SMS Marketing – Expectations vs. Reality

There’s so much a mobile phone can do these days. Back then, people used their phones for calls and text messaging. As years passed, the humble mobile phone evolved into what we know today—a smartphone that can do more than just texting and calling. Now, people can use it for entertainment purposes, shopping, and more. 

No wonder it’s not too long before marketers realize the potential of text messaging as an effective marketing strategy. For starters, SMS marketing involves sending marketing messages through SMS or text messages. 

SMS marketing strategies, like email marketing, do not need fancy apps or elaborate graphics to reach your target audience. Here are some things you should know about SMS Marketing and why it is one of the best digital marketing strategies today. 

Sms marketing: expectations vs. reality 

It is said that SMS marketing response rates are the highest in terms of push marketing. However, not all businesses discover the benefits and positive impact of SMS marketing in achieving their business goals and objectives. For one thing, business text messaging reaches people faster and easier than emails, especially since SMS doesn’t require an internet connection to open. 

Research shows that click-through rates (CTR) for SMS marketing messages are at a whopping 45% compared to email marketing CTR’s 6% to 7%. This shows SMS marketing’s potential as an effective marketing tool that delivers positive results, shutting down misconceptions that SMS is no longer relevant in the digital age. 

There are still common misconceptions about SMS marketing, and understandably so. This article will discuss some of them. 

Expectation: Text marketing messaging is spammy. 

Reality: A lot of businesses think of SMS marketing as spam messaging. Some companies also think SMS marketing messaging won’t work because most older adults are not fond of using smartphones. 

The truth is that more than 70% of people over 50 use smartphones for texts and calls. Also, 66% of SMS marketing list subscribers purchased something after receiving a message. In other words, SMS marketing messages are welcomed by most users. 

Expectation: You need a lot of customers to create effective SMS marketing campaigns. 

Reality: Even if you only have a few people in your customer database, you can still create effective SMS marketing campaigns. You can gather more customers’ information, including their mobile numbers, and use them for future marketing campaigns. 

If your number of subscribers takes your desired action, that translates to good results. Besides, you can always invite people to opt-in to grow your customer base.  

Expectation: To achieve higher CTR, you have to send SMS marketing messages more often. 

Reality: First, you should understand how to use text messaging as an effective marketing tool. For example, the average CTR and response rate for text messages is higher than CTR for social media ads (ex., Facebook ads). 

This means that SMS marketing messages have higher engagement rates than other types of marketing, including email and social media marketing. You can also explore using SMS marketing in combination with your other strategies for higher and better engagement. 

Expectation: SMS marketing is enough to achieve your business goals.

Reality: Aside from text messaging, it is also best to tandem it with other marketing strategies such as social media and email marketing. 

Your strategy can be effective if you send your customers a personalized email, SMS, and expose them to channel-specific social media posts. It’s all about choosing the right words and reaching them through their preferred channels to achieve your marketing goals. 

Expectation: Use the best medium for the best results. 

Reality: Most marketers often use a popular marketing tool that delivers the best results. But this could be a mistake. Instead, you should use a channel that caters to the right audience, especially if you have a personalized message. 

Your message content should also directly impact your target audience’s purchasing decisions. This included placing a time limit on your offer (ex. “Limited time only,” “Available while stocks last”). 

Sms marketing pros and cons 

Businesses and customers use email and SMS as effective communication tools. Unfortunately, only 70% of companies use SMS messaging as their marketing plan. 

Before you incorporate this into your marketing efforts, it is best to know the pros and cons of text messaging as an effective marketing strategy. 

Advantages 

• Users most likely will open a text message when they receive it. Meanwhile, SMS marketing messages have around a 95% open rate. 
• The top 3 messages people look forward to receiving are reminders, updated texts, and promos/discounts. 
• A study found that email has an average open rate of 16.97%. This puts email significantly lower than SMS, making it more likely that people open and read text messages than emails. 
• Sending text messages is cost-effective compared to paid ads. You will be assured that every cent counts on every SMS marketing message. 
• Customers have the freedom to unsubscribe from text messages from brands. On the other hand, they can choose a text subscription from their preferred business.  
• Marketers say SMS digital communications drive the most revenue growth and brand awareness than other channels. 

Disadvantages 

• As we all know, we can only send a limited number of words through text. People also don’t like receiving long messages. So if you cannot condense your message into 160 characters, you might as well send an email or a social media post instead. 
• You cannot expect to have an extensive SMS list. For one, not everyone might be willing to give their contact numbers to people they don’t know. 
• You cannot also send too many text messages, or it could be spammy and disruptive. 

Takeaways 

If you haven’t used SMS as a marketing tool, now is the right time. Not only smartphones can be used for texts and calls but also to reach your target audience. It is cost-effective and has high CTR and engagement rates. It does not need fancy and elaborate graphics to reach your audience. 

Remember that SMS marketing is all about creating the right copy and call to action to tap into your audience and encourage them to take an action. 

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