The following tips provide a strategic framework for developing a successful text message marketing campaign.
1: Know Your Audience
Before launching any campaign, know your intended audience. This helps you to develop an effective message that will entice them to take action.
2: Respect Your Audience’s Privacy
Think about your mobile phone. Do you consider it personal in nature to you? Most consumers do, which is why text message marketing is permission-based, meaning consumers need to opt-in to receive your text marketing alerts. So don’t buy a mobile number list or use numbers that you have collected but don’t have permission to use, otherwise you risk a class action suit and/or disheartened consumers that no longer trust you.
3: Provide Incentive
Consumers want rewarded for doing something and it better be something relevant to them. So if you are going to ask them to join your text messaging campaign then make sure that you create desirable content that they can’t resist. It could be a coupon, entering a sweepstakes, downloading a ringtone, watching a video or access to never-seen information.
4: Call-to-Action (CTA)
A text message marketing CTA is pretty standard, for example, Text Keyword to Shortcode. When choosing keywords, choose words that relate to your brand and are fairly easy to remember and spell. This helps prevent errors when a consumer is typing on a mobile formatted keyboard.
5: Promote Call-to-Action
If you plan to use several marketing channels, such as print, television, radio, social media or email, to promote your campaign, we suggest using a different keyword for each media. This allows you to track which medium had the most success. Ok we know you probably already know, but we are going to say it any way, make sure the CTA has high visibility. If consumers can’t see or hear it (in regards to radio), they can’t take action. Don’t forget to include the basic terms and conditions.
6: Recurring Content
Now that they have given you permission to text market to them, don’t let them down, or they will opt-out. Deliver exclusive or related offers to their prior purchases, pre-event announcements,or invite them to enter a sweepstakes.
7: Message Frequency
Even though consumers have given you permission to send them text messages, you don’t want to abuse this privilege by bombarding them with numerous text messages on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. It is best practices to keep the frequency around 2-3 times a month.
8: Analyze Results
With reports on the number of opt-ins, redemptions, click-to-calls, mobile page visits, downloads or other statistics you will be able to determine a campaign’s success and measure your RMOI.