How to write SMS for business marketing

What is SMS Marketing?

SMS marketing is an invaluable tool to connect with customers. It involves sending them promotional text messages (e.g., SMS coupons, alerts) on SMS and platforms such as Whatsapp.

The Value of SMS Marketing for Your Business

SMS marketing is beneficial to your omnichannel customer communications. Firstly,contacting consumers using text (Whatsapp) messages ensures a read rate of over 90% within minutes. This read rate exceeds any other marketing channel!

Secondly,you can easily integrate business messaging with other tools. Yet, businessmessaging is effective both as a standalone process and in collaboration with external tools.

Lastly,business messaging enhances customer engagement. SMS messaging connects you with customers, while customers perceive you as more accessible. Consequently,they’re more willing to engage with your company.

Given the importance of SMS marketing, we’ve compiled seven key tips to strengthen the impact of your SMS marketing efforts.

1. Personalize  Messages to Your Recipients

Personalization should be a key aspect of SMS messaging. According to the 2017 State of Personalization Report, personalization drives purchases, keeps people happy, and upholds customers’ expectations.

You can personalize your business messaging in many ways. These involve segmenting customers, including recipients' names, and using dynamic fields (e.g.,recipient’s city, ZIP code, company name). For these to work, you have to keep your customer database updated. If you get customers’ personal information wrong, your entire personalization efforts may backfire!

2. Use     Abbreviations Correctly

While abbreviations may seem inappropriate in a business context, they aren’t always so. This is because character count limitations can stop you from delivering your desired message. Due to these limitations, abbreviations are often necessary.

To use abbreviations correctly, ensure that they are professional,industry-related, and context-appropriate. For example, using “YOLO” when trying to address an older market may not be the way to go. Additionally,overusing abbreviations may confuse customers. As such, you should limit yourself to one or two appropriate abbreviations per SMS.

3. Optimize Your Message for Simplicity

If your message is easy to read, you are more likely to engage recipients. With only 160 characters available, your message must highlight what you want to emphasize. To do so, ask yourself the following questions 

●      What main message do you want to convey?

●      What relevant points do you have tomake to convey that message?

●      Are you using the right SMS marketing features to deliver your message?

By addressing these points, consumers receive what is needed while you stick to your character limit. This increases the likelihood of conversions.

If you're not a fan of character limits, platforms such as WhatsApp let you writelonger messages. However, recipients can only receive these messages if they have internet or mobile data.

4. Implement     a Call to Action

An optimized business message needs a call to action. These are necessary to get customers to convert, as such improving your ROI. If you send recipients an offer without making it easy for them to access it, the opportunity will pass you both by. This is why using a call to action in your SMS message is crucial.

5. Grab Recipients’ Attention

Grabbing the readers’ attention is essential. The first phrase of your SMS message should entice readers to keep on reading. To do so, use captivating words such as ‘OFFER’ or ‘DISCOUNT’. These give readers a sneak peek of what your message is about. Additionally, it shows them how they can benefit from your offer if they keep on reading!

6. Use a     Link Shortener

Link shortening tools turn long winded URLs into short, branded links. These compact links decrease costs while increasing the links’ click through rate (CTR). This is because longer links look spammy and may require you to send multiple messages. Conversely, short, custom domains enhance trust. This makes recipients more likely to click on shorter links.

Using a link shortener can also help you deliver more information. Redirecting recipients to a website that contains more information means you don't have to write lengthy messages. 

7. Timing

Timing is key when delivering messages as it refers to when recipients receive your message. Timing can affect how customers perceive your message. Moreover, it influences their willingness to engage with it.

While there isn’t an ideal time for sending marketing messages, common time slots during the weekdays include 9 am – 12 pm and 5 pm – 9 pm. These time slots represent when people wake up and when they end their workday. This is when they’re most likely to check their phones. On weekends, however, the ideal time slot becomes 10 am – 12 pm. This is when people generally wind down and catch up with their notifications.

Equipped with these tips, you can obtain great results from your SMS marketing efforts.If you desire more efficient communication, Conversely helps companies better connect with customers through SMS and WhatsApp. Want to know how Conversely can help? Contact us today!