There are countless advantages a business can gain by using a mass text messaging service. Because mobile communications is a rapidly growing sector, it is vital that businesses capitalise and keep up with the manners in which their customers communicate whilst on the move. Despite the clear growth in use of instant messaging applications such as Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger, SMS messaging prevails as one of the most effective ways to broadcast a written message to a large consumer audience.

Cast the net

In order to expand a businesses’ subscribers there must be some sort of incentive or benefit in place to the customers to make them feel the desire to subscribe to receive SMS messages in the first place. A business can acquire potential customers by persuading them to voluntarily opt-in to an SMS subscription with the possibility of being rewarded with a discount or even something entirely free. SMS subscription can be extremely easy for a new customer as it can be as simple as them texting a keyword to a short code related to your business. This method of gaining ‘opt-ins’ has already proven to be very effective for a large number of businesses.

Content is key

An SMS message is limited to a mere 160 characters therefore it is important for a business to say exactly what it wants to say in a concise way. Text messages are bust be short and to the point, which is largely beneficial as it means that it doesn’t require a lot of the recipient’s time to read and process – a key consideration for today’s marketer. This also means that within a matter of seconds the recipient will have decided whether or not they are interested, making every word count!

Understand what people want

Businesses often dive in and offer services because they think it is what customers desire, however often these presumptions are incorrect and can therefore result in campaigns being unsuccessful. It critical to carry out the appropriate research and thoroughly investigate what it is that consumers desire. Comprehensive market research will help the business to succeed in what it has set out to achieve with its SMS campaign, or any campaign for that matter. And this doesn’t mean hours of research on google, it means actually finding out what customers want by asking them the right questions!

Make it easy

As previously mentioned the act of reading a text itself is an extremely short one as the maximum length of an SMS message is 160 characters, so the information is processed within seconds. However it is also crucial that the process as a whole is simple for the customer which includes taking action upon receiving the SMS and paying out for the service being offered. If the consumer feels that large amount of effort are required to find more information about services they will be all too easily lost as a potential customer.

Link to other channels

SMS messaging also provides businesses with the opportunity to boost their social media presence by encouraging subscribed consumers to “follow” them on Twitter or “Like” their Facebook page. Customers can be encouraged to do this by offering them reward incentives upon subscribing to a businesses social media pages. These rewards can include benefits such as free delivery, promotional codes, free trials or a discount on a service the business provides. Get creative with offers to ensure good engagement.

Make it interesting

In order to really captivate the subscribers businesses could incorporate elements which are current or topical to their SMS message in order to make it unique and interesting to consumers. This can be carried out by linking messages to something relevant in the news or attaching a product or service to a cultural movement or trend. Some of the most successful marketing campaigns in the world have used this technique of finding something everybody is talking about, and making consumers associate it with their product. If done right, this kind of marketing strategy can result in significant engagement and marketing success.