If you want to increase customer outreach and campaign open rates, then it’s time to deploy text marketing. That’s right; text marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach an ever-growing audience on a mobile level.
With texting success in mind, here is a brief guide to deploying your first text marketing campaign:
Choose a Plan of Action
Although text message marketing campaigns are easier and faster to create than traditional marketing campaigns, you still need to have a plan of action in terms of sharing your texts.
Whether you’re fluent in mobile technology or not, it’s wise to choose an SMS text service from a trusted provider. An SMS text message service provider will take care of all the technical details.
This includes making your messages available for different wireless carriers, linking short codes to your campaigns, and providing you with a dashboard where you can add subscribers and manage each campaign.
With an SMS service provider on your side, all you need to do is target the right customers and come up with catchy campaigns for your business.
Segment and Target Customers
The next piece of the text marketing puzzle is segmenting and targeting the customers you want included in your campaigns. As the following article looks at, in terms of a guide to getting started with text marketing, segmenting your customers should come before targeting.
Segmenting your customers means breaking them down into smaller niche groups based on their shopping histories, interests, and even their age/gender. Once you segment, you can then target those groups with specific text campaigns.
This method is usually more effective than sending generic texts to a massive audience.
Begin the Number Collection Process
Now that you have your customers segmented and their needs/wants/interests targeted, it’s time to collect their mobile phone numbers.
You have three main options in the number collection department: opt-in messages, website opt-ins, and importing previously collected numbers.
Opt-in messages are sent to your current customers’ mobile devices and encourage them to join your text campaigning via a short code.
Similarly, the website opt-in option uses a sign-up widget on your business website to collect phone numbers.
Finally, importing customer numbers from a previous marketing database into your text marketing subscription list is another effective collection route to take.
Create the Right Keyword
An important part of text marketing is coming up with the right keyword. The keyword in combination with your short code is what your customers will text in order to respond to your campaigns.
As a result, you need to make sure your keyword is short and to the point. For example, if you’re promoting an upcoming shoe sale, you’d have customer’s text the word “Shoes” to the proper short code. It’s that easy.
Include a Call to Action with Each Campaign
Along with your keyword and short code, you’ll also want to include a call to action with each marketing message.
Using the shoe sale example above, your text message would look like this: text Shoes to “short code” to get 20% off your next purchase. The call to action will entice customers to respond, so make sure it counts.
By following the brief guide above, you’ll increase your odds of finding your way to text marketing success in no time.
About the Author: Adam Groff is a freelance writer and creator of content. He writes on a variety of topics including text marketing and mobile technology.
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