Marketing Message Examples: How to Create the Perfect Marketing Campaign with SMS

There are over 7.6 billion people in the world. It is currently estimated that over 5.25 billion people have a mobile device or cell phone. For our statisticians keeping track, that means that around 70% of the world’s population has a mobile device. So, creating the perfect SMS marketing campaign is paramount.

Cell phones touch every demographic of every market on every continent. That’s huge. The majority of those cell phones in use can send and receive an SMS message, also known as a text message. SMS stands for short message service. You’ve probably received more text messages than you can remember or would care to count.

So, it’s not hyperbole to say that SMS communication is universal.

You may be thinking to yourself, “Yeah, okay. Everyone gets text messages. And? It doesn’t mean they actually read them.” But people love to text. There are tons of memes out there for the large portion of cell phone users who prefer short, concise messages.

Learning from the stats

Some fun facts about text messages:

• 98% of all text messages are read.

• Of that number, 90% of them are read within the first three minutes.

Those are some impressive stats, and with stats like that, it is no wonder that marketing to consumers through SMS works. However, as with any marketing campaign, there are certainly ways to create a more successful campaign.

The real-time delivery of SMS messaging can get your important messages in front of your audience in a matter of seconds. Access like that is hard to beat, so SMS marketing can sometimes replace other channels like social media, email, or telemarketing. It also can serve in a more supportive role to other marketing mediums at an affordable cost.

Text marketing can assist in various goals within your company’s marketing strategy. Here are some things to remember if you are thinking about implementing this effective marketing tool.

• Announce yourself to the recipient.

• Use line breaks to improve readability.

• Test view texts on your phone before you send them.

• Reply quickly to hold interest.

• Be mindful of your timing.

With these tips in mind, you’re ready to begin learning about where SMS messaging might assist your brand or business. Here are some examples of SMS marketing campaigns:

Welcome greeting

SMS marketing is permission-based, so your customers have given you consent to message them. What you will be messaging about is established upfront, and it’s a good practice to respond quickly when customers opt-in.

Think: “Thank you for signing up for updates with us!”

This is one of the first messages a customer should receive. Setting up an auto-reply message when a customer opts-in will make the customer feel appreciated and assure them that they have successfully signed up.

In a welcome message, there are certain things you’ll want to include. Be sure to confirm your identity. Tell customers what type of content they will receive through text. Provide an estimate of how often messages will be sent, and be sure to tell them how they can unsubscribe.

While you don’t want people to opt-out, giving them clear information to choose for themselves builds trust and promotes confidence in your brand’s credibility. This clear and concise welcome message is an important first message for your customers to receive.

Be sure to keep the promises you make at this stage. They honored your brand with their consent. Honor your customer in return by doing what you said you would do.

Promotional offers and sales

Promotional offers to customers that have signed up to receive SMS messaging is one tool that businesses use a lot. Oftentimes, customers initially sign up just for the sake of receiving these offers.

Sales and promos are some of the most engaging ways to communicate with participants. These often encourage actual sales, and because technology promotes sharing everything these days, you can acquire potential clients that were otherwise outside of your reach through other marketing channels.

As with the welcome message, you’ll want to announce yourself. Use short snippets of text to indicate your sale or promo. Provide dates and any requirement details as well.

Think: “TODAY: Save 20% On Your Lunch Hour! Promo Code: HUNGRY”

Occasionally these messages will work with sales you have going on already to any customers. However, to keep your opt-in audience engaged, you need to offer exclusive promos. Exclusivity makes customers feel special and gives them value for staying in your SMS audience database.

Event invitations

As we have all learned in recent months, events are not limited to in-person. Events have moved online as well. Staying in touch with prospects and customers keeps you on their minds.

Event reminders build anticipation, and they can make a difference in turnout. A customer could have known about your friends and family sales event last month, but life happens. They might not remember that it’s this Sunday at 3 pm.

A reminder through text will reach them where they are and bring it back into their minds in time to make plans to attend.

Additionally, send event invitations to let subscribers know when and where the event is happening and how to sign up online. This really helps create conversions when you want to drive event signups.

For online events, you can send a reminder just before the start of the event with a link to the event. This takes the work out of it for your customer to make their way to the event online, and it increases the likelihood that they’ll attend without getting distracted.

In the same way that you plan and schedule events, reminders can be built into the scheduled lead up. Planning how you will implement the sms messaging ahead of time really gives you time to focus on other aspects of making your event successful.

Status updates

Feeling forgotten about isn’t fun for anyone. Customers like to feel important and engaged. Customers also like to stay informed and get information quickly.

A customer who waits for a product or a service without any interaction is more likely to become impatient. Impatience can be a customer service nightmare. There’s often nothing to be done when a customer must wait, and if you wait until they’re aggravated, you can really jeopardize your relationship with that customer.

SMS messaging that provides status updates can arrive instantly to assuage fears that the customer has been forgotten. SMS messaging can immediately inform a customer as they move up the line, keeping the customer engaged and feeling attended as they wait patiently.

Think: “You are next in line. Your expected wait time is 20 minutes.”

Texting out updates about event changes, relocation, and extended hours of operation can reach your subscribers en masse. Informed consumers feel engaged, and updates keep you at the forefront of their minds.

Even receiving information that an event has been canceled is well received when sent in a timely manner that helps a customer avoid wasting time simply because they weren’t told soon enough to make other plans. Again, well-informed customers feel cared for.

Think: “Rain, Rain, Go Away! Due to inclement weather, Pets On Parade has been rescheduled for next Saturday. Keep your ears perked for more details!”

In situations like the one in this example, you might not even know the details yet, but alerting subscribers to changes in real-time lets them know that when you have more information, they’ll have more information—customer service through great customer communication.

Lifestyle And community

In today’s environment, you aren’t just selling your products or services. You’re selling customers on who your company is as a brand. Brands have personalities, values, morals, and perceived social responsibility.

Customers gravitate towards brands that align with their own lifestyles and values. Cultivating a community with customers that identify with your brand deepens customer engagement, promotes new connections and builds brand loyalty.

Subscribers who have consented to receive inspirational, motivational, or positive messaging will look forward to getting those messages, and your brand will leap easily to mind for them and maintain a positive space in their perceptual set.

Booking confirmations and appointment reminders

Emails are effective and all, but unless consumers are particularly vigilant with their digital housekeeping, inboxes can get pretty crowded pretty quickly. Spam filters can even keep the message from arriving altogether.

Text confirmations that an appointment has been successfully booked will be open and seen shortly after the booking. The customer knows they’ve got their appointment done correctly.

Additionally, businesses can automate text reminders as the appointment time is approaching. This reduces the number of no-shows who simply forgot.

Summary

SMS marketing campaigns can address a multitude of marketing goals and challenges with your customers. Communication is paramount to any relationship. The real-time delivery of text messages can be the perfect addition to your strategy to engage your customers, increase profitability, and broaden your brand awareness.

With a cell phone in almost every pocket, it’s now increasingly easier to get your brand and products front and center through an affordable avenue.