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Mass texting can be a great tool to connect with your customers – especially those who have their mobile devices handy and are in the habit of checking them whenever new messages come in. (mostly everyone these days).
It also can be useful for businesses – an automated bulk approach can quickly send the same message to a big batch of customers simultaneously. This saves much staff time in sending out texts individually.
Being able to send bulk SMS also can get results, especially when compared to email campaigns – it may take someone hours to see an email, let alone open it, while people are quick to check out and even act on a text.
But even though SMS may sound super simple, there are still several things that businesses must keep in mind when trying to text effectively and efficiently. These include firm rules governing electronic solicitation plus guidelines to help make sure customers are always excited to hear from you – and eager to buy!
Keep these strategies in mind:
- Text only to your opt-ins. Though this is basic for anyone who has been at this for awhile, newcomers to SMS marketing may need reminding that they must follow rules and guidelines established by the Federal Communications Commission, the Mobile Marketing Association, and the Wireless Association. There’s heavy reading at all three sites, but essentially, you can mostly say anything you want in person-to-person texts, but the minute your business wants to communicate something about a commercial product and or asks recipients to follow a link, the offer must only go to people who have consented to receive these messages from you. Violations could include someone asking to be removed, fines or blocking from wireless providers. However, texting services can help manage this database and remind you of the rules.
- Identify yourself. A quick intro will let people know who you are. They may be expecting your message, especially if you’ve included them in your regular texting schedule and they still appreciate hearing from you. Or, if they’re new to the list, they may not quite remember opting in. But seeing, “Hi ____, it’s _____ from XYZ, here’s an opportunity to save 50 percent” will be friendlier, politer, and less likely to make them unhappy than if you jump right in with a generic, spammy-sounding anonymous “Click here for a super deal!”
- Don’t try too hard. Practitioners of text marketing haven’t come up with any kind of common or clear definition what constitutes “too many” or “too few” texts, partly because everyone has their personal definition of the fine line between “more please!” and “no more!” A serious fan of your business, product or service would love to hear from you often, while someone who signed up for the occasional savings discount or because signing up for texts was the only way to enter a contest, may have less loyalty and less interest in everything you offer, and may even get a negative reaction if you text regularly. One rule of thumb is about once a week, unless there’s a special promotion that you’ve publicized. Or create a supplemental list for your serious fans and send bulk SMS to them more often.
- Not everyone will receive your texts. Unlike emails, which may not always appear correctly on everyone’s browsers, plain texts are generally able to be seen universally. However, some people may have texting blocked through their wireless provider even if they have granted you permission to contact them via text. Or other fans may not like texting at all, so you need to resort to other methods to reach them, such as email or social media.
- Offer a way to respond. If you’re sending out thousands of the same message, you really don’t want everyone to text you back. This differs from social media, where conversations and engagement are both encouraged and anyone can join in a discussion. As a modern business, you do want to offer opportunities for people to give feedback, even for less-fun things like complaints. So you need to promote ways people can use their phones to respond – this could be texting to a certain number with no expectations of a quick response, or texting a certain short code, which is a specific string of digits that indicates a particular opinion. Companies can lease certain codes for different preferences (Choice A/Choice B).
Beyond the legal stuff, a simple strategy is to offer fun, worthwhile reasons for people to receive texts, whether it’s to save money or support your business. But you also should combine this goal with a “don’t annoy people” philosophy, such as Uber did when it sent out dozens of messages to customers, some of them unsolicited. For more assistance in how to send bulk SMS, visit Trumpia.com
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