Learn how to effectively plan, execute, and optimize SMS campaigns with our complete guide. Discover strategies, tools, and best practices for success.
Text message campaigns efficiently deliver messaging to customers' mobile devices, cutting through the noise of overflowing email inboxes and endless social media feeds.
However, a successful SMS strategy requires more than just random text blasts. Instead, you need a platform with time-saving automation, third-party app integrations, and powerful analytics.
With an SMS campaign manager, you can master the art of strategic messaging, efficient workflows, and better customer communication. This guide will walk you through what to look for in an SMS marketing tool, how to plan high-performing text campaigns, and common mistakes to avoid.
An SMS campaign manager is a software platform that gives you the power to create and analyze text message marketing campaigns at scale. With an SMS management tool, you can:
If your business plans to use SMS marketing campaigns to connect with customers and prospects, this type of software platform isn't optional. Instead, it's essential for managing contact lists, campaigns, and compliance.
SMS marketing software has the infrastructure you need to set up a short code or long code phone number for business texting. It also has the mass texting capabilities you need to send messages at scale.
With a business texting tool, you can easily manage subscriber consent with opt-in and unsubscribe tools. Plus, you can monitor delivery rate and click-through rate (CTR) metrics, which give you insight into the customer experience.
Explore Sakari's SMS Campaign Manager Features
To start sending SMS messages, follow these three steps.
Start by clarifying the goals for your campaign. This will help you determine how to set up the campaign, including the number of messages to send, the types of messages to write, and the calls-to-action (CTAs) to include.
Some common objectives include:
As you develop more use cases for SMS messages, it becomes more important to segment your audience. After all, you won't want to send welcome messages to long-time subscribers or VIP offers to new customers.
Sakari's contact lists make it easy to create different audience groups based on attributes like their customer type or location. You can also use behavioral attributes like engagement level to increase interaction.
Once you're clear on your goal and your target audience, you're ready to create campaigns. Craft messaging that reflects your brand voice and speaks to your customers while keeping SMS parameters in mind.
SMS marketing platforms like Sakari send messages in segments of 160 characters. A text message can have up to 10 segments. But to maximize deliverability, keep yours to between one and three segments.
Keep in mind that emojis and links count toward the 160-character limit. Use our text message length calculator to plan your campaigns and make sure they look how you expect and cost what you estimate.
The best SMS marketing platforms include these essential features.
Sending messages manually tends to be incredibly time-consuming. Look for a platform that lets you schedule messages in bulk so you can message the right customer segments at the right time.
Sakari's SMS automation capabilities make it easy to send timely texts, build customer relationships, and respond to questions without having to message manually.
The harder the platform is to use, the less likely your team is to use it. Seek out a business texting platform that's easy to set up and navigate.
Sakari's messaging templates let you build texts that you can reuse across segments. They also allow personalization so you can easily connect with customers.
Are your campaigns meeting the goals you set? Look for a software platform that has powerful SMS analytics.
Sakari's real-time analytics let you check the metrics that matter most in the moment. Then, you can use the insights to update and improve your campaigns.
Your SMS marketing platform shouldn't operate in isolation. Seek out software that integrates with the marketing tools you already use.
Sakari connects to many major CRM and marketing tools. And our Zapier integration lets you connect with thousands of other apps.
Improve the ROI of your SMS marketing strategy by following these best practices.
SMS is a permission-based marketing channel. This means everyone must opt into your contact list.
Ideally, subscribers will want to remain on your list and continue receiving messages from your business. However, you should make it easy for them to opt-out by texting a specific keyword.
SMS is known for high engagement rates. However, great engagement isn't a given. Instead, it requires careful planning.
To optimize campaigns for your audience, check SMS analytics regularly. Use them to spot the best engagement times for your subscribers. If you notice a lot of unsubscribes, consider decreasing your messaging frequency.
On the surface, SMS marketing may seem like a channel you can set and forget. However, maintaining high engagement and conversion rates requires ongoing testing.
Make a plan to check text message analytics regularly (e.g., weekly or monthly). Then, make data-driven decisions to adjust your campaigns.
Before you use this marketing channel, check that you aren't making these missteps.
Texting contacts who haven't opted in (or worse, who have already opted out) isn't something to take lightly. To use SMS marketing, you must get permission to text customers and follow GDPR and TCPA regulations.
For SMS, more isn't always better. To keep engagement levels high and avoid losing subscribers, strike the right balance. Send enough messages to meet your marketing goals without overwhelming your contacts.
Not every text message you send has to sound the same, even with automated campaigns. Add personalized elements like names and appointment details automatically to make messages more relevant.
If you neglect to check SMS analytics, you're likely to miss out on important insights that could cost you sales or subscribers. Check analytics weekly or monthly to assess performance, spot issues, and optimize campaigns.
Running successful SMS marketing campaigns requires a thoughtful strategy, effective messaging, and the right software platform. Take a look at two real-world examples of brands that trust Sakari for SMS marketing.
Octopus HACCP, a French SaaS company that produces a hygiene control app for restaurants and hotels, struggled with high no-show rates on sales calls. This issue led to wasted time and opportunities.
With Sakari, Octopus HACCP created a text-based reminder system for prospects. By implementing this system and integrating Sakari with the company's CRM, the team has decreased no-show rates by 10%.
Rise Physical Therapy, an Arkansas-based physical therapy business, was no stranger to SMS marketing. However, the company's previous SMS tool didn't integrate with its CRM, making omnichannel campaigns tough.
The Rise team easily connected Sakari to its CRM and set up automated workflows to message customers after appointments. This approach has collected significantly more Google reviews.
From SaaS platforms to service-based businesses to ecommerce companies, Sakari is a top choice for SMS marketing. Choose Sakari for business texting when you want:
With the right SMS campaign manager, your team can automate messaging and build customer lists, helping you achieve key marketing goals and grow your business. However, not every SMS marketing platform has the right balance of features, interface, and pricing.
Start a 14-day free trial with Sakari and experience seamless SMS campaign management. Connect with customers, handle compliance, and integrate your marketing tools from a single platform.
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