SMS messages have a 98% open rate, but it only takes a few seconds for the reader to move on to the next sellers message. You, as the person marketing through SMS, have the task of capturing their attention with a few words in a few seconds. Otherwise, your text message will be ignored or deleted, and you risk losing a valuable potential customer. Here are a few SMS text marketing tips to help you get started on writing captivating and engaging text messages.
Personalisation or Attention Grabber
Starting off with the customers name adds a personal touch. A message like “Hey Cathy…” will make Cathy think that the message is specifically written for her. This will capture Cathy’s attention immediately, and she will go on to read your promotional offer. When you use the Text Global Enterprise Platform, we will do this step for you. When importing your customers information to our platform include the “First name” then insert this into the message as a merge field.
If you don’t have the customers first name or the data may not be accurate. Open the SMS text message with a bold statement to grab their attention. For example, “Payday Sale NOW LIVE!” or “New stock release!“.
Stick to the point
There’s nothing people hate more than wasting their precious time, so if you babble and babble, no customer is going to stick around long enough to reach the end of your message. You must keep your message short and precise. Best practice is within 160 characters per SMS text messages. Once you capture the reader with their name or attention grabber, start with the real content of the message immediately; no more filler words necessary. State the offer, discount or reason for the SMS text message.
Tell the reader their next step
Now it’s time to let your loyal customer know what to do, or what we call a “call-to-action.” What you can do here is provide them with a clickable link. If you are offering a sale or a discount, then this link should include all the products currently on sale. In case you are showcasing a new line of products or services, this link should lead to that collection. You get the point, provide immediate access to what you are promoting in the message. This will also come in handy for analytics to track how many people are actually reading the message and interested in your offer. If your objective is to get the highest click through rates (CTRs) or sales conversions, we advise to use a more trusted branded URL link, opposed to an unbranded short link.
Create a sense of urgency
People tend to put off a lot of what they think to do, so you must form a sense of urgency in your message if you want customers to act now. Words like exclusive, limited time, today only, don’t miss out, limited stock etc., will encourage the reader of the text message to check out your deal immediately. If you don’t make the offer sound urgent, the customer may put it off for a later time and ultimately forget about it.
Offer an optout
Although this isn’t a way to grab the customer’s attention, it is a GDPR requirement for any promotional SMS text marketing. You must provide a way for the customer to unsubscribe of promotional messages. It may sound like a way to lose customers, but we assure you that it will do the exact opposite. You do not want to give off the impression that you are trapping people into receiving these messages from you forever. This option can be in the form of a phrase like ‘Optout txt STOP to 88440‘. If some people do choose to opt out, then you will know that you are sending offers to only those who are truly interested in them. It will also give you a sense of your customer base. Alternatively, Text Global have a URL optout method making it even easier for customers to unsubscribe at zero cost.
Extra tips
2. Format the SMS text with line breaks to make the content easier to read.
3. Use www. or https:// link formatting when possible.
4. Use a branded URL link when possible to maximise the click through rate.
5. Timing is key – Send the texts when you know your customers are most active online.
6. Place sense of urgency or FOMO (fear of missing out).
Example
This weekend only get 15% OFF all stock!
Shop now at www.YourCompany.co.uk
Use code ‘SMS15’ at checkout
Don’t miss out.
Unsub txtgbl.co/0/Gf5t3
In Conclusion
Promotional SMS text marketing can be highly effective in attracting customers, but only if you do it right. So, next time you are planning out an SMS text marketing campaign, keep these tips in mind!
