12 Best SMS Marketing Strategies to Implement In Your Campaigns

With the right SMS marketing strategies, you can engage with your target audience, turn them into loyal customers, and increase profit. However, SMS campaigns must be planned carefully, with attention to details like personalizing messages, analyzing when they should be sent, to whom, and how many messages should be in the campaign.

SMS is a way to speak directly with your public and become closer to them, but it's crucial to have their consent to send the messages. You will also need to conquer your public, turning them into leads by showing why it's worth receiving and reading your SMS messages.

What Is SMS Marketing?#

SMS stands for Short Message Service. Sending an SMS means sending a text message to a cell phone. The marketing sector has a branch focused on developing campaigns that use SMS messages as the main means of communication to interact with their audience. It's called SMS marketing.

For example, you buy a t-shirt on the internet, and the online store sends you an SMS thanking you for the purchase and asking if you want to receive text messages notifying you when their products are on sale. That's an SMS marketing strategy to increase sales and conquer loyal customers.

You can use SMS marketing software to automate the process of sending messages, instead of sending them one by one. Besides, you can segment contact lists, define when a message should be sent, and integrate it with other marketing tools.

Types of SMS Marketing Campaigns#

Understanding the types of campaigns you can create, is essential to define the SMS marketing strategies you will implement. It's important to know the types of campaigns to understand which one is more effective to reach your goals.

1. Promotional#

A promotional SMS marketing campaign has the purpose of promoting products or services. They can include coupon discounts or special offers to increase sales with attractive text to encourage customers to buy from your store.

2. Transactional#

Transactional SMS messages intend to keep customers informed about specific actions, for example, shipping notifications, password resets, and appointment reminders. They are very useful and have a high open rate.

3. Conversational#

As the name suggests, conversational SMS marketing campaigns emulate human conversations. The customer texts the company and receives automated responses to help them solve their demands and promote interaction.

SMS Marketing Benefits#

Efficient Audience Reach#

According to a BankMyCell report, 7.33 billion people own cell phones around the world, which means 90.90% of the world's population. With just a few clicks, most of them can access SMS messages, which is very popular, and a service that cell phone users are used to.

It isn't necessary to have an internet connection, or a smartphone, even the simplest cell phone models can receive and answer SMS messages.

High Open Rate#

SMS open rate is around 98%. 90% of these messages are opened within 3 minutes after received. This alone is a compelling reason to adopt SMS marketing strategies.

Personalization#

You have the opportunity to create personalized marketing campaigns, segmenting your target audience to address their demands and increase the chances of achieving your goals. It's possible to add the person's name, for example.

Tracking Capabilities#

Another advantage of SMS marketing is you can measure the success of the strategies you implement. It's possible to track important key performance indicators (KPIs) such as open rate, number of conversions, and number of subscribers. This way, you can identify what needs to be changed and test different types of strategies.

Cost#

The cost of making SMS marketing campaigns is low when compared to paid advertising in different means of communication like TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines. It doesn't require producing high-quality images, for instance.

All it takes is good planning, writing short compelling messages, and using proper tools such as high-quality SMS marketing software.

SMS Marketing Best Practices#

1. Get Permission First#

Send text messages only to people who opt-in to receive them. There are many ways to get your customer's cell phone numbers and build your contact list, for example when they create an account at your website.

However, this doesn't mean they want to receive your SMS content. Ask for permission before including them in your campaigns. You can insert an opt-in option when someone signs in to your website, for instance.

Sending text messages without permission can have the opposite effect that you desire, and cause a bad impression. It's important to be cautious and prevent your messages from being marked as spam.

2. Add Instructions to Opt-Out#

Just as someone should choose to receive your text messages, they must be able to stop receiving them any time they want to. Don't forget to include clear instructions about how to opt out of your SMS marketing messages list.

3. Identify Yourself#

Every time you send an SMS message, identify yourself in the text. You can put the company's name at the beginning or the end of the message, but make sure the recipient knows where the message comes from. After all, they may not have your phone number in their contact list.

4. Be Direct#

Your message must be short and clear. Make sure the recipient can understand what you mean, and write a convincing call to action. Create a tone of voice for your brand, and keep it throughout the messages.

5. Send SMS Messages at The Right Time#

Schedule the messages to be sent in a proper time, according to each person's timezone, and avoid sending texts too early in the morning or late in the night. This can be pretty annoying and upset the recipient who may opt out of your contact list.

12 Best SMS Marketing Strategies#

1. Define Your Goals#

The first step to creating effective SMS marketing strategies is to know your goal. What do you want to achieve at the end of the campaign? The main purpose could be turning leads into customers, straightening your relationship with current customers, and creating brand awareness, for instance.

The main goal is the foundation to set the KPIs, determine the tone of voice of the messages, and define the calls to action. Each message's details must be developed considering how it will contribute to the final results.

2. Know Your Target Audience#

Along with setting a main goal, It's also crucial to define and understand who your target audience is. Research your target audience's characteristics, including age, geographic location, average income, hobbies, and most used social media.

Besides, you should identify their pain points and how your products or services can help solve them. Once you have all that information, you can write more effective and precise messages that can catch your target audience's attention and convince them to follow your calls to action.

3. Personalize the Messages#

When you personalize the SMS messages, you show you care about your customers. Details like adding the customer name or sending product recommendations based on their interests improve user experience and can make them feel more connected to your brand.

In addition, It reduces the opt-out rates since personalized content is more likely to attract the customer's attention.

4. Segment the SMS Campaigns#

Create different SMS campaigns for distinct groups. You can make segmented campaigns based on several factors such as the step in the buyer's journey the customer is, or the type of product or service they are interested in. Segmenting is a strategy to personalize the communication and be even more effective.

5. Create High-Quality Content#

Regardless of the SMS marketing strategies and campaign type, one thing is fundamental: you need to deliver high-quality content. SMS texts must be short and direct to the point, but you have the challenge to make each message attractive and keep your customers interested.

You can look for inspiration in other successful campaigns, but knowing what your audience wants is the key.

6. Send Welcome Messages to New Subscribers#

Every time someone opt-in to receive your company SMS messages, send them a welcome text. Show your appreciation for them. You can even send a gift like an exclusive coupon discount or free shipping in their next purchase.

7. Announce When New Products are Launched#

You can create SMS marketing campaigns to launch new products. Present the product and its benefits, show how it can help your customer, and add a link to the product page. You may also consider promoting the product with an online event, and send invitations to loyal customers via SMS.

8. Follow-up on Abandoned Shopping Carts#

Another SMS marketing strategy is sending a message to customers when they leave an abandoned shopping cart on your website. You can ask if they had any problem with making the purchase, and offer to assist them.

9. Let Customers Know When Products Are Back in Stock#

Do you know when you are eager to buy a product, you access the website and it's out of stock? It can be disappointing. But, you can help customers by adding a button on the product page where they add their cell phone number to be notified via SMS when the product is available.

10. Send Messages Asking for Feedback#

Use SMS messages to require customers to review your product and company services. You can ask them to rate the purchase experience from 0 to 10, for example, and to add any compliment or complaint they would like to make. Remember to review the feedback, and answer them.

11. Make A/B Tests#

A/B tests will help you craft more effective SMS messages. The idea is to make two versions of the same message with small changes. You will send them to different groups and analyze the KPIs to identify which one performs better. It's an SMS marketing strategy to improve the content quality and achieve better results.

12. Measure KPIs#

Key performance indicators are a tool to measure each SMS message's performance and the whole campaign too. Once you have a well-defined goal, you need to determine what metrics are success indicators, keep track of them, and make changes if you identify any weak points.

6 Best SMS Software in 2024#

1. Brevo#

Brevo offers several solutions to help you improve customer experience, and it includes SMS marketing software. You can set up SMS messages in minutes, without any complication. Customize the messages as you wish to engage with your audience.

Use the platform to track each message, and access key performance indicators like delivery and open rate. You can schedule when the SMS messages will be sent, and define trigger actions.

Key features:

• Easy to use
• Customization tools
• Automation
• Set trigger actions
• Campaign reports

2. SlickText#

SlickText allows you to send SMS messages to your whole contact list at once with ease. All you need to do is log into the platform, write the text, and choose the list of subscribers. The message is received within seconds.

You also can set up a keyword for your business, so when someone texts this word to your number, they will receive an automated message customized by you. When a person sends this keyword to subscribe to your messages, SlickText automatically adds them to your contact list.

You can include emojis, images, and trackable links to the messages, and engage in one-on-one texting too. Automate your workflow and keep track of the campaign performance with the analytics dashboard.

Key features:

• Mass text messaging
• Picture messaging
• Personalization tools
• Automated workflows
• Detailed analytics
• List segmentation

3. TextMagic#

With TextMagic, you can send bulk SMS messages online, manage your contact lists, and create a virtual mobile number. You will be able to schedule the messages, and segment contacts, and your subscribers can send a message opt-out anytime they want.

Create sub-accounts for your team members, so they can have access to TextMagic features. It's possible to distribute SMS credits to all of them through the main account. You will also count on reporting and analytics tools to keep track of KPIs.

Key features:

• Send bulk SMS online
• Schedule text messages
• Import mobile numbers
• Sub-account for team members
• Reporting and analytics tools

4. SimpleTexting#

SimpleTexting is an SMS marketing software developed for small businesses. It provides a scalable solution to quickly send SMS messages to your entire audience, enable replies, create a number dedicated to your business, and manage your contact list.

The platform is easy to use, you can trigger event-based messages, and personalize the text, for example, with the recipient's name. All of your team members can enjoy SimpleTexting features too, you have the option to create a phone number for each one or unify everyone under one inbox.

Key features:

• Easy to use
• Send texts to large groups
• Two-way messaging
• Opt-in tools
• Create event-based triggers
• Personalize messages

5. Omnisend#

Omnisend provides pre-built SMS automation workflows with texts for different types of situations, such as birthdays, order and shipping confirmation, and cart abandonment. It's a quick solution to save you time, and you can schedule the messages.

You can also create your own SMS campaigns, and add gifs and images to the messages. Grow your contact base with the integrated forms, and enjoy the channel reports to keep track of the performance.

Key features:

• Pre-built SMS automation workflows
• SMS list-building tools
• 2-way SMS messaging
• SMS channel reports

6. Podium#

If you are looking for a platform where you can launch an SMS marketing campaign in a few minutes, Podium will help you with that. It has message templates that you can use to create your texts and personalize them.

You can target specific groups, trigger messages based on specific events, and automate repetitive tasks.

Key features:

• Easy-to-use
• Message templates
• Personalize the messages
• Automate tasks

Define the Best SMS Marketing Strategies for Your Projects#

Before starting to send SMS to your customers, create a plan with well-defined SMS marketing strategies. With the right approach, you are more likely to engage with your target audience and reach your goals. Keep in mind that different types of campaigns may require distinct strategies.