10 Steps to SMS Success

For businesses all over the world, ensuring your marketing material makes an impact on the right audience is incredibly important. Time and resources can be wasted, and budgets depleted, if your message is not conveyed in the most effective way.

Despite the fact that SMS marketing has been around for well over 10 years, it is still something of an untapped medium for the majority of businesses. Its effectiveness has been well documented, with recent statistics from the Direct Marketing Association revealing that 38 per cent of UK consumers actually prefer SMS marketing over other forms of marketing, such as email or mobile web-based promotions.

The success of any SMS marketing campaign is dependent, however, on what the message is, how it is written, and the degree to which it is targeted to the intended audience. With this in mind, here are some top tips to help you run effective SMS campaigns:     

Targeting
You will have a good idea of who you will be targeting in your message; this will depend on what your company offer. But just because the messages you send will be targeted to a relevant audience, it doesn’t mean that the recipients will necessarily respond to your message. To maximise response rates, tailor your messages using relevant language that your audience will understand, and include key words or phrases. Also, include a solution to a relevant problem, or an offer to incentivise them. 

Language
It’s important to remember that the message you send will be reflective of your business, so make sure it is written in the most appropriate way. This means that you should not use text speak – Y wud U wnt 2 rite sumfin dat luks bad? Don’t use colloquialisms either, as this will look unprofessional, and avoid jargon, as this may be confusing. Finally, ensure your message is free of any spelling, grammatical or punctuation errors. Whilst this may seem obvious, it is often overlooked, and can be incredibly damaging to your message and brand.

Simplicity is Key
Avoid overcomplicating your message. Keep it clear, understandable, and to the point. A text message is read in a few seconds, and as a result, it is incredibly effective, as users can quickly read and respond to it. You only have 160 characters to play with, so you need to keep your message simple.

Beginning, Middle and End
A text message has three important parts. The beginning, where you pose a question or an engaging statement. The middle, where you offer a solution to a problem or direct the recipient to find more information. Finally, the end, including a strong call-to-action. 

Grab Attention
It is vital to gran the audience’s attention straight away. Whilst this is true of all marketing material, it is even more so with a text message, where the window you have to get your message across is so small. So start the message with relevant and appropriate words. Also put these in capital letters for added emphasis, for example, OFFER or PROMOTION.

Include a Promotion
Promotions are a great way to incentivise your audience. It could be a money-off offer, or some other discount.  For example, you could include a message which reads, “5% off with this text.” You should include this within your call-to-action at the end of the text, for example, “Visit us in store, show this text for 5% discount.” 

Include All Necessary Information
This could be something as simple as a phone number, but with web-enabled phones, there is an option to include a link to your website, or a deep link to a specific webpage on your site. This will allow the recipient to get more information about your company, product, service or promotional offer. This could be included in the middle or end of the text message, aiding the call-to-action.

Include a Recognisable Name
This may sound incredibly obvious, but again, it is surprising how many companies overlook this tactic. When sending text messages, you are given the option to include a name which will be displayed on the recipient’s phone when they receive the message. Use a name that is familiar or recognisable. If you don’t, all the recipient will see is a number, so they will be unaware of who sent the message, even if it is a brand or a company they are familiar with.  

Practice Makes Perfect
If you have drafted your message, send it as a test to your own phone. This will allow you to see exactly how the message will look on a mobile screen and assess whether you think it is effective or not. Ask other members of your team what they think as well. If you feel it needs work, then re-write it and perform another test message. Keep going until you finally have the message you think will be most effective.

Test, Test and Test Again
Whenever your message goes out, it is important that you use an SMS gateway provider who can measure response rates. It might also be worth sending out similar but slightly differently worded messages to see how they fare against each other. This will give you a good idea of which messages perform the best in terms of response rates. 

Henry Cazalet is a director at SMS marketing firm Text Marketer