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SMS marketing, or SMS texting more specifically, is a type of SMS (short message service) marketing that involves the use of text messages to promote your brand or business. SMS can include anything from promotional offers, special deals, and sales to informational updates about your products and services.
SMS also includes SMS coupons, which are becoming increasingly popular with mobile users. SMS texting brings immediate attention to your campaign since you receive an instant notification when someone responds to your text. This means if someone subscribes via SMS, you will know immediately instead of having to wait for them to return web forms or give feedback some other way.
With over six billion text messages sent every day, SMS marketing provides businesses with direct access to consumers on their mobile devices at an affordable price (the SMS marketing rates are the lowest in the industry) that is also easy to implement. SMS texts can be sent in bulk quickly and easily, making SMS marketing one of the fastest-growing forms of marketing today.
Although SMS texts can be used for lots of things like sending birthday greetings to friends, scheduling reminders where you want to go out for dinner, or even just checking on your favorite sports team scores, SMS hasn’t been used historically as a form of advertising. In fact, it wasn’t until recently that SMS was being widely used for eCommerce activities such as online shopping, online coupons, and promotions.
In this article, we’re going to discuss what SMS marketing is and share tips and tricks you can use to create successful SMS campaigns.
What is SMS Marketing?
SMS texting is an SMS form of marketing that involves the use of short message service (SMS) text messages to promote your brand or business. SMS texts can include anything from promotional offers, special deals, and sales to informational updates about your products and services. SMS also includes SMS coupons, which are becoming more popular with mobile users.
SMS texting brings immediate attention to your campaign because when someone responds to your text you receive an instant notification. This means if someone subscribes via SMS you will know immediately instead of having to wait for them to return web forms or give feedback some other way.
There are 2 different ways that SMS marketing can be conducted. SMS can be conducted via SMS subscriptions or SMS alerts. SMS text messages sent to subscribers are called SMS subscription texts while SMS alerts are SMS marketing texts that are sent to people who have opted into your eCommerce campaign for alerts without subscribing first.
SMS texting provides businesses with direct access to consumers on their mobile devices at an affordable price. SMS texts can be sent in bulk quickly and easily, making SMS marketing one of the fastest-growing forms of messaging today.
Although SMS has been used historically as a form of SMS advertising it wasn’t until recently that companies began using them in SMS marketing campaigns.
Why SMS Text Marketing for eCommerce?
SMS newsletter or SMS subscription texts can be used to provide your customers with SMS text messages about new products, sales, and special promotions. SMS marketing also allows you to reach mobile users when they are ready to buy and in the place that they were in when they received the SMS text, meaning that your SMS business can become more relevant than ever before.
SMS is a great way for consumers to stay informed about what’s going on with their favorite stores and brands without having to look at ads everywhere they go. Since SMS texts are sent directly from your business, it actually provides an opportunity for businesses to get deeper into consumer minds through personalized messaging. This means that you will get SMS text messages about new products, promotions, and sales.
SMS marketing campaigns are easy to create because alerts can be sent out based on geolocation using texts. This means that you can send relevant coupons to your customers without them having to subscribe beforehand. All they need is a phone number in order for your business to communicate with them via SMS.
You can also include a link in your message that will allow users who want more information about the product or service you are offering to easily get access to it online. If someone wants more details all they have to do is text back the word “DETAILS” along with their question or request.
The Benefits of Using SMS Marketing for eCommerce
SMS marketing has several advantages over web forms and email lists, including:
- SMS messaging is available 24 hours a day – This makes SMS marketing an ideal eCommerce option for users who don’t have access to the Internet or computers.
- Text messages can be sent in batches so that you can reach a larger audience with a single campaign.
- Text recipients won’t have to spend time going through multiple web forms to sign up either since each text message contains a link for them to easily get more information about your brand or business online.
- Consumers get convenient notifications from their phone when they get an SMS coupon which helps encourage them to take action on your offer without any further effort from your end.
SMS eCommerce has the potential to not only engage your eCommerce audience but also get them talking to their friends about your eCommerce business. To make sure that this happens, eCommerce businesses should create SMS promotions that are easy for recipients to share with others via text or social media.
Challenges of Using SMS Marketing for eCommerce
SMS e-commerce may be a smart idea, but there are several challenges involved in creating an e-commerce campaign geared towards mobile users. Since e-commerce campaigns can’t be accessed online or through other apps, you have to figure out how to access these people when they are on the go and communicate effectively with them using SMS texts.
Another challenge involves trying to figure out what should be included in the SMS e-commerce campaign and what should be left out. You might think that including as many eCommerce updates as possible in the SMS campaign is a good idea, but some people may find too many eCommerce texts to be annoying and repetitive. Applicable eCommerce messages such as promotional offers and sales should be included in the SMS campaign instead.
Tips and Tricks for Creating Successful Campaigns
You don’t have to go through all of these steps before you can send an e-commerce text:
Find out your message content
Think about what you want to say and how you want to say it. Keep your tone lighthearted yet professional so that consumers will see your brand’s SMS alerts as part of their daily e-commerce experience.
Make your e-commerce SMS short
You don’t want to send out long text messages since it will take too much time for recipients to read them all. Instead, make it easy for people to scan each text you send out while still getting the information that they need. Include things like a call-to-action along with an offer or sale you are running.
If your eCommerce business is having a special event, let people know by including the date and location in your e-commerce SMS campaign. Keeping your text concise allows you to reach more users without spending too much time trying to connect with them.
Create catchy subject lines
eCommerce businesses should make sure that their texts are subject to intrigue. Come up with text messages with catchy titles like “Looks like you’ve missed out on some eCommerce savings”.
Test your eCommerce SMS campaign
You can’t expect every SMS message that you send out to immediately connect with customers. To see how your SMS message is impacting your eCommerce business, create several versions of the same e-commerce message and test them against each other to see which version gets better results.
Make it easy for customers to share your eCommerce text updates
People tend to be more likely to take action on an e-commerce text if they know it’s something their friends will also find interesting. Make it easy for people to share your e-commerce text messages by including a hashtag in the message.
Measure your e-commerce SMS campaign success
After you’ve sent out an e-commerce text message, make sure that you check back in with recipients to see what they think of your text. You can use tools like Survey Monkey or Google Surveys to get feedback from individuals regarding each one of your messages. This will help you figure out if any tweaks need to be made to the way that you’re sending out texts or which ones are getting better results than others.
Use emojis and GIFs when possible
Since consumers have portions of their day where they are using SMS, you can use these moments to your advantage. Use emojis and GIFs in your e-commerce texts to make the messages more interesting while also showcasing your brand’s lighthearted yet professional side.
Create a signup form for future eCommerce texts
People may not want to receive every text message about an eCommerce campaign while they are out on the go, but if you create a sign-up form that allows them to indicate how often they would like to get updates from you might be able to reach more people later down the road.
Send out scheduled reminders
If there is something important or time-sensitive that needs to be communicated via SMS then it’s best just to send out multiple e-commerce text reminders. This ensures that your customers will see your texts and hopefully take action.
Be honest
eCommerce businesses should make sure that their e-commerce SMS campaigns are honest and transparent with their customers or else they risk getting into trouble with the law.
Use multimedia to enhance your message
To increase user engagement, include things like images and videos in your SMS campaign so you can highlight new products or sales while also communicating important information regarding customer service hours or how long an event will last.
Link back to a website page on your business website
If you want people to learn more about your brand after receiving your eCommerce text then link back to a relevant webpage on your site where both new and existing customers can find more information.
Keep your text recipient list updated
Make sure that you only include the number of SMS subscribers for recipient lists so they are most relevant to an eCommerce campaign with a limited audience.
Include discount codes when possible
Giving people percentages or dollars-off coupons is one of the most effective ways to get them to purchase items via text since it lowers their cost (and therefore risk).
Personalize key information
It’s much more interesting and engaging if you can make your e-commerce SMS campaign seem like it’s speaking directly to an individual instead of a whole group. Use the customer’s name, location, and even previous purchases as talking points within your message so they don’t feel like they are part of a faceless audience.
Keep scheduling deadlines in mind when sending out text updates
Make sure that there isn’t a time where it would be impossible for someone to take action due to their schedule since this will put them off from receiving future messages from you.
Include a call-to-action in every message
Make sure that you include some form of call-to-action within your e-commerce text so people know exactly what you are asking of them. This could be “click here” or something more specific like “use promo code 6963.”
Add marketing language for websites and social media platforms
Your e-commerce SMS campaign should contain keywords, phrases, and hashtags that are relevant to these marketing channels so you can get the most out of any outreach efforts across the board.
Handle customer service issues via text messaging when possible
Companies can use their contact information on their website to communicate with clients through SMS if non-urgent things occur while also using an email address for more urgent matters.
Test the waters before fully investing in an e-commerce SMS campaign
There are plenty of companies that will help you with an SMS campaign but it’s best if you only enlist the aid of one when working on a new eCommerce strategy so you can see how effective it is without unnecessary distractions.
Make use of promotional code greetings
If someone creates an account through your website or signs up for updates then send out a greeting via text letting them know about any special promotions they may be able to take advantage of, including discounts and giveaways.
Conclusion
SMS is the new marketing communications battleground with many players coming in to test its waters. We hope this article was helpful in helping you learn how you can utilize text messaging for eCommerce successfully!
Acowebs are developers of Woocommerce bulk discounts that will help you add bulk discounts to products on your stores. It also has developed various other plugins like the popular plugin for managing the checkout form fields in WooCommerce, called Woocommerce Checkout Manager, which is highly feature-oriented yet lightweight and fast. There is also a free version of this plugin available in the WordPress directory named WooCommerce Checkout Field Editor.
