Editor's Note: Anastasia Svyrydenko is a content marketer at Textmagic. Today, she joins us to share a graphical aid developed by her company to help SMS marketers build an effective strategy.
If you've kept up with SMS marketing over the last few years, you may have come across these numbers: open rate for SMS is 98%, and 90% of text messages are read within 3 minutes of receipt.
Now while these numbers may vary with changing trends, SMS still blows other forms of consumer messaging out of the water. There is no quicker or more effective way to clue customers in on a promotion, offer or event. As such, businesses are rapidly adopting text messages to keep their audience in the know.
Whether you've already embarked on your SMS marketing journey or you are just planning your first campaign, there are certain rules and practices you can follow to achieve desired results and make the most of these fantastic open rates.
The Periodic Table below will help guide you through the process of creating and conducting a text messaging campaign:
How to Use the Table
Start off by reading the SMS Marketing Guide below the table, which outlines the whole process. Then, get familiar with the table's categories. Some of these are multiple choice elements: Goals, Ways to grow subscriber list, Metrics. Other categories, like Text message elements and Delivery, are actually checklists so that you don't forget anything important.
Let's take a quick look at each category.
- Strategy. Develop an SMS marketing strategy that will align with your main marketing goals.
- Goals. Based on your strategy, pick one or two goals.
- Types of campaigns. At this point, it is vital to choose the right type of text message. Let's say your goal is to grow sales. You can choose one of the following: Time-dependent discounts, Coupons, Holiday offers, Special occasion offers, Exclusive offers.
- Elements of a Text Message. This category will help you make sure nothing has fallen through the cracks when it comes to composing a message. This will prevent you from writing an attention grabbing message and forgetting to include instructions for the recipient.
- Delivery Best Practices. This group of elements reminds you to customize messages for each segment of your audience, and stick to the best frequency and timing practices. A good rule of thumb is to send no more than 4-5 messages per month. Don't overdo it, or you'll end up with a skyrocketing unsubscribe rate. Send texts during working hours only, so that clients are not commuting or sleeping when they receive your message.
- Metrics. Pick the right metric to evaluate campaign performance.
- Ways to grow your subscriber list. Based on your industry and type of campaign, choose the most suitable way to grow your list. If you own a restaurant, include an invitation to subscribe on the in-store sign, and add it to customer receipts. Online marketers can follow list-building strategies like those used in email marketing; there are lots of creative ways forward.
- Types of segmentation. Segmentation and customization will help you ensure that you're sending relevant messages to your clients.
Now you're all set to start your next SMS campaign! Use the periodic table through all stages of the process, and rest assured that you'll get the most of your texting efforts.
Learn more with these related OMI classes:
Data and Analytics: Overview to Data Analytics
Email Marketing Getting Started: Build Your List Organically
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