In today’s technology-obsessed society, it is hard to find a consumer without a smartphone in hand at any given time. With over 80% of millennials opening a new SMS message within 90 seconds, it’s no secret that text message marketing allows you to communicate to your audiences in the most efficient and direct way possible.
To get SMS results that lead to engagement (while also preventing mass unsubscribes), solid copy and strategy is truly a must.
What Is SMS Marketing Used For?
In order to keep your unsubscribe rates low, it is important to understand the best messages to send in the SMS format. As opposed to newsletters, blog posts, or other marketing materials with lengthier and more educational-based content, the limited space of text messages makes them the perfect vehicle for sending time-sensitive or exclusive messages.
A few of the many uses for valuable SMS marketing include:
- Curating personalized messages
- Sending exclusive coupon codes
- Providing flash sale information
- Reminders or changes for appointments
- Announcing product launches
Best Practices For SMS Marketing
SMS marketing works wonders for improving brand engagement and providing value to consumers, but only when done strategically and, of course, legally.
Sometimes too much of a good thing can be detrimental, and SMS marketing is no exception. Overall, the more you send texts, the greater the chance that your messages feel impersonal or spammy to consumers on the receiving end. This results in lost subscribers. So as to not overwhelm consumers by blowing up their phones, make sure that your messages are disseminated on other marketing channels as well.
Furthermore, consent is, and always will be, the key component to a successful SMS strategy.
Not only is it illegal to not gather consent from text recipients, but it also leaves a bitter taste in their mouths. Think about it: who likes being contacted if they don’t remember how you got their information in the first place? To avoid any trouble, send only messages with opt-in and opt-out instructions.
Leave High Unsubscribe Rates Behind
The real secret behind low unsubscribe rates lies in compelling copy. Even if you have brilliant text ideas and all of the best practices in place, consumers won’t latch onto your content if it isn’t written in a way that connects and appeals to their needs.
I’ve developed an unstoppable copywriting formula that focuses on a soft-sell for hooking consumers and sparking their curiosity: The FACES™ Method. The FACES™ Method builds a text that motivates consumer trust, confidence, and brand credibility as opposed to a text that is pushy or desperate in language and tone.
Reimagine your SMS campaign through the steps of the FACES™ Method:
- Facts: use indisputable facts and statistics to position your brand as confident, transparent, and reliable.
- Appeal: appeal to consumer’s emotions through word choice or phrases that elicit a feeling or desire.
- Casual Call-To-Action: include a personal CTA that helps propel readers to take action
- Ease Into Sale: the first few words of an SMS message shouldn’t point to a sale just yet. Lead into it with other FACES™ stages and avoid turning readers off.
- Subtle Sell: using time-sensitive language creates a sense of urgency to purchase without overtly selling.
Put these facets together in a couple of SMS sentences, and you have yourself a message structure that builds brand loyalty and deters unsubscriptions.
Maintain Loyal Subscribers Today
Since SMS marketing brings in a whopping 209% higher response rate than emails, Facebook, AND phone calls, what’s stopping you from trying it out today? When done right with the help of the FACES™ method and other tactics, rest assured that you will fully harness the power of SMS marketing and maintain your subscriptions with greater ease than ever before.
Liz Slyman
Over the past decade, Liz has worked as a copywriter and digital marketing executive for a multitude of companies from startups to and mid-sized businesses to working as the VP of marketing for award-winning, platinum-selling artists. Leveraging an understanding of the nuance of language in marketing, Liz founded Amplihigher, a content marketing and copywriting agency, designed to connect consumers to companies in a way that results in next-level brand expansion.
Photo by Dominika Roseclay from Pexels
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