start of a business, they prefer not to risk annoying customers. What these start-up owners don’t realize is that SMS messages record 99% open rate. It proves that SMS marketing works even today.
For people and start-up owners who feel that SMS marketing might not work, here are two reasons why it will and does.
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SMS marketing is not spam
SMS marketing follows permission marketing. The mode is entirely opt-in based. Customers need to share their consent before they get SMS’s from a company or start-up. The new subscribers have the choice to double opt-in through a website widget and also add mobile details to a sign-up form. They can also text to join in a forum or messaging service. Here on the subscriber will start to receive the messages. And when you don’t want to accept the SMS, you can type STOP. You can use this it was an accidental sign-up as well.
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People still read texts
Even in the era of online messengers and chat, some people text. And these texts are read approximately within three minutes of sending the same. According to research done by Dynmark.com, about one-third of the ones who start-ups send SMS advertising texts respond in some way or the other. And there are also other people who buy products as well. Therefore, to think that your SMS will go completely unattended will no longer hold true in the case of SMS marketing.
So, if you want to opt-in for SMS marketing for your start-up, you should get a professional agency involved. To know how this works you can browse and search more on simpletexting.com today.
You need to know all the rules
Some organizations don’t invest much in SMS marketing. The main reason for this is that they don’t want to witness the outcome if SMS marketing rules break. All the rules are very rigid. However, if you comply with the TCPA guidelines, you are out of all hassles. The basic rule is that you can only send and forward messages to the individuals who have permitted you to. Hence, there’s no scope for cold calling. A couple of U.S companies got penalized for violating this rule.
The other important rules
However, this aside there are several different rules for SMS marketing success. Discussed below are the critical four rules that will ensure success and better audience connection.
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Make sure your SMS stays within 160 characters
SMS marketing texts should be within 160 characters. It has the scope to redefine SMS language completely. If you send in a long SMS, mobile networks are going to break your SMS in several sections of 160 characters. So, it’s a smart call to not go beyond this limit. When one message arrives in many chunks, it looks disjointed and also doesn’t add up to the company reputation. So, create texts within 160 characters, and you are free from any violation or complications.
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It’s time that will decide your success
Time is a crucial factor in SMS marketing. You know that people open the majority of the SMS that get sent. However, what you now need to count on is the time. The majority of this is accessible within a couple of minutes of arrival. Also, ensure that you’ve sent the SMS at the proper time. And here you probably will be placing an attractive offer to someone who will not be able to refuse what you offered. Marketers at any cost need to connect with the target customers. It helps you to arrive at the buying decision correctly. It is the reason why the majority of restaurant owners are continually sharing their events.
Marketers can connect with their target customers at the time of a buying decision. They should be within reach. It is the reason why restaurants must be repeating sending such offers for a couple of times a day.
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Your CTA should always be a mobile number or web address
The CTA needs to be a part of every marketing material that you share. SMS marketing follows a similar situation as well. You have a couple of choices available to you here. For instance, there aren’t any buttons and anchor links that you will be able to leverage. Everything depends on the words that get used.
The moment an individual gets associated with an SMS service they are keen to know what to do next. A generic line about a specific product has no relevance the customers aren’t directly getting led to that site. Add a URL and shorten it or place a number so that the marketers can send something to that number. You dedicate an employee to manage all these aspects.
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You must advertise the shortcode
Incorporate SMS with everything that you deploy. It is strictly number game. Hence, the number of individuals you can connect with will ensure your success. You need to promote the SMS shortcodes across several marketing channels that you’ve decided to leverage. Furthermore, it needs to feature in your social media campaigns, email campaigns and also on the marketing materials you keep forwarding. Shortcodes are the secret path to the success of SMS marketing.
Is all this worth it?
It easy to imagine that in today’s time of online messengers, SMS will go obsolete! But till date, there’s no sign of that. It’s true that individuals are making use of online messengers much more, but they haven’t discarded SMS as a whole. So, this probably is the best time for you to dabble in SMS marketing. Today, the majority of individuals have their phone. That is the basic premise for SMS marketing to work well.
SMS marketing is one of the simplest marketing forms that you can add to your marketing campaign channels. That doesn’t make it less effective. Its simplicity is what has been making it work all this while. So, if your company is a start-up you may consider SMS marketing right at the initial stages and follow the four rules of SMS marketing as discussed above. It will enhance your reach and marketing initiatives as well.
