Getting Started with SMS Marketing

 Did you know that SMS marketing can have up to eight times higher response rates than email marketing? With statistics like this it’s clearly an avenue that should not be dismissed but how do you get started with SMS? Take a look at some of our tips to getting started…

Data and Consent

When considering SMS marketing majority of Marketers check their data lists and soon realise that they haven’t got as many mobile numbers as they would have hoped. Additionally, of the numbers they do have, they haven’t actually gained the explicit consent to communicate with them via SMS.
So how do you get started with SMS without this consent and data? Step one is to harness the data you already have. Your opted-in email list should be a priority as you can target these subscribers by sending them an exclusive offer and request their mobile number and consent to contact them via SMS marketing. In return for these details, you could offer them special discounts and deals.
Creating a workflow would be a useful way of addressing these subscribers as you can continue to target users who haven’t signed up right up until the deadline that you set.
Additionally harnessing your social media following is another way you can build this offer. Using targeted ads and organic posts, you can quickly share your special sign up offers and grow your SMS as well as your email list. You can use email as the starting point for confirmation to the offers, and then when an offer is live, send your SMS to all of the relevant consent gained contacts.

Valuable Content

As with all marketing collateral, the content included needs to be valuable to its recipients. This is very important with SMS messages as they are clearly a lot shorter than most other marketing channels so planning and prioritising what you are going to say is key.
Conduct market research into your target audience to see what information will be most valuable to them. Sending non-targeted content or lengthy messages can result in subscribers being charged, confused or annoyed.
Popular SMS content includes:

Offers and discounts

Reminders

Tips and hints

Transactional messages

Timing

With people taking their mobile phones everywhere with them and open rates of 98% it can be tempting to send subscribers an influx of messages however, timing is key. The majority of users will open a text message within 3 minutes so this is perfect timing for sending messages alerting of limited time offers or flash sales that are relevant to them.
The send of SMS messages should also be kept to a maximum of one to two per week, any more than this and you will probably see your list of unsubscribers grow. People still see SMS messaging as quite personal – between friends, family or colleagues and too much of that oh-yay-I-have-a-text-oh-actually-it’s-just-another-marketing-message feeling can lead to unsubscribes.

Find out more about how you can use SMS as part of your email marketing strategy.



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Building A Winning Email Strategy

 When it comes to email marketing it’s imperative you have a good strategy in place, but what makes a winning email strategy? Take a look at some of our suggestions to creating that winner email marketing strategy…

Plan, Plan, Plan

The saying “failing to plan is planning to fail” is extremely relevant within email marketing. Without a well thought out and up-to-date plan you are not going to be able to reach your goals. A lot of Marketers find it useful to plan by each quarter of the year, allowing key dates, events and promotions to be addressed and promoted accordingly.

Content is crucial and will be the main component of your emails, so it’s a good idea to have a plan of what will be sent and when. Taking the time to research, and strategise is beneficial to any marketing team.

You should also be conducting regular industry and competitor research to find out ‘what’s hot and what’s not’ your particular field. Keeping on trend is key to a winning content strategy.

Reliable and Relevant Data

What would be the point in dedicating time to planning specific content if the recipients are not interested? It’s essential to ensure your data is from reliable sources including website sign-up forms, attending networking events, social media sign up tabs etc. as opposed to bought data lists. Whichever method you choose to obtain your email addresses by, it’s vital to be clear of your intentions with the user’s details. By asking people to subscribe it ensures that they are happy and interested in receiving emails from you.

Automated Emails

Automated emails are considered the cherry on top of the cake for a winning email strategy. They are extremely effective as they allow you to set up multiple workflows and customer journeys. By adding automated emails to your strategy you can save time and money, send relevant content to recipients and enhance your process.

We’ve recently launched a brand new visual marketing automation system, Maxautomation. Find out more here!

Assess Analytics

Analytics are there for a reason, they allow you to track and evaluate the results of your campaigns – whether they are good or bad. Making time to take note of the number of opens, clicks, bounces and unsubscribes can give you an insight into what is working well and what isn’t – which is crucial for any email strategy.

Improve and Monitor

Following on from the previous point about analytics – valuable information regarding your campaigns should not be ignored. Findings should be addressed and adjustments to your future strategies should be made.

Collectively all these points will help you to achieve a winning strategy, however, similarly to planning a smooth journey and needing a reliable mode of transport to take you there, you need the right tools to help you implement your strategy. Emailcenter can provide you with a range of tools and services including Maxautomation, to Maxemail and Maxecommerce.



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