SMS marketing is when businesses send promotional texts and other text messages to their customers. It's a powerful and cost-effective marketing solution for several industries. A few basics to understand first:
#1: What is SMS? It’s an acronym for “short message service.” Put simply, it’s a text message.
#2: Why use SMS marketing? SMS campaigns connect businesses with customers and potential customers to grow sales, engagement and revenue.
It’s really just like any other marketing channel, but instead of emails, billboards, cold calls or blog posts, SMS marketing gets the message to consumers via text message.
Again, that’s the highly simplified version. You’ll need to consider dozens of other factors, such as the rules for opting into SMS campaigns. This guide will cover everything you need to know.
.png)
The marketing landscape is now dominated by text marketing, but that wasn’t always the case. SMS marketing comes from humble beginnings.
What really drove SMS campaigns to the top of the marketing food chain was the smartphone. Marketers quickly saw the power of reaching people on these new devices and took action. But a lot led up to that big moment in text marketing.
You send a mass text to potential customers via an A2P platform. You include a keyword, code and disclaimer.
Those who are interested in getting more texts from your business respond to the text with the keyword you sent. This is called opting in, and it means you have permission to send that person text messages.
Your platform sends an automatic response to those who subscribe. This response includes a code that allows them to opt out (unsubscribe) at any time.You can send messages to and receive them from those who have opted in. That means you can send updates, reminders, news and much more.
SMS marketing is not a one-size-fits-all marketing method. Each industry and application will have its own approaches, and it’s important to think about your approach before you begin sending messages.
With SMS marketing, you can send online or in-store coupon codes directly to existing customers or contacts.
Pick your codes carefully so that you don’t run into people who are sharing or stealing codes to get deals. This allows for better campaign tracking and protects your bottom line.
Anything you can do to make it easy to use the code will be useful. Consider allowing contacts to add your codes to digital wallets or simply show the text in the store.
Brand loyalty is worth big bucks. It’s how you turn one-time customers into lifetime supporters of your business, and you can do it with SMS marketing. Build a loyalty program that gives exclusive incentives and rewards to your text contacts.
Smaller and mid-sized businesses can send promo codes to contacts. Larger businesses often see success by asking contacts to text a short code that will automatically trigger a text with an app download link. In the app, contacts can make online purchases and get access to exclusive rewards.
Customized and personalized SMS campaigns lead to higher engagement. They make your contacts feel like your business cares about them.
Instead of going through hundreds of contacts and sending a personalized message to each one, you can automate the entire process and even address your contacts by their first name. Short videos, photos and similar media that display personalized product recommendations can take your text marketing efforts to the next level.
Segmentation helps with personalization. You can segment your contact lists however you like to target your SMS marketing efforts. For instance, if you know certain customers prefer a certain type of product you sell, you can add them to a segment that will only get texts about that type of product.
Keeping your customers informed as their purchases are shipped to them is key to their satisfaction.
They want to know what’s going on and when to expect their package. Give them what they want by sending automated tracking and order updates via SMS.
SMS marketing isn’t just for businesses. Companies can use it to communicate with employees. Nonprofit organizations can message donors. Sports teams can keep up with each other. It’s all possible with mass texting.
Nothing gets people engaged with a brand like the chance to get free stuff. You can coordinate contests, giveaways and similar campaigns through SMS marketing.
Contacts can sign up via text message for the chance to get a giveaway, and you can structure the competition however you like. With SMS, these kinds of promotions are easy and effective.
Don’t forget to use the promotion as a chance to promote the services or products your business deals in.
There’s a saying about opinions — everyone has them. And they’re more valuable than gold for many businesses. With SMS marketing, you can easily send out surveys and polls and get high response rates. Text polls typically get response rates of 10 to 15%. That’s nearly double the average for emailed polls.
The reason for that higher engagement? It’s easier to respond on your phone because you’re already on it.
Coordination is notoriously difficult in event planning. Make it easier with mass SMS!
You can quickly and easily send dates, location updates, reminders and instructions to every potential attendee. The result is better attendance and better ROI for you.
.png)
People love getting texts. Those four words are at the heart of why SMS campaigns are so effective.
If you’re wondering exactly how effective SMS marketing is, all you have to do is understand that 98% of text messages get read in under three minutes.
A near-100% open rate is not the only benefit of SMS marketing, but it’s a big part of the reason why these campaigns provide such fantastic results. Here are the key benefits to expect:
For many in the communications and advertising fields, these benefits are no longer news. They’re expected — that’s how powerful text marketing has become.
With all that said, these benefits aren’t guaranteed — especially if you’re flying blind. You have to focus on crafting the right message, growing your contact lists, mobile optimization and much more to get the most out of your SMS marketing strategies.
The concept of A2P messaging is fairly straightforward. It’s in contrast to person-to-person (P2P) messaging. Instead of receiving messages directly from someone else’s phone, your contacts are getting messages from your business via a platform like Texting Base.
The simple invention of A2P didn’t solve all problems, though. Businesses started using Short Codes to overcome the fact that normal, 10-digit phone numbers aren’t compatible with mass messaging. These Short Codes were often shared. And that created a huge problem. What exactly is a Short Code? You have probably already seen them on your mobile phone as a 5 to 6 digit phone number. If at any time you bought something on and you got a shipping confirmation from this number 262966, that is a dedicated Short Code. The dedicated Short Code 262966 is provisioned by the mobile carriers and dedicated just to . This means that only can send and receive text messages on that specific Short Code.
If you were sharing a Short Code, you were sharing it with potentially thousands of other businesses that the wireless provider has randomly assigned to that code. If even one of the businesses you shared a Short Code with broke the short code rules from the CTIA, everyone using that code had a problem, including you.
To be specific, your account would be suspended.
The major wireless providers quickly understood that this was a problem, so they started banning shared Short Codes. By June of 2021, shared Short Codes were a thing of the past. Now, businesses need to transition to a 10DLC messaging strategy, Toll-free phone numbers (800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, 833), or a dedicated Short Code.
A 10DLC 10-digit number is unique to you. It’s your usual phone number such as 212-555-1234. And you have to use it if you want to use A2P SMS marketing. And picture MMS marketing.
The major wireless providers quickly understood that this was a problem, so they started banning shared Short Codes. By June of 2021, shared Short Codes were a thing of the past. Now, businesses need to transition to a 10DLC messaging strategy, Toll-free phone numbers (800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, 833), or a dedicated Short Code.
A 10DLC 10-digit number is unique to you. It’s your usual phone number such as 212-555-1234. And you have to use it if you want to use A2P SMS marketing. And picture MMS marketing.
Shorter registration time with The Campaign Registry
Almost no filtering by the mobile carriers
Easier campaign tracking
Voice call support
Ability to get local area code
Less expensive than unique dedicated Short Codes
Send more messages faster
Allows for high-volume text messaging
Avoid having shared Short Codes blocked
User experience improved
You can send SMS and MMS picture messages
.png)
You must register your business
Application approval process before messages can be sent
Application delays due to missing or incorrect information
Limited to sending up to 3,000 bulk text messages a day for starter brands
Additional monthly costs if you want to send more than 3,000 messages a day
Harder to remember than a short code
.png)
Get help: An SMS marketing company like Texting Base can make the 10DLC process much easier for you. The best SMS advertising platform will have a great support team that will walk you through applications, 10DLC number selection and getting the campaign up and running efficiently.
.png)
You can make the 10DLC switch to a normal, local phone number, but there’s another option: a Toll-free number from Texting Base. These numbers use a prefix like 800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877 or 888. If you already have a Toll-free number for your business, you can enable it for Toll-free SMS texting with Texting Base. You can also implement a new one. But keep in mind that there are some pros and cons of Toll-free SMS messaging that you will need to consider.
Can be customized for branding, such as 800-CALLNOW
No need to register with The Campaign Registry
Easier to remember when branding is used
Voice call support
Can be immediately enabled for Toll-free SMS and MMS
Allows for high-volume text messaging
Best for allowing responses from contacts
You can send SMS and MMS pictures messages
Subject to different regulations than 10DLC
Lower deliverability than 10DLC
Subject to strict carrier filtering
Unsolicited phone calls due to the number being free to call may put pressure on customer support
To get results from your text marketing efforts, you have to have contacts. Without contacts, you’re sending your messages into a void and will get no ROI. You have to convince people to opt in.
See below for some examples of how companies can convince customers to opt in:
How nonprofits can grow their donor bases.
How food companies can build their SMS contacts.
How transportation providers can get more text contacts.
How clothing stores can keep the customers coming.
SMS and email marketing are not at all the same thing. They each require unique approaches and target customers in different ways. But they sure do work well together. Like SMS marketing, email marketing relies on permission from contacts. You can combine the opt-in instructions to allow for both contact points: email and text messaging.
This is how advanced marketing gurus help their clients bring their revenue to new heights. But you don’t have to rely on a guru — you can do it yourself with a comprehensive SMS platform.
Communicate more information and send messages more frequently with email marketing.
Send quick, powerful updates to text contacts to spread the word and get responses and engagement.
Running a business, group or organization is all about relationships:
It’s inescapable. You have to nurture relationships to find success. Your customer relationship management (CRM) platform is likely at the center of your relationship management efforts. And it should be.
HubSpot is one of the most common CRMs. That’s because it integrates with tons of other platforms, such as the SMS marketing platform you choose. Its functions are complex, but it’s easy to use. Everything is all in one place.
Centralizing your relationship management allows you to see all of your data in the same place. And you manage it through one easy-to-use dashboard.
.png){kind=small}
Web traffic, engagement and more
Email marketing campaigns
Revenue and online sales
More information is available inside each application, but using a CRM to centralize the high points makes your marketing easier.
But why should you bother tracking the performance of your text marketing efforts in your CRM? Because the progress you make is important. You need to know what’s working, what’s not working and what you should do differently to get even more engagement with SMS marketing.
SMS campaigns can drive real, impressive results. But this is one marketing channel to be used alongside many. You need a comprehensive tool for analyzing the data you get from your SMS campaigns — one that lets you see the information alongside many other metrics.
Here’s why tracking, data and analytics matter for SMS and many other types of marketing:
The pillars of SMS marketing are where you should start. Once you’ve mastered what we’ve discussed so far, it’s time to move on to the expert tips. Here are five master-level techniques to use in your SMS campaigns:
The average consumer isn’t spending too much time editing their text messages. What if they don’t spell your opt-in keyword correctly? To prepare, you need failover keywords.
HERE'S AN EXAMPLE
Keyword:
Failover Keywords:
If someone misspells your opt-in keyword in one of the ways you’ve outlined in your failover keywords, they still opt in.
Creating urgency is key in marketing. People need to know an offer has an expiration date. Only then do they become motivated.
You can set these dates to be dynamic in SMS marketing. Instead of setting a bunch of end dates for promotions and hoping people opt in quickly, you can set dates for specific intervals after someone opts in.
That way, everyone who subscribes gets 24 hours (or whatever amount of time you choose) to take advantage of your offer.
Segmentation is an advanced text marketing technique that deserves your attention. All you need is your contact list and a little more information about each contact:
You can separate your contact list into groups based on demographic details like these. From there, you can send targeted messages to individual groups — not all of them at once. This allows you to personalize your SMS marketing and manage more targeted campaigns.
If you’re not A/B testing your SMS marketing campaigns, you’re missing out on a whole lot of opportunities to boost your ROI. Testing is THE way to find out what’s working and what might work better.
Your company texts your contact list a promo code every month. Every time, you use the same call to action (CTA).
You suspect that a different CTA might lead to more sales. You want to find out, but you don’t want to risk a bad month with the wrong CTA.
Instead of wholesale changing the CTA, you split your contacts in half. One group gets the brand new CTA, and the other gets the old CTA.
You check your SMS platform’s data about the campaign to see which CTA performed better. You were right! The new CTA led to an uptick of 17% in promo code redemptions. The new strategy was successful, and you decide to use it for all messages going forward.
Using your SMS marketing platform, enable link tracking. This feature gives you the ability to see how many people are clicking links in your marketing messages across various channels.
With comprehensive data about what kinds of messaging are inspiring contacts to click your links, you can tweak your campaigns for better performance.
You’ve done it — you made it through this SMS marketing guide, and now it’s time to get your first campaign going. Here’s how:
You came here for knowledge and inspiration. We’ve covered the knowledge bit, so let’s seek some inspiration from those who have gone before us. Below, we outline steps real companies have taken to get real results with SMS marketing.
Find the “New Message” button. Click it, and get ready for your marketing to blast off.
Select a keyword that is short and memorable. It should relate to your promotion in some way if possible, but it’s also possible to use easy-to-remember letter and number combos.
Write it, or choose one of the pre-built welcome messages from our templates. This is what people will see right after they opt in to your campaign.
Continue to the next step — but save your changes first!
Select the 10DLC number your message should come from. If you only have one, the choice is easy. Next, upload the phone numbers you want to contact or enter them manually.
Be clear and concise here. This is the text that will describe your promotion or communication. Make sure to include any need-to-know details about the promotion, as well as relevant photos if applicable. Try to be creative and memorable, but focus on clarity.
With your message written, you’re ready to schedule it. You can choose the time and date you want the message to go out. Also, click “Preview” to see what your message will look like on various devices.
It’s that simple! You’re done, so it’s time to relax and wait for the results to pour in. Once the message has gone out, you can get real-time data in the Texting Base dashboard.
Every time you analyze performance data, you get actionable insights to apply to your future campaigns. They’ll only get better with time.
Who has the time to craft the perfect message for every single mass text campaign? Few people do, but there’s good news: We’ve taken the liberty of providing a ton of SMS marketing templates. Feel free to use them!
Keep your team organized, your clients motivated and your treadmills full with these SMS marketing templates.
.png){kind=small}
Deliver world-class customer service that exceeds all expectations with honest, engaging customer service templates.
Sell more and grow your revenue — whether it’s online or brick and mortar — with these razor-sharp texts.
.png){kind=icon}
Wax more brows, give more massages and keep the aromatherapy flowing with targeted SMS templates.
(realtors, brokers, & investors)
List more, sell more and rev up your ROI by sending perfectly crafted real estate texts every single time.
Keep the schedule moving and your clients informed with appointment and meeting reminders that really work.
Keep your team organized, your clients motivated and your treadmills full with these SMS marketing templates.
Sell more and grow your revenue — whether it’s online or brick and mortar — with these razor-sharp texts.
(realtors, brokers, & investors)
List more, sell more and rev up your ROI by sending perfectly crafted real estate texts every single time.
Deliver world-class customer service that exceeds all expectations with honest, engaging customer service templates.
Wax more brows, give more massages and keep the aromatherapy flowing with targeted SMS templates.
Keep the schedule moving and your clients informed with appointment and meeting reminders that really work.
.svg)
