SMS Marketing: A thing of the Past or the Future of Marketing?
If you’ve jumped on the digital marketing bandwagon, then you’ll probably know a lot about SEO, social media and back link building. You may even be well versed in terms like SERP, anchor text and domain authority. And you might be just a little bit frustrated by the whole thing. I get it if you are. Digital marketing isn’t all fun and games.
In fact, it’s hardly ever fun and games, especially for passionate business owners who want to focus on the side of their company they love the most. After all, you got into this because you enjoy creating, building, designing, (insert your core business here) – not because you have a penchant for manipulating search engines.
But while raw talent and passion inarguably go a long way, you need to market your business to attract new clients and turn a profit. SEO and inbound marketing are powerful weapons, but there are other tools you should have in your arsenal as well.
The Humble Text
In the face of far more sophisticated, cutting-edge marketing practices; back links, on-page optimization, social media and the like, you may think that text messages are a thing of yesterday. But don’t be too quick to disregard this simple, powerful and effective tool as a way of drumming up more business for your business.
With over 91% of American adults owning a cell phone in 2013, it’s pretty safe to say that you won’t have many customers who don’t have access to these essential mobile communication devices. So if your business has forgotten the undeniable power of a humble SMS to reach your customer directly, then you’re missing a trick. Here are just a few things that are awesome about SMS marketing for your business:
Text Messages are Immediate
Text messages are fast. They’re immediate in fact. You don’t have to sit down and plan a strategy or hire a graphic designer. You don’t have to spend a ton of hard earned cash on printing flyers or paying for advertising. In fact, the truly wondrous thing about a simple SMS is that there’s absolutely no design element involved whatsoever. Did I already mention that they’re immediate?
Simply decide what you’re going to say and send your message. You can even reach hundreds or thousands of customers at the same time by bulk messaging one simple text.
They Get Read (Almost Always)
Have you ever sent out a marketing email for your new product line, or latest news and offers about your improved service? What kind of an open rate were you looking at? I thought so. Customers have become so bored of receiving unsolicited emails that if around 35% of yours were opened, then you can pretty much call that a rip-roaring success.
Want to know how many texts get read? Almost ALL of them. Text messages have a gigantic open rate of 98%. It must be something about the delicious simplicity and personalization of the humble SMS that makes people pay attention. What does this mean for you? Craft the right message, send it at the right time and you have a captive audience.
A word of warning on the right time. It’s fairly obvious that your customer will react better to your message if it’s not received at 3 am. If you’re sending locally, then you won’t have to worry about time zones. But if you want to send your texts cross country or even internationally, remember that while you may be having lunch in Tampa your customers in LA are just waking up. So get the timing right at all costs.
Simplicity Works
Get it right and SMS marketing can be the perfect tool for your business. In an over-complicated age, consumers are saturated with advertising, promotion and information. There’s something about the simplicity of a text that’s appealing. It also feels personal.
While I might not feel like opening your beautifully designed but lengthy email about your new candy bar flavors; if I happen to be near your store, or close to a computer and get a message saying “enter this code for your exclusive discount on wild berry candy” or “we really value your business, have a free bar on us” – then I might just feel as if you were speaking just to me.
Text Messages Are Cheap
Sending text messages isn’t free, but it’s pretty darn cheap, depending on your provider. So, not only will you save tons of dollars on expensive promotional campaigns, but you’ll also get an incredibly high response rate and more bang for your buck. Better than that? It’s a highly trackable method of promotion, so you can see your results in real time.
But Are They Too Intrusive?
According to Quora, whether or not an SMS will be seen as invasive depends on a couple of main factors:
- The target market must have opted in to receive your message
- Your message needs to comply with their expectations
So, if you send a short and valuable message to an invested customer who already bought your products and may want to make a repeat purchase; then it’s very unlikely they will mind receiving your message.
If, on the other hand, you start to blanketly text unsuspecting prospects with offers of no relevance or interest to them; then you’re going to be seen as intrusive. This will certainly do more harm for your business than good.
If it makes you uncomfortable bombarding your customers with text messages, here’s the deal. Bombard your customer with anything and you’re going to put them off. Use text messaging wisely and with caution and you’ve got an infinitely powerful way of generating more business.
About Naman Nepal
Naman is a tech-savvy digital marketer and an online entrepreneur who shares his knowledge about keyword research and SEO at BloggerMonk.com.