Following the swift, steep revolution in mobile devices, businesses now more than ever must strive to go mobile in order to reach a greater proportion of customers. And although a number of mobile marketing methods are available, SMS messaging is the most effective method of discretely communicating with users at any time, instantly inviting them to visit your website or store and browse what your business can offer them.

SMS brings numerous advantages to businesses that choose to use it, as it gives them the opportunity to interact with their existing users, whilst also giving the potential to create new customers in very effective ways. But how can you make sure you’re getting the most out of your SMS messages when you use it to market your service or product? Here are five top mobile marketing tips that any business should review before implementing a mobile marketing strategy:

1. Timing is key

Businesses must ensure that their SMS messages are sent at the most opportune moments. For instance, if a customer has recently bought a certain product, sending them a text message about a related product shortly afterwards is often the best way to promote a second purchase. If a customer recently acquired a new product from your business, sending them a exclusive SMS coupon for a discounted related product can provide a very strong incentive for further sales. It is important for businesses to gauge when the appropriate and peak times for SMS delivery to their customers are. If clients receive messages during hours which they don’t wish to be disturbed, they may become irritated by them and choose to opt-out. The key is to use all of the information you can gather about your customers to make an informed decision about when to send different messages.

2. Do not try and cram your SMS messages

Text messages are limited to a mere 160 characters though which to deliver your message to customers. Therefore businesses must ensure that their promotional text messages aren’t crammed with a number of different campaigns or pitches. Instead, a business needs to choose which offer they believe would appeal the most to the recipients of the message.

Similarly, bombarding customers with a number of messages, each offering a different thing will only result in very confused subscribers who instead may opt-out and refuse to purchase anything from your business at all. The most effective SMS campaigns are geared around carefully sculpted messages that don’t overload their readers.

3. Use short sentences

Arguably a key element to a successful SMS campaign, is keeping text messages short, sweet and straight-forward. As mentioned above, SMS messages carry a 160 character limit so rambling is not an option. The faster a business gets the point of their message across, the better.

This can be achieved through breaking up their main message into very short sentences, thus helping to put the point across more clearly, whilst also doing it quickly. This means that rather than sifting through a long email, customers can understand what they are being offered in a matter of seconds.

Using capital letters to highlight a particularly important aspect of an offer is also an effective element of SMS marketing. For example:

“Take an exclusive 25% off your next order. CLICK HERE. Expires Monday, 6pm.”

4. Begin your message with “action” words

Businesses should aim to start off sentences with action words, which just mean verbs, as they make for more lively prose and also don’t waste the readers time with waffle – they get straight to the point. Verbs will save businesses space on the 160 character limit and replace a bunch of excessive words.

Furthermore, the concentrated use of verbs will inspire customers to act and hopefully carry out the action that has been suggested to them in the message. Examples of effective marketing action words include: purchase, buy, sell, save, spend, stop, etc.

5. Do not spam your customers

One of the biggest mistakes a business can make in any campaign which contacts their customers is harassing them. It is crucial for a business to understand that the ability to send a message to potential or past customer is a PRIVILEGE, not a right. If customers are bombarded with too many messages, or ones which they deem pointless, they are likely to opt-out.

A well executed SMS message should be anticipated, personal and relevant to the intended recipient. The best marketing messages are those which are missed by the customer if a business does not send them. Every business should strive to create SMS campaigns that have that effect.