How to use SMS marketing properly

There are many blogs and articles out there that will list lots of reasons why you should use SMS marketing (some are bulleted below), but rarely do you find examples to go with each tip/instruction.

There are many blogs and articles out there that will list reasons why you should use SMS marketing (some are bulleted below), but rarely do you find examples to go with the tips/instruction. So I’ve added a few in.

Let’s get this very clear quickly: SMS campaigns can be hard to get right. Whilst spam emails are something customers are used to ignoring, they aren’t quite as used to it with SMS.

If you start spamming your SMS database you will see the numbers and responses drop quickly.

This means that you want to find the right balance between the content of your message, the time that you send it and why you are sending it.

If you can successfully coordinate these three things, you will have a successful SMS campaign.

Some stats and dynamics to get you started.

If you carry on reading this article and only think about the barriers to using SMS marketing, then consider these top-line stats:

• Nearly 100% of devices on the market are SMS enabled. Only 65% are app or email-enabled smart phones.
• 90% of SMSs are read within 3 minutes. Compare that to email, which is 15%.
• SMS campaigns can receive a 45% response rate. Emails typically get only a 6% response rate.
• NEW Virtual SMS marketing service reduces cost per lead to only £7.18 (from over £20 on other mediums) by bringing the campaign to life.

There is definitely a place for SMS in your marketing mix to make a difference. Hopefully this article will give you some inspiration and some scenarios that will help you plan your campaigns.

Tip 1: Understand how you make people feel.

Marketers often overlook this. By choosing SMS as a medium to communicate with people you are stepping into the realms of being personal and a close acquaintance.

Don’t write your message as a faceless brand. If a sales representative has been diligent enough to gather a prospect’s contact details, be diligent enough to segment the list and make the message appear that it comes direct from your sales rep (their name, signature etc.). This will have a massive impact on responses.

Examples.

Faceless brand:

BigAutos are offering £500 off any model when taking a test drive before the end of the weekend. Book your test drive here: [URL]

‘Delia’:

Hi [Caroline], it’s Delia from BigAutos. You might like to know we’re offering £500 off any test drive this weekend. Book here [URL] or just text me back

Tip 2: Timing is everything (apart from how you make people feel).

Have you got something to say to your database on a Saturday?
Email marketing on Saturdays is typically dire but SMSs can have their best days on Saturdays.

When people are researching and buying big-ticket items (e.g. cars, white goods, houses etc.) you will notice they ‘shop around’ (or research) in the evening, sitting down with the TV on in the background – so experiment on timing.

A related note about ‘timing’ is to give a deadline to your offer and see responses increase.

Tip 3: Use triggers to identify high-risk customers.

We love this tactic. If someone hasn’t opened your last 4 emails, if they didn’t show for an appointment or haven’t bought something for 6 months, send them a well-constructed message to get them back onboard.

Example.

[Caroline], we’ve not seen you in a while and wondered if you’d like a £20 discount off your next order of [Caroline’s last order]? Use Caroline20 at checkout

Tip 4: Keep it simple.

This is a very important tip. Most SMS carriers have a limit on length; but most of all, the faster you can get to the meat of your message, the better.

Take a hint from Tim Ferris:

“Short, sweet and to the point. Clear writing, and therefore clear commands, comes from clear thinking. Think simple.”

The smart work here is to take the time to go back through the message and delete anything that is not needed.

Let’s take the last example:

Hi [Caroline] we’ve not seen you in a while and wondered if you’d like a £20 discount off your next order of [Caroline’s last order]? Use Caroline20 at checkout

Would you delete “we’ve not seen you in a while and wondered”?

Tip 5: Keep things tidy.

The 4 key components of a successful SMS are:

1. A quick hello
2. Give the message context
3. Give a strong call to action
4. URL Link

Leading from ‘Tip 4’: keep it simple. Use a URL shortener to keep your message short (and to save on characters). You can try these for free Goo.gl or Bit.ly.

Tip 6: Keep it personal.

The tone, language and frequency of your message are key to this personal medium of communicating. The language you use on social media should also be reflected on your SMS campaigns or you run the risk of being perceived as inconsistent or confusing the recipient.

Have you thought about using SMS marketing post-purchase? You have the opportunity to get deeply personal.

Example.

Hi [Caroline] I hope you like your [new car model]. Do you know anyone who’d like a new car? There’s a great bonus for you both. Speak soon [Dave BigAutos]

At this point the obvious thing to do is ask for a review or tick the box of some CSI exercise. We would do this after further delighting them and making sure they are a true advocate of your services and products.

Tip 7: Bring things to life.

We would advocate using text and video daily on social media. We would advocate email and video weekly. So, how much is too much SMSing?

The answer is simple: at least monthly (used with the other tips above). However, if you have a brochure or special promotion, or even run a magazine, use a Virtual SMS to bring things to life on a quarterly basis.

It’s a great way to bring your campaign to life and get your products in front of your customers very quickly.

Bonus Tip.

We perform integrated campaigns for many different businesses and find that combining offline and online promotions provides greater responses.

Example.

On your press advertisement, drive people to a specific landing page. Duplicate the same offer on your Facebook page on the same week. 24 hours after the papers drop on doormats, send out an SMS promoting the same landing page. Responses have been seen to increase by over 32% due to the high visibility on multiple platforms.

If you’d like some examples of Virtual SMS sent to you, or even just a chat about your campaign ideas, call me on 01908 326 666 or simply email me mike.richardson@bigmarketing.co.uk

Facebook recently announced that it now has over two billion monthly users. Two. Billion.

That is an enormous potential audience for any brand or business. And, with a huge number of ways in which content can be shared on the platform, Facebook is definitely the one social media platform that every business should be integrating into their marketing plan!

Still not convinced? Read on to find out exactly why you need a Facebook page for your business:

1. Targeted Audiences 

With over 2 billion active users, who span from teens to the elderly, it is guaranteed that your target audience will be on Facebook somewhere. And luckily with a Facebook Business page you can target specific audiences through their likes, location and ages. That means that rather than hoping your post reaches someone who is vaguely interested in your brand, you can push your posts out into the Newsfeeds of people who will genuinely be interested in your company!

1. Increased Exposure 

One of the biggest and most obvious benefits of having a Facebook Business page is the opportunity for increased exposure. Being able to share status updates, links, photos and videos is a great way of subtly reminding your followers about your business on a daily basis! And with targeted posts, adverts and the opportunity to boost updates now there is even more opportunity than ever to increase your reach on the social media platform.

1. Personality & Brand Loyalty

As much as you need to maintain a professional air to your business, people still want to follow people. So, if all you ever post is sales posts and you never inject any personality into your page then your followers will have nothing to engage with. Showing that there is a human behind your logo will give you a unique boost. Not to mention that if you consistently post content that is valuable and interesting to your followers, they are more likely to trust your business. And trust is the key to driving sales.

 

1. Facebook Insights

On the flip side, while personality is key, Facebook does have one very useful tool that all businesses should make the most of. Facebook Insights is a wonderful, free resource that will give you a greater understanding of your target audience. You will be able to see the overall reach of your page, the demographics of your followers and statistics on individual posts, as well as much more. From this information you will be able to understand exactly what your followers are looking for and you will have the opportunity to adapt your business to fit in with their feedback. On the other hand, you’ll also be able to see what isn’t working – giving you the chance to scrap it altogether or reinvent the content into something of greater value for your followers.

 

1. Increased Web Traffic

Facebook is great for generating off-site traffic. In fact posts with a link do incredibly well on Facebook! Posts with links in them act as great teasers – they provide the visitor with enough information to get them interested and then invite them to find out more by clicking through to the website. And generating website traffic in this way is also a great way of encouraging sales! Why? Because customers who visit your website via a link from your Facebook page already have a basic understanding of your business and are far more receptive than the general visitor.

1. Mobile Usage

Perhaps the greatest thing about Facebook is that it is designed to look great on a desktop AND a mobile. Mobile marketing has led to user responses that can be tracked instantly, the opportunity to reach a wide and diverse audience and, since mobile content can be easily shared, it has resulted in content quickly going viral.

In short, while we don’t believe that print media is going anywhere anytime soon, it is clear to see that social media is the future of marketing so it’s best to get ahead now. And what better way to get ahead than on one of the most popular social media platforms?

 

Are you ready to start using Facebook for business? We’re more than happy to help! Get in touch – mike.richardson@bigmarketing.co.uk or call us on 01908 326 666

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Why do you think the adverts that brands such as Coca-Cola and John Lewis produce are so wildly popular? It’s because they do more than just sell, they tell a story!

People are naturally attracted to stories from a young age but even as we get older stories still manage to grab our attention and stick in our heads for far longer than a fact or stat does.

Four reasons why you should use storytelling in your marketing plan:

1. Storytelling Makes You Unique 

There is so much content out there now that it often feels impossible to stand out from the crowd. But it isn’t. While it might be difficult to come up with an entirely new idea, storytelling gives you the opportunity to regenerate an old idea into something unique.

1. Storytelling Adds A Human Element 

Every industry is overflowing with businesses that are doing the same, or at the very least, similar things to one another. But what makes you stand out against the others is YOU! By telling a story you add a human element to your business, which will not only make your brand relatable but also memorable and far more compelling.

1. Storytelling Is A Soft Form Of Marketing 

No one wants to be sold to constantly. Even if someone is following your brand on social media, it doesn’t mean that they constantly want you showing them your products. However, by implementing a storytelling strategy you can subtly integrate your products into a larger campaign that doesn’t seem quite so ‘salesy’. This soft form of marketing makes it far more likely that you’ll make a sale in the long run as your audience will be more interested and engaged with the content you are putting out in front of them.

1. Storytelling Makes Your Brand Stronger

You can use a story to back up facts and statistics. By fleshing out numbers in this way you will make your point stronger and your brand more trustworthy. People, after all, value opinion far more than a list of numbers.

The Fundamentals of Storytelling: 

• All stories need to have a structure. Even business stories. They need to have a beginning that captures the attention of the audience. A middle that contains all of the information you teased them with in the introduction. And, finally, they need an ending that not only sums up what you have just told them but that also has a call to action to allow them to follow the story up further.
• You need a clear message. Before you even begin telling your story you need to understand what you’re trying to convey. If you start off with a clear message and keep this in your mind the whole time, every aspect of your story will be relevant.
• Even though you’re telling a story, you still need to be honest. Your audience will be able to work out if you’re lying and if you’re caught out it will take you a long time to gain back the trust of your followers.
• Storytelling gives you the perfect opportunity to add a personal element to your brand. Put a face to the brand, make your brand relatable and make it obvious that you’re more than a corporate business.

If you would like some help with your branding and digital marketing strategy, we can help with every aspect.

Get in touch – Mike.richardson@bigmarketing.co.uk or call us on 01908 326 666