Text messaging is the preferred method of contact for most people and the benefits of sms online cannot be ignored. Currently, 84% of Brits own a mobile phone and the amount of phone calls made or received by mobile phone owners is relatively low compared with a few years ago. It’s estimated that 53% of British residents are plagued by scam callers which has led to a downturn in calls from unknown numbers being answered.
The popularity of email marketing is also in decline since the average person now receives up to 100 emails per day. The majority of people do not have the time to check all of these emails and are filtering them out via spam filters or simply deleting those that seem unimportant. The same cannot be said for sms messages as on average, we look at our phones 85 times per day.
Now, due to the cost of logistics, printing, and the environmental impact, we are seeing less and less mail marketing. The success rate of direct marketing is now considered poor and ineffective. Looking at the facts, converting to sms marketing will guarantee you far more success than these traditional methods.
Here are the most frequently asked questions about SMS online we receive at TextAnywhere:
What are the advantages of sending online sms?
1. Organising contacts
By managing your database from your PC, you will be able to segment and send messages directly to your target audience. This will allow you to send the relevant marketing to the right people at the right time. You will be able to separate your subscribers by demographic, age, interest, and much more.
2. Track and organise replies, responses and activity
Sms marketing with TextAnywhere is trackable, so with sms online you will be able to keep an eye on open rates and interactions. By using sms online with your PC successes and failures will be quick to show so, you can tweak your campaign as and when you need to. Managing replies will be easier too as they can be filtered depending on the next course of action in the interaction, such as an automated reply or live response from a staff member. All activities can be sorted into response groups.
3. Receive detailed reports
To assist with the tracking you will have access to detailed analytics that will keep a record of all activity. Information such as, who you sent messages to at what time, when they were opened, how they were sent, links that were clicked on, and much more. The data collected can even be exported for further analysis.
4. Easy scheduling
No one has the time to send up-to-the-minute mobile marketing texts. Marketers need to consider the optimum time to send out sms to subscribers. Depending on various profile factors of recipients there will be good and bad times to send out a marketing text message. There are also global time differences to take into account. Online sms can enable you to schedule texts to go out at different times to accommodate the needs of your subscribers.
5. Bulk sms
Sending bulk sms using a mobile phone can be a tricky business. Online sms incorporates your database and is visible in one handy place. Sending out thousands of messages at once can be achieved with the click of a button.
6. Increase efficiency and accuracy
As previously mentioned, email marketing messages can be easier to create than sms sent from a mobile phone but, with sms online there is little difference. You will still be able to compose your marketing messages using your PC with sms online. This will limit human error as you will have access to spelling and grammar checkers and your words will not be subjected to embarrassing autocorrect mishaps. Typing speeds on a PC are much faster than via text, so messages will take half the time to correct, and attaching your images and links could not be easier. The gateway makes light work of allowing you to add multiple recipients from your subscriber list and in fact, you can easily click to add whole group segments.
7. Access to more tools
Moving sms online opens up the opportunity to use more tools to help get the job done. Here’s some we know you won’t want to be without:
- Automatic SMS – your subscribers can receive an instant response depending on which keywords they reply with. You can set up different responses for different keywords.
- Segmenting – We think segmenting your audience is a game changer. It can certainly help to reduce the number of subscribers who opt out. With ads tailored to their needs and interests, being sent at the perfect time. Segmenting stops sms marketing from being intrusive and is likely to improve your ROI.
- Convert your emails to sms – This function is perfect for those who wish to combine marketing efforts and use email alongside sms for a rounded approach. You can also convert replies to an email format which can make inbox organisation easier, especially when you are allocating workloads amongst staff.
- Manage important data – The reporting function will allow you to gather important information to help improve your campaigns and boost your level of opt-ins.
- TextAnywhere’s SMS Gateway API can integrate the sending of SMS into your own application or website, enabling you to send SMS automatically without having to go online to send your SMS messages.
8. Enhanced customer services
When you are dealing with customer communication all in one place, the process can be streamlined. Staff teams working from the same system can manage and organise workloads more efficiently. In addition, with access to automatic sms messaging, customers can receive replies instantly.
9. Better staff communication and management
Enhance team communication by texting with sms online. It works more efficiently than emails, trust us! If you want your staff to avoid distractions, it’s better to catch them on the go and sms is more reliable – you know it will be read. You can attach links to important forms and newsletters and it’s a very quick way to get news and alerts out. When using sms online for staffing, you can send out shifts to groups of staff at the same time. Communicating with staff this way helps you to keep a track of employee/employer activity and responses can be added to the employee’s file straight from the database.
10. Low cost
With TextAnywhere’s online SMS message services you only pay for the messages that you send. There are no setup fees, ongoing charges, minimum contract terms, or minimum usage requirements. Just purchase additional packs of messages, as you need, securely online.
So, how do I do it?
Our online SMS software has been designed to be easy to use and can operate from any web browser, meaning you can send SMS from any browser connected to the internet.
Sending SMS from your computer involves just four steps:
- Log into your TextAnywhere account – You can sign up for free here
- Write your message in the text box
- Enter the phone numbers you want to send to, make sure to start the number with 447 rather than 07.
- Press ‘send’ or schedule for a later time.
Straightforward, direct, and secure. See more on our SMS platform’s features.
Can sending SMS messages via a mobile phone be limiting?
The simple answer is, that it can be, depending on how quick you are with your thumbs and especially when sending out text messages in bulk. Don’t let this put you off as there is a simple solution. By choosing the right online sms provider with a great API gateway, you will be able to send sms marketing messages online from your PC.
Some marketers prefer to use email marketing because they feel that there is a greater deal of accuracy and that it is easier to organise. Email marketing is good for these reasons but you have to consider that text messages are 4 times more successful than emails. 22% of recipients prefer to receive marketing by text rather than via email. Sms messages also have a 97% open rate, which is unrivalled in marketing.