Using SMS marketing in 2022

I believe that SMS can penetrate through the noise better than almost any other channel. Why? I've ran multiple SMS marketing campaigns that have yielded quicker results than most email campaigns.

According to attentive.com's 2022 survey of 700 UK consumers, only 34% have opted into SMS from brands—but 90% are interested.

Data everywhere suggests that SMS marketing is a strong marketing tactic and can deliver phenomenal results. It's clear that there's an appetite in the UK market for more use of SMS; in this article, we'll look at how you make SMS part of your holistic marketing strategy, top tips and best practices.

SMS is the perfect medium for sending time-sensitive messages like deals and limited offers. Most people have their mobile phones within reach for most of their waking hours, and it's tough to resist the notification of a new text message. With SMS, you can reach people within seconds

This presents a massive opportunity for you to communicate with your audience through SMS, if you aren't already, and go beyond transactional messages to increase engagement across the lifecycle. As SMS adoption grows even more in the UK, it'll play a significant role in diversifying marketing and revenue streams.

Like me, you're always looking for new ways to break through the noise to reach your customers and drive more revenue. Personalised text messaging has become a powerful brand engagement channel as consumer preferences shift toward mobile commerce.

By offering SMS, you'll create additional touchpoints beyond the core marketing channels you're using today, such as email.

Top tips that drive results

These are my top tips based on my experiences and learnings from SMS campaigns:

1. Have a reliable SMS marketing software that integrates into your CRM

Good SMS software can allow for programmable messaging API, two-way conversations, tracking and analytics. Having it integrated within your CRM means you can send the messages at the right time with the right message for your customers.

Some great options I’d recommend are: Twilio , Messente and Click send .

2. Keep texts short, simple and light

For one, the longer the SMS for more expensive it will be for you, so keeping it short is key. Secondly, remember it’s not an email; you only need one sentence or a ‘trigger word’ to entice customers. Keep it clear and concise, and exclude any confusing or filler words.

The SMS should be straight to the point with a clear CTA; this is more likely to captivate your customers. Make sure you have no grammatical errors or typos, too and avoid using too many exclamation signs and all-caps words because these may be misinterpreted as shouting at customers.

As for making it light, text messages are a great way to engage customers through interactive tests, polls, rewards and games.

3. Get the timing right

While you might think that a text can be sent anytime as long as customers have consented to it, you’re wrong. It’s all about immediacy and perfect timing.

Imagine you are all done with a busy weekday and just sit back to relax. And you hear a ‘ding’. When you are resting, you don’t want to hear from a company, and the same goes for when you’re driving.

A standard timeline for text marketers is between 10:00-20:00, but it can vary depending on your customers and target audience.

The best time to send a text to a specific individual is hard to know but can be understood through customer personas, CRM data, customer purchasing habits and insight.

4. Take an omnichannel approach

You can have customers arriving from all angles using all kinds of devices. Omnichannel marketing means a multi-channel approach so that consumers can enjoy an integrated shopping experience.

In today’s world, mobile users want a seamless experience, no matter their channel or device. Don’t just send a text to sell; your text should take people to other channels. You could use texts to send abandoned cart notifications to regain lost or inactive customers.

1. Get permission

What you don't want to be doing is sending SMS to all; if a prospect or customer doesn't give you consent to text them, you could face legal problems. And texting without permission feels spammy - this could damage your brand reputation.

Don't upload a list of phone numbers or contacts manually, and start sending stuff; gain consent first. People forget when they opt-in to lists all the time, so make sure you keep a record of opt-in agreements in your CRM.

2. Make it easy to opt-out

More than any other channel, SMS marketing requires buyer trust. You do this by making it easy for customers to opt in and opt out of your SMS list.

Yes, you'll likely lose some subscribers, but those who remain on your list are there because they want to see your message, not because it's hard to unsubscribe. Another way you can put your customer in control is by having them text you first to join. You can use SMS to confirm their subscriptions or memberships.

Make it easy to opt out by having 'reply STOP to opt out'. This takes seconds and won't frustrate the user - keep it easy and simple.

3. Be considerate

Since it's accessible to opt out of promotional SMS messages, you want to be incredibly considerate of your customer's inboxes. As a rule of thumb, most of your messages should be related to an order/purchase, from status to asking for feedback. Promotional messages should be few and far between, no more than once a week, in my opinion.

I've experienced receiving the same promotional SMS five times in one week, and although it was an offer that I'd be happy to take up, this amount of messaging annoyed me, and I unsubscribed.

4. Make it conversational (sometimes)

The beauty of SMS is that it's inherently conversational in nature. SMS is all about back and forth dialogue, and marketing through SMS is no different.

SMS is a great way to generate reviews and product feedback directly from your customers. This type of engagement leads them to get excited by your text messages. SMS can be a push channel as well as a strong pull channel.

5. Don't be random

When planning SMS marketing campaigns, resist the urge to send random messages to subscribers. While you might think an open is great, unsolicited messages are not necessarily the best performers. Contextually relevant texts are much more likely to get a click-through, which can mean higher conversion rates.

That's all from me

I've covered almost all the essential facts about SMS marketing, top tips, and best practices you need to know.

We're moving into the future with SMS marketing campaigns. It's time to pick the right software, know whom you're texting, make it interactive and mutually beneficial, and value their interests. Finally, get started with SMS for marketing with a successful text message campaign.

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