Creative Marketing Solutions: Using SMS to Market Yourself
If you’re a small business, an entrepreneur, an up-and-coming talent, or just learning what it means to promote yourself, using sms to market yourself may be a very new concept to you.
Marketing is the act or process of promoting and selling products or services. This process includes market research as well as advertising. If you’re marketing yourself, you are the product you want people to buy into.
Marketing yourself
One advantage of being the product you’re promoting is you already have a clear idea of your target audience or, at least, the general demographic of your potential clients. For example, if you make music, you know what genre you fall into plus the type of people you expect to see in the crowd.
When you nail down your target audience, you’re one step closer to developing a strategy for marketing yourself. When you know who to get your message to, you are better equipped to choose the right tone and channels to deliver your message.
It might go without saying, but it’s essential to develop your brand to market yourself successfully. When you market yourself, discerning the difference between your brand’s identity and who you are as a person is challenging since the two are inextricably linked. While this is true, it’s not a bad thing.
In fact, the personification of your business into a relatable brand identity is essential to your success. For this reason, though, it’s extremely important to exercise caution and good judgment before putting yourself in the public domain.
Using SMS to market yourself
Clear messaging is key to ensure you’re understood and received well by your audience. As William Shakespeare put it, “All the world’s a stage.” That’s probably never been more true than when marketing yourself. So, choose your lines carefully.
Another aspect of marketing that most people need to consider is cost. Unless you’ve already experienced tremendous financial success or happen to be extremely fortunate, cost is a major factor in your decision-making process.
Fortunately, there are low-cost options to market yourself that cast a wide net. Options to consider are:
- SMS Marketing
- Social Media Marketing
- Video Marketing
- Email Marketing
- Content Marketing
SMS or short message service marketing is a rising star, like your business, in the world of marketing. SMS marketing is a genius technique that uses consent-based marketing to reach subscribers in real-time. You remotely bring potential customers into your marketing sphere and convert them!
Seventy percent of the world’s population has a cell phone, and virtually every single one of those cell phone users can receive text messaging. Even more astounding, though, is that of the 6 billion texts sent every day, 97 percent of them will be opened and read within three minutes of being received.
If you want to get your message out to your target audience, why not tap into something with that kind of reach? Remember, it’s a low-cost option. So, even with a lower open rate, it yields a higher ROI.
Before you begin an SMS marketing campaign to market yourself, there are some important things to remember.
Get consent
As mentioned above, SMS marketing works because it’s permission-based. To understand this, it’s best to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Most of us don’t want to receive text messages from random strangers. Most of us don’t want to get a text from someone we just met or barely know through a friend unless we asked them to text us.
Remember that just because you have a customer’s mobile contact information that does not mean they have permitted you to market to them via text. Always get consent before beginning this marketing strategy.
Failing in this step can get you marked as spam or, worse, lose business. You can allow customers to opt-in through keywords sent to short codes from their cell phones. This is an easy way to be granted the privilege of marketing to your audience through text.
Keep it short
It’s called short message service for a reason. Keeping your texts to about 150 characters is one of the keys to successful text message marketing.
Again, think as a customer. Send a short message that is clear and concise. Make sure it’s easy-to-read. Then, the customer can interact with it quickly. A long-winded message simply won’t engage customers.
Don’t overdo it
You’ve heard the old adage, “less is more.” Consider this when using SMS to market yourself. Think like a customer. It can’t be stated enough.
Nobody wants to be inundated with tons of text messages. In fact, overdoing it is a quick way to get silenced, marked as spam, or opted-out of.
Conversely, don’t go too far in the other direction. Remember people choose to hear from you because you provide value to them. Don’t take this opportunity for granted. If you collect customer contact information, do something with it!
Be honest and keep your promises
When asking customers to opt-in to text message marketing, be upfront and honest. Tell them the types of marketing messages they’ll receive. Tell them how often you’ll text them. And finally, tell them when to expect your text messages.
Letting customers know what to expect from the get-go helps customers feel good about giving you their information. Staying true to what you say you will do also builds a sense of trust between your subscribers and your brand.
Engaging your audience and developing a relationship with them is the best way to create and nurture loyal, recurring customers. This is communication, after all, which is the foundation of any good relationship.
Some of the most effective text marketing techniques are coupons, VIP offers, exclusive content and information. Continue to provide value to your customer so they don’t feel misled or lied to.
Be clear
Written communication is often difficult for budding self-marketers. Just remember to keep your messages clear and concise. When you do, it helps you to avoid communication blunders.
Limit or avoid the use of abbreviations and emojis. These may mean different things to different people. For example, sending LOL for “lots of love” can be confused for “laughing out loud” which makes for an awkward situation at best.
Integrate your social media and video marketing
If you’re taking time to develop marketing using other channels, use instant access to your customers through SMS to direct them to your other content.
Video is a great way to help customers understand your product or service. A great thing about smartphones is they can identify a video within a text, and a full video can play in the messaging app.
Integrating your marketing efforts helps companies, and individuals, see real, measurable, trackable conversions across various marketing channels.
Timing is everything
SMS marketing is one of the most effective marketing tools for the cost. However, the art of a well-timed message is essential to seeing text message marketing results.
Reaching customers through text is immediate. But if you don’t time things well, it’s easy to fall off your customer’s radar and lose your opportunity.
Automating your SMS marketing ensures you follow up with leads and reply quickly which promotes customer loyalty. Plus, it takes the stress out of the marketing process. SMS marketing service providers help you reach your marketing goals.
Summary
Marketing yourself can feel like a daunting task. SMS marketing is perfect if you’re new to marketing, on a tight budget, or learning the benefits of digital marketing.
Texting is essential in the world we live in. So incorporating it into your customer communication gives you a creative and cost-effective channel that stimulates conversions. Additionally, it can complement the marketing methods you’re already using.
