If the SMS campaign isn’t at the very heart of your mobile marketing policy, you are doing it wrong. The bulk SMS has the broadest reach possible today because no matter what, all mobile phones are SMS enabled. For example: Coca-Cola spends 70% of its mobile marketing budget on SMS marketing. And when asked why, the answer was: “Because we’re investing in what works.”
Do you know that 90% of bulk SMS are opened within three minutes (compared to an average of 90 minutes for the email)? What’s more? SMS campaigns have a dazzling 98% open rate as compared to 22% of the email.
Yet whether or not the customers take action after opening the SMS depends on a variety of factors. Here are ten tips to help your SMS campaign stand out from the crowd and generate higher conversion rates.
1. Choose Words that Work
You have a limited number of words to convince your audience that your message is worth it, so choose every word carefully. If you can’t convey it in 25 words, the message isn’t clear enough. Never use “txt spk” to squeeze in more words.
Words like You, Get, Free, Sale, Deal, Save, Special, Limited, Exclusive, Now, Today as part of your text stimulate conversions.
2. First Few Words Bear Fruit
Almost all phones display the first few words of the text in notifications and on ‘chats’ screen. This means that users can get the gist of a text without having to open it, and they can choose to delete it if it doesn’t sound like something they’d be interested in. Therefore the first ten words of your message should be the ‘Bait’ that must compel the audience to open the SMS sent through your bulk SMS Campaign.
3. Personalize your Message
Audience feel valued when addressed by their names; it sparks affiliation at a personal level. Generally, a fashion brand may use first name while a corporate service should go for a surname to sound professional and formal in their SMS campaign. You should choose what best suits your brand.
4. Be clear Who is it From
Consumers respond better when they know who is addressing them, considering the massive SMS sending by scams and cons. You must include your brand or business name in the SMS as it gives validity to your bulk SMS campaign, separates it from a generic massive SMS sending, and triggers a higher rate of conversion.
5. Target the Right Audience
Invest in data analytics to better understand your target audience and save on marketing costs down the line. You must not waste money on massive SMS sending to an audience that isn’t interested. As a rule of thumb, bulk SMS campaigns generally work best in mass-market (i.e., low to mid-LSM).
6. Make it Consentual and Easy to Opt-Out
As per the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI), you can’t send bulk SMS to anyone who hasn’t opted-in to receive them. Remember, you would never want to vex your audience, so tell them how they can stop receiving bulk SMS from your SMS campaign if they want to. This implies that you are not invading their inbox without their consent. Trust me; this will help you gain authenticity and better conversions in the long run.
7. Timing is Important
The most appropriate time to send bulk SMS is different for each industry. However, research has shown that best results have been produced between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. or between 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. A smart tactic is sending your bulk SMS at an ‘unusual’ time, eg. 10:43 am as opposed to sending right on the hour or half-hour. Sending bulk SMS at different times gives you less competition then the exact hour, which might be flooded with the massive SMS sending by your competitors.
Learn more about How to choose the best time for messaging here.
8. Create Effective ‘Call-to-Action’
After you have told the audience how amazing your product is, don’t think they will know what to do next. People would like to be guided precisely what to do next and how to do it. The best way is to make a clear call-to-action. So, if you give them a special discount coupon, make sure you give them instructions for redemption.
Words like ‘Show this text’, ‘Сlick here’, ‘Text to Win’, ‘Text to Vote’, and ‘Buy Now’ are some call-to-action winners.
9. Convey Urgency
Instead of a tight deadline, setting up an expiration period seems to increase conversion. This way, every contact will have the same amount of time to take advantage of your offer, and there is ample space for late subscribers to chip in.
10. Mention Price and Go BOGO
Studies reveal that 66 percent of consumers convert to action if they receive a price-based offer in an SMS campaign. Within them, 68 percent are those who respond favorably towards the BOGO (Buy One Get One) deals. The reason behind this number is the fact that people consider such deals as the most valuable ones.
Bonus Tip – Choose the Right SMS Marketing Service
If your customers are entrusting you to invade their SMS inbox, you need to deliver an exceptional experience by using a reputable SMS marketing platform.
Messagio’s SMS marketing service has everything you need to execute a strategic SMS marketing campaign from Bulk SMS to multichannel routing, Mobile Identity, OTP Verification, and the next big thing RCS Google RBM Messaging.
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