What is SMS marketing?
SMS is simply receiving marketing offers and promotions via text message. They’re a great low-cost option to send messages en masse. However, it’s extremely important to remember Australia’s Spam Act 2003 which prohibits the sending of commercial electronic messages via email, SMS, multimedia message service or instant messaging without the consent of the receiver.
You may have heard about SMS marketing recently and the texts Australians received from Craig Kelly and the United Australia Party. Whilst political parties and charitable organisations are exempt from the Spam Act, unsolicited text messages can often backfire and make the receivers of messages annoyed and
Why choose SMS marketing?
So, if you have permission to send your clients SMS marketing messages, here’s why you’d want to utilise the power of SMSs. They practically speak for themselves by having a click-through rate of around 19%, far exceeding email (2.43%), Google AdWords (2%), Facebook (0.98%), Instagram (0.52%), and LinkedIn (0.13%).
Effective types of SMS marketing.
Alerts and notifications
These SMSs can alert your customers to several things, you could be sending a reminder of an upcoming appointment which will reduce cancellation rates. Other reasons to send these types of messages are changes to store hours, new products or services, and special events.
Promotional SMS (deals and discounts)
These deals are usually a percentage discount on a product or service. They should always be time-sensitive to create a sense of urgency. These types of SMSs encourage the recipients to make impulse decisions.
SMS coupons
Coupons differentiate themselves from promotional SMSs due to the longer expiry on a special price or discount. These coupons are often sent in the form of multimedia messages. The images that accompany the SMS should be visually engaging to increase in-store traffic and online purchases. They should always include the offer details and the expiry of the coupon.
Text-to-win competitions
Competitions that require customers to text in offer businesses a great way to build their databases for SMS marketing. The process for using competitions is relatively simple - advertise your competition with a dedicated number that is linked to your SMS account, then receive the responses and either hand-pick the winner or use a randomiser.
Flash sales
These SMSs are a great way to shift leftover or seasonal stock. Send flash sale SMSs out before a sale begins as these types of messages rely on impulse purchases from customers. This also allows customers to get advanced sale notifications.
Loyalty programs
SMS loyalty is all about making customers feel valued and special. After users sign up you can send automated welcome messages, exclusive benefits, and discounts.
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