"SMS" is an acronym for Short Message Service. Commonly, it is used not only as a noun but also a verb (e.g: I’ll SMS you later, sweet cheeks). This promise to short message "service" someone, while grammatically horrifying, isn’t necessarily as innuendo laden as some of you (I am looking at you Shaun Oakes) might think. If you’re going for some good, clean grammar, it is also acceptable to refer to texts, text messages or texting.
As digital marketers, there’s no doubt that mobile phones have revolutionised the ease with which we can reach our target audience. The simple reason for this is that regardless of whether our target audience is seven or 70, most of them have mobile phones of one sort or another, and most of these (even the relics from the 90s) have SMS functionality. The simplest and often the most affordable way to take advantage of this is with an SMS campaign. However, it's important that you go about planning and executing your campaign carefully so as to ensure that you maximise its potential without upsetting your database. The following are tips to set you on the right path.
One of the first mobile phones ever made. Image Credit: Bundini
1. Understand why you are running an SMS campaign
Wanting to leverage off the power of mobile is a perfectly reasonable aspiration, but as with other reasonable aspirations (particularly those related to marketing strategy), it’s useful to have a good reason for desiring it. There are a number of possibilities here. Are you trying to generate automated information enquiries (“SMS X number for more information”) or provide a service/product only available to subscribers? SMS can also be a perfect medium through which to offer time-limited specials, provide CRM services to your customers, offer coupons to loyal customers or create a buzz around a specific event through updates, competitions and prizes. Regardless of which of these you are trying to do, its useful to know in advance why you’re building a database and how you’re going to use it. Not only will this help you target your efforts, but it will also give you the opportunity to create expectations for your audience – if they know what to expect from you, they will be significantly more receptive to your messages.
2. Consider the costs
Marketers think about what things cost them, but are not usually attuned to what their campaigns could possibly cost their customers. With mobile campaigns, this is more of a concern because sending text messages (and in some countries, receiving text messages) costs the consumer as well as the company targeting them. It’s important to structure your campaign with this in mind. This is of particular concern where you are targeting either young consumers who may have a limited income or consumers who earn a lower income and may be less willing to subscribe to databases that may require financial input.
3. Get Up Close and Personal with your Audience
One of the greatest benefits of mobile marketing is the ability to target campaigns at specific groups in specific locations and to gather and use information about your audiences. If you thought inboxes were personal, try a device that is constantly on, constantly carried and seldom more than a metre out of its owner's reach. This can be both a blessing and a burden. In addition to creating an instant, open channel of communication, you also open yourself up to unintentional intrusions into a very private space. It’s worth mentioning here, that it’s best practice to have a genuine opt in database and to respect the private data to which you have access. To those of you with the odd inclination toward spam (you know who are): may your armpits be infested with the fleas of a thousand camels, may you itch every day of your life and have no hands with which to scratch (anon). Rant over, moving on…
As with getting to know your friends or colleagues and adapting your topics of conversation accordingly, your knowledge of your database should inform how you communicate with them. Consider what you know and analyse what this tells you about the messages they are expecting to receive, when they will be most receptive to receiving them, what level of uptake you’re likely to experience and what might be of specific interest to them. If necessary, segment your database and maximise the benefit you derive from this. If you aren’t sure of the best way to present a campaign, test some of the variables (copy, time sent, response required) and gauge from the data you collect on how best to optimise your efforts.
4. Be Specific About What You’re Offering
No one likes to feel bamboozled and whether justified or not, customers are (surprise, surprise) unlikely to admire your marketing prowess when you trick them into a purchase or subscription. They are, in fact, unlikely to see any aspect of your business in a positive light, regardless of whether they were a little confused by your campaign or deliberately mislead. Not only should you always deliver on what you promise, but you should be clear in your offering. The degree to which you need to be specific is reliant in part on the savvyness of your audience (older audiences will need more coddling than tweens for example) but if in doubt, it is better to be safe than sorry. Let people know what they can expect from corresponding with you and how they will benefit. Bear in mind that consumers are discerning and will quickly distinguish real value from that sneaky kind of value that marketers try to attribute to things that benefit them more than their customers.
5. Plan for a Range of Handsets and Service Providers
One of the challenges of successfully using mobile marketing tactics is the vast range of devices, functionality and service providers used by consumers, and how this affects the rendering of campaign elements like mobile video, websites and applications. With SMS, things are marginally simpler. However, the variability remains and it’s critical that you take this into account when planning a campaign. It would be counterproductive for you to spend on a campaign that automatically eliminated one third of your target audience because of a technical incompatibility between your systems. Through careful planning and testing, technical hitches that make you look unprofessional and prevent your message getting across can be prevented.
6. Optimise it
There is no perfect recipe for a perfect SMS campaigns. As with all things digital, monitoring your efforts closely, tracking your progress and using the data you gather to improve your campaign will ultimately mean the difference between success and failure. Running campaigns like this is not a once off undertaking – it requires attention, testing and care. Be prepared to learn from your mistakes and make as many changes as you need to, as you go along.
For more information on running a successful SMS campaign, check out the new course on offer from Quirk Education.
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