Texting has the highest engagement rate since messages are read within three minutes of receiving them and this is the broadest reach possible today. Everyone has a phone whether smart or “not smart” all are able to receive SMS, therefore, being the best channel to market your products or services.

What is an SMS Campaign?

An SMS campaign is a marketing strategy taken by a business that enables them to interact with their customers through text messaging. This marketing channel is faster and proven to be the most effective.

In this article, we shall discuss what you should consider when running a marketing campaign through SMS and these are;

a) Define the goal

Before running a campaign, review your business and marketing goals so that you can create an SMS campaign that aligns with your business goals. It is important to note that your campaign will impact many parts of your organization so communicating your goals and strategies throughout the process is critical.

b) Clear Call to Action 

Many businesses fail because their call to action is presented in a way their consumers do not get to understand what to do. 

For example, text “accept” to 7808 to sign up, most customers will text accept accompanied with the quotation marks which will not trigger the campaign.

Make your call to action simple and clear for the consumers to be able to respond to it. Ensure to give your call to action the priority it deserves to ensure the success of your campaign.

c) Get Permission and Make Opt-Out Clear

Getting permission to send messages to your consumers ensures that you are not spamming them, they are the interesting market for your messaging and you will not be breaking the law. Ensure you also make it clear how your customers can opt-out of the list of receiving messages.

d) Consistency 

You should leverage any marketing opportunity at your disposal to keep your consumers engaged. You shouldn’t go months without connecting to your customers via text messages as this will increase the unsubscribe rate. Send at least one message per week to stay on top of your customer’s mind.

e) Timing

Never, ever send messages early in the morning or late in the late. Be different by creating an exceptional service experience for your customers. Schedule an appropriate time when you will be sending out bulk SMS. The appropriate time will increase the conversion rate for your marketing campaigns in the long run.

f) Measurement 

Measuring your SMS campaign is the only way to determine if your campaign was a fruitful one or not. You should use key performance indicators like subscriber’s growth rate, click-through rate, attrition rate to measure the success of your SMS marketing campaigns.

This is one of the key features that your bulk SMS provider should be able to have for businesses. 

g) Make it exclusive 

If you’d like to keep your subscribers, ensure you offer them services that are only exclusive to them and cannot be received from other channels.

When it gets to planning and launching an SMS campaign for your business, try these components out for successful SMS marketing campaigns