Ideas on how to create effective SMS marketing campaigns

The most profitable SMS marketing ideas are those that offer useful and exclusive content for customers.

SMS campaigns have become one of the most effective techniques in marketing. Translating SMS promotional offers into sales is simple if you identify an efficient strategy which closely focuses on your company objectives.

Ideas on how to create effective SMS marketing campaigns

SMS for commercial purposes are more successful than emails. Of course, the universal use of smartphones is a key factor, but you also have to understand the best content to use in your campaigns to make them as effective as possible.

These SMS marketing ideas offer the most useful and unique content for customers. Below you will find some of the best ideas for a successful SMS marketing campaign:

• Send a weekly SMS with advice. For example, if you are a restaurant, you could send a message with tips on how to get a balanced diet, or if your company is an orthodontist’s clinic, you could give advice on dental hygiene.
• Include exclusive offers in your SMS. These types of promotions are especially effective on specific dates, for example on the customer’s birthday, Mother’s Day, Black Friday etc.
• Use SMS messages as reminders. Utilize SMS messages to remind customers or patients about appointments is hugely effective in helping to prevent no-shows and subsequent loss of income.
• Send messages accompanying an email marketing campaign. Encourage customers to check their inbox or take a closer look at the content of an email.
• Confirm a purchase or track a package using SMS.
• SMS can be used to invite guests to an event. This works especially well for product launches or store openings.
• Send out surveys to customers using SMS for immediate feedback on ways to improve your business.

Make sure your SMS marketing campaign is a success

To ensure your SMS marketing campaign is a success, there are several factors to keep in mind:

• The first is to segment your audience. It is very important to always keep in mind the objective of your company and who your target audience is. The more specific you are, the higher your chance of success.
• Timing is the second factor. You might have to experiment with the times you send messages to work out the most opportune moment for your customers. It is also important to link the messaging operation with the user’s actions.
• At this point it is also necessary to underline that messages with an expiry date are read more often than those that don’t have one. A message is always more effective when it has a specific period of validity, such as “Only available for the next 24 hours.”
• A third tip is to utilize immediacy in this communication process to send loyalty programs to clients.
• The fourth important factor to keep into consideration when it’s time to launch an SMS marketing campaign is that messages should be short, sweet and simple. You should craft the best possible message in 160 characters.
• The fifth factor to bear in mind is: shorten URLs. Direct recipients to a website or specific page to provide them with more information and encourage them to take a certain action.
• Lastly, it is vital not to spam customers. Send fair and justified SMS messages to make sure that customers are happy to receive your communications and that you don’t turn them off your brand.