In the rapidly evolving digital era, SMS marketing has emerged as a powerful option for businesses, providing fast, straightforward means to reach customers.

SMS marketing consists of sending marketing materials, promotional offers, and news in the form of text messages. SMS messages boast a higher open rate than emails: 98% of messages are opened within two hours of sending, according to global communications platform Kaleyra. People are also likely to respond positively to offers and promotions shared via SMS messages, making it a successful marketing communication channel.

This article will cover the benefits of SMS marketing, best-practices for creating SMS messages, and ways SMS can be used in marketing.

Benefits of SMS Marketing

Although SMS messages are short (up to 160 characters), they can offer numerous benefits to businesses.

1. Speed and Simplicity

The simplicity and speed of SMS marketing play a crucial role in its success. They boast a total read rate of 70% within 1-5 minutes, according to EZ Texting.

SMS messages are delivered faster than emails, reaching many people simultaneously. And the 160-character limit ensures that SMS messages are concise and straightforward, making them easy to read and digest.

2. Lead Capture and Nurture

SMS marketing can be instrumental in capturing and nurturing leads. Businesses can give leads incentive to sign up for their email lists by sending them text messages.

With customers' contact information in hand, businesses can then send a series of automated text messages to keep leads engaged and nudge them through the sales funnel.

3. Cost-Effectiveness

Unlike many other marketing channels, SMS is a relatively cost-effective communication channel. It's especially beneficial for new businesses that want to make an impact without breaking the bank.

4. Mobile Responsiveness

SMS messages are universally responsive across all mobile devices, eliminating the need to create responsive email templates for different devices and browsers. That leads to marketers' saving time that they would have spent on emails, previewing how they would look on various email clients and browsers before sending them out officially to their recipients.

5. Integration With Other Marketing Types

SMS can be integrated with other forms of communication, such as email marketing, Web push notifications, and social media, to boost its effectiveness.

For example, a simple SMS reminder asking contacts whether they've read a specific email can increase email open rates 20-30%, according to Smart Insights.

6. Opt-In and Opt-Out Ease

In an era of stringent data protection laws, businesses must obtain customers' consent to send messages, including SMS.

As in email marketing, SMS marketers should clearly reveal to leads that by giving their contact information, they agree to receive marketing messages. However, if certain recipients wish to opt out for any reason, the option should be clearly visible to them: simply allow them to reply to your SMS messages with "STOP."

Crafting Effective SMS Messages: Best-Practices

1. Acquire permission

As previously noted, always obtain permission before sending SMS messages. You can build your lists through relevant landing pages, popups, or opt-in forms. Just be transparent about what customers are subscribing to.

2. Personalize your copy

Segment your audiences based on demographic, psychographic, and behavioral patterns; then use that information to understand pain points and preferences and tailor your text messages accordingly.

That data can be obtained by asking your visitors questions upon filling out your form fields. Examples of those are country or region where they are located, age, preferences, how they heard about your brand, etc. Behavioral data can be obtained by questions such as how much they are engaging with your brand, when they last interacted with your website pages, how many pages they visited, how many emails they've opened, and other information retrieved at a later stage.

Also, using short codes can be a quick and easy way to personalize messages. Calling recipients by their names in SMS messages might entice them to click through the link in those messages and take action.

3. Showcase your identity

SMS messages appear from a number that may not be instantly recognizable to customers. Start your message by identifying yourself and your company name to avoid confusion. That can lead to improving your relationship with your customers while helping them easily recall your messages and avoid unsubscribing.

4. Limit message frequency

Avoid sending messages too frequently, because that can annoy your customers. As a rule of thumb, limit your messages to three per week initially, then monitor your analytics to find the perfect balance.

Source: VinterActive

5. Time your messages effectively

Send SMS messages when your customers are most likely to be active. Sending messages at midday, coinciding with lunch breaks, or between 10 AM and 8 PM can yield the best results, according to MailCharts.

6. Be brief

Texts have a 160-character limit, so brevity is critical. Be specific about your offerings and succinctly communicate the value you're delivering. Avoid industry jargon that may alienate some recipients.

7. Offer opt-out options