SMS Marketing Best Practices for Better Engagement & ROI

30 SMS Marketing Best Practices

Once you’ve chosen the type of message that you’re sending, you need to think about following these SMS marketing best practices to make sure that you get the best possible results.

To Ensure Legal Compliance and Uphold Ethical Standards

1. Obtain explicit consent: Make sure that you always get permission from clients before you send them a text. You can do this by including an opt-in form on your website or other online channels. For instance, when they create their account they include their phone number.
2. Provide clear opt-out options: Just because someone has let you send them texts, doesn’t mean they can’t change their mind. Make unsubscribing straightforward for them, common practices are letting customers know they can reply with “STOP” or giving them a link to unsubscribe. If they do either of those things, they must be removed from your SMS marketing lists.
3. Adhere to legal standards: Make sure you read and understand regulations around SMS marketing in your country and state. In the US, the TCPA and CAN-SPAM set out the laws around text message marketing. They stipulate that you receive written consent and provide consumers with clear terms.
4. Maintain transparency: Be transparent about your privacy policy and how customer data is handled and protected. So when clients opt-in to receive your SMS marketing, provide a link to your privacy policy so that they know how you will use their information.
5. Include compliance notices: Ensure all the text messages you send include necessary legal disclaimers and opt-out information.

To Craft Impactful and Engaging SMS Content

6. Keep it short and sweet: Make sure that you limit your text messages to 160 characters, and focus on concise and clear communication. That means don’t use too much slang, or cut words in a way that could be confusing.
7. Be creative and engaging: Think about ways to innovate your messaging to capture attention and interest. If people receive similar messages a lot, they’ll stop paying attention to them. How can you keep their interest?
8. Start with a bang: Introduce your business name early in the message for immediate recognition. Your clients need to know who they’re getting a text from, to increase their trust and interest. If you wait until the end of the message to say who you are, they may not even read it.
9. Use a conversational tone: Write messages that are friendly and personal, you don’t have a lot of space to craft a message, so make it to the point, and friendly. When you write your message think about whether you’d like to receive it, and if it feels relatable to your clients.
10. Offer clear calls to action: Include direct and unambiguous CTAs in every message. You’re sending a text message for a reason, make sure that the action you want your customer to take is clear.

To Optimize Campaign Performance for Maximum Impact

1. 11. Test and experiment: Use the data from your SMS marketing campaign performance to try different strategies and content to see what resonates with your audience. You could test different messaging and offers to see what works best.
   12. Balance message frequency: Find the right balance with sending SMS messages, you don’t want to overwhelm your customers with constant texts or send messages so infrequently that they think it could be spam when you do.
   13. Leverage advanced SMS marketing software: Use sophisticated tools like Sakari to streamline your SMS marketing campaigns. Software solutions offer automation, detailed analytics, and integration capabilities that improve campaign management and performance. Make your life more efficient by making SMS marketing easier with software.
   14. Monitor and adjust campaigns regularly: Check your SMS campaign performance continuously and use the data to make necessary changes and test new things. The information you have is valuable, so make sure you’re constantly adjusting campaigns for maximum impact.

To Personalize Customer Engagement for Deeper Connections

15. Tailor messages to individual preferences: Customize messages based on customer segments and individual preferences. The beauty of text messaging is that you can personalize it using the data you have about your customers. You can send an offer to all your customers in Texas, or everyone who has a birthday that week, making sure that your brand appears at the right time with the right offer.
16. Collect and use feedback: Send SMS campaigns with feedback surveys to gather and act upon customer opinions. These can improve your marketing efforts, and customer service to make sure that you are helping your customers.
17. Make every message valuable: Don’t send a text just to reach out, ensure that each message offers something beneficial or interesting to the recipient. That way your customers will want to listen and engage.

To Leverage Multichannel Synergy for Broader Reach

18. Integrate with other marketing channels: All your marketing channels need to be working together, so make sure to link your SMS marketing efforts with email, social media, and other platforms.
19. Embrace omnichannel strategies: Incorporate SMS messages into a broader, cohesive omnichannel marketing strategy. Your clients need to feel that all channels and people within your company are working together to give them one single message from a unified brand.

To Drive Promotions and Event Engagement Effectively

20. Announce new products: SMS is a great way to let clients know about timely announcements of new products or services. You should send an email marketing campaign with in-depth information, but texts are a great way to push clients to check out your new product or service.
21. Promote events and offers: Use your SMS marketing strategy to effectively promote online and in-person events. Texts are an ideal channel to remind clients about upcoming events near them, or online ones that are happening.
22. Create exclusive VIP programs: Develop special offers for loyal customers to foster a sense of exclusivity. When you have repeat customers, send them exclusive offers to make them feel special and more connected with the brand.
23. Utilize incentives: Providing buyers with compelling offers, discounts, or exclusive access drives engagement. It’s also a great remarketing campaign to remind people of your brand and encourage repeat purchases.

To Grow and Manage Your Subscriber Base Strategically

24. Develop list growth strategies: Employ methods like text-to-join and QR code signups to expand your SMS list. You can use QR codes at events, and give people an exclusive offer if they do sign up to your SMS marketing list.
25. Encourage SMS list sign-up: Actively promote joining your SMS list through various channels. You can do a website pop-up where you offer a discount if they sign up, and you could promote it via email or social media as well.
26. Segment your audience: To make sure your text message campaigns are effective, send targeted messages based on demographics, behavior, and preferences. The more personalized your content is, the more likely people are to read it and take action.

To Enhance Customer Service and Boost Interaction

27. Offer text-based customer support: You could provide convenient and responsive customer service through SMS. So when someone reaches out, you could have a bot that can answer and pass the conversation to a human if needed. This will make your texts feel more human and increase trust.
28. Send timely updates: Text messages are great for sending real-time notifications, to let people know about order confirmations, deliveries, or appointment reminders. A short, quick, and useful message shows your clients that you care about them.
29. Focus on immediate communication: SMS are sent fast, and normally read quickly, so harness that to send urgent or time-sensitive communications.
30. Text during the day: Consider what time you’re sending a text message campaign. You don’t want to wake someone up with a text at 3 am. Between 8 am and 9 pm are the recommended times to send a text.

How Sakari SMS Marketing Software Can Help

Sakari’s powerful SMS marketing software enables you to create campaigns, track the results, and test new tactics to make sure that you are getting the best results. Use our powerful integrations to make your campaigns more effective, and try our MMS, two-way texting, and autoresponders to continually improve your marketing.

Discover the Power of SMS Marketing Software: Start Your Sakari Free Trial Now!

Following SMS marketing best practices ensures that your text message marketing campaigns see the best results. As clients’ trust and engagement increases, your results improve along with your ROI.

With Sakari you get a reliable SMS messaging platform, that scales with you, continually improving your text messaging campaigns. Benefit from our 1,300 integrations, and our know-how on all regulatory requirements. Start sending, tracking, and analyzing all your SMS campaigns today with our 14-day free trial!

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