Did you know 98% of text messages are opened? That’s a huge open rate—one even email can’t yet beat. SMS text messaging campaigns are popping up everywhere. An SMS campaign is possible for all businesses—whether small business or corporate. If you’re not opting for an SMS campaign yet, consider making it your New Year’s resolution. Not sure how to start? Follow these steps to get your SMS campaign up and running before the new year.

Gather Numbers

Before you’re able to start your campaign, you’ll need your customers’ mobile numbers. While customers are willing to give up their email addresses, they’re not always ready to hand over their personal phone numbers. Start by building trust with your customers. First and foremost, let them know what you’ll be doing with their phone number—and remember not to bombard them with text messages.

How do you begin gathering numbers to start your SMS campaign? If you’re a brick and mortar store, ask for your customers’ phone numbers at the register. Selling services online? Use your landing page information forms to gather this information.

Some things to keep in mind when you’re gathering phone numbers from your customers:

  • Opt-in: Before sending messages, you’ll need to ensure the customer has opted in. I’ll discuss this later.
  • Unsubscribing: If you’re sending too many text messages, or the customer simply no longer wants to receive notifications from your company, they should have the option to unsubscribe. If they choose to unsubscribe, you must remove them from your list immediately. This is not only good business practice, it’s per the law.
  • Cost notification: In a day where most everyone has unlimited text messaging plans, it’s easy to forget that some users pay per text. In your messages, you must notify users that data and text rates may apply.

There are laws that must be abided by—make sure you’re in contact with your lawyer before you implement any SMS campaign.

What’s Your Plan?

Before you start your SMS campaign, figure out why you’re starting the campaign. Are you trying to sell a new product? Interested in getting more subscribers or overall customers? Once you understand the motive behind your new campaign, you’re better able to work with your team to create a message that will resonate with the right meaning behind it.

Know Your Call-to-Action

You’ve discovered your intent behind your SMS campaign—but what about the call-to-action? Let’s say you’re working on bringing in more sales for a specific product. Your call-to-action is for customers to purchase the product at a discount. Once you have this information, you’re able to craft one of the most important pieces of your SMS campaign—the shortcode keyword.

The shortcode keyword is the word a customer needs to text back in order to receive the promotion. It’s also used as a confirmation that the customer has opted in. For this example, you’d use keywords such as “CODE” or “DISCOUNT.” Depending on your campaign, you can play around with this keyword. The key is to choose a shortcode word that reflects your campaign message.

For example, your first message should be “Want to receive sweet discounts on our products? Text YES to 12345.” This allows the customer to opt-in and receive great discounts in the future.

Send Your Messages

You won’t be running a successful SMS campaign from your own personal smartphone. You’ll need to work with a third-party vendor who’s able to automate your campaign for you. As with any research into a third-party vendor for your business, you’ll need to do extensive research before going with one over the others. Some vendors will be better suited for small businesses, while others have the capabilities to handle larger operations.

Here are some of the top text messaging providers:

  • Ez Texting: Ez Testing offers a free trial for those who are just starting their SMS marketing campaign. The free trial includes 250 free messages a month, and one keyword. Use features such as picture messaging, reoccuring messages, and a contact list creator.
  • Trumpia: Trumpia’s another option that offers tons of features. Key tools include keyword data capture, smart targeting, and marketing automation. If you have a large number of contacts, this is a great option.
  • SendPulse: SendPulse lets you personalize your messages so your customers don’t feel like another contact on your list. Analyze your campaign with the statistics feature. SendPulse’s API lets you integrate your campaign with your website, app, and CRM.

Text at the Right Time

When scheduling your messages, take note of the time you’re sending them. Just like a phone call, no one likes to receive a text message at 2 a.m. Remember your demographic—send your messages at an appropriate time. The whole point of an SMS campaign is to reach your customers at the right time—otherwise, they won’t digest the information you’re sending.

Standard business hours are the most appropriate time to send messages. Are your messages time sensitive? For example, you may have a sale happening after business hours right before the holidays. This type of message may be sent outside of standard times.

Take this as an opportunity to look at your data—when are people opening your messages? Once you get your campaign up and running, you’ll find when the best times to message are.

Keep It Short

Who loves reading long-winded text messages? Not many people. The whole point of a text message is to get straight to the point—otherwise, you’d send an email. Make sure your message and call-to-action is short and sweet so there’s no question about the customer’s next step. For example, take a look at PetSmart’s SMS campaign:

The Takeaway

An SMS campaign is a great way to reach your customers instantly. Do it incorrectly, however, and your customers will opt out quicker than you can send your next message. Make sure your customers are getting all the information they need to opt in, opt out, and get all the latest information from your company. Do this correctly and you’ll see results immediately!

Feature Image Credit: textlocal.com