It sounds simple enough – Text Message Marketing is another string to your marketing bow, giving your business another distribution channel to spread the word, drive sales and grow awareness of your brand. Any company looking to get the most out of their marketing budget will use every channel available to them in order to maximise the effectiveness of their campaigns. However, it’s also important to be aware of what can go wrong when using SMS to reach your customers. Below are three rules to follow when using text marketing, which should help you avoid some of the more common pitfalls that neophyte texters may fall prey to.
1. Know when to stop.
One of the biggest reasons to start using text as part of your overall marketing strategy is the fantastic open rates, which can be as high as 98%. People are used to looking at their text messages immediately, and there is no spam filter or promotions folder to stand in the way of your carefully-crafted message and its viewer. However, because of this, text marketers must be aware that if clients feel you are texting them too often, or that your treats are invasive or irritating, it can cause a real backlash. The solution to this issue is to form a clear strategy of when your SMS campaigns are sent, and how often, in order to avoid irritating your audience.
2. Match your message to your medium.
Text messages are a unique form of marketing, and the options are different – simply lifting copy and content from an email message and putting it in your texts may not be as effective as you might hope. With no pictures or other content available, and without the ability to even change the font, it is vital that your message is absolutely top quality in terms of copy.
3. Remember that text should be part of a strategy, and not your only method of communication.
Text messages are an extremely effective form of marketing, particularly when the objective is to spread awareness, let people know about specific events or alert people as to any deals you are offering. However, this doesn’t mean that you should neglect your other channels, and it’s important to spread your focus across not only text, but email, display, PPC, offline, and other mediums where appropriate.
For more information on how TextAnywhere can help your business SMS strategy, please see our guide SMS marketing for businesses.