Business

SMS (Short Messages Service) marketing is a type of marketing that employs permission-based texting for promotional campaigns and transactional texts. Companies that use SMS marketing often use shortcodes, usually four digits, instead of mobile numbers that have ten or more digits. These types of messages are generally received by people who have opted into the service.

How does it work?

Text messaging is an ideal way of doing location-specific marketing. Even big companies like retail moguls Forever 21 and H&M have been using SMS marketing to promote upcoming collections, send invites to events, or even have their customers answer short surveys.

Since everyone is on their phones nowadays, SMS marketing has been proven to be more effective than e-mail marketing and push notifications, which people choose to opt-out of because they don’t want their phones to be constantly buzzing. People are more likely to check their message inbox than their e-mails.

So, here is how SMS marketing works, in a nutshell. First, customers are required to opt into the company’s system by texting a code. Once the system receives the information, it stores the customer’s phone number in their marketing software, like a cloud phonebook. The system then sends a reply as confirmation for the transaction, usually with an opt-out code for the customer to use when they decide to opt-out.

Apps such as Textedly allow its users to send bulk messages without using a computer, revolutionizing SMS marketing as an on-the-go form of marketing. Small businesses usually use apps like Textedly since their target audience is the customers who have already availed themselves of their services. Furthermore, since apps like Textedly uses the cloud to disseminate information, it’s easy to use and even provide the business user data, which allows them to see how many people have opted into their SMS notification services.

A few things to remember

If you have a business that chose to use SMS marketing, remember to put your company’s name in all of your text blasts. Consumers don’t often save numbers from businesses, so remind your customers of who you are. Also, make sure to time your texts. Sending messages in the middle of the night can be a turn-off, and customers often ignore these messages. The best time to send messages is at peak hours of the day when everyone uses their phones, such as noontime.

SMS marketing is not a niche kind … Read the rest