sms marketing

What Makes Effective SMS Marketing?



Curious to know what makes effective SMS marketing? Zeta’s Chad Starbuck shares his insight on the top 10 ways to create effective SMS marketing. Used properly, these tips will make life easier for your business.

First and foremost…


Remember that SMS messages need to be short if they’re going to be effective. That means you want something that isn’t more than 160 characters in length. Efficiency is the key here. Technically, a message you can send messages up to 960 characters in length. However, most carriers count 160 characters as a single message. With that said, here’s how you can go about making each of those 160 characters as valuable as possible.

SMS should be included in every omnichannel solution


Make sure SMS is part of your multi-channel solution which ensures customers have a smooth engagement with your brand across all channels.

Make keywords short and memorable


Using memorable keywords in your call-to-action (CTA) will enable your customers to quickly and accurately interact with your brand.

Optimize the value proposition


When asking customers to participate/opt-in, describe the value proposition of the mobile program clearly, consistently and in a compelling way.

Provide the who, what, when, where, how and why.

Maximize incentives to opt-in—use coupons/offers/promotions/sweepstakes entry/exclusive content and other incentives to drive opt-in.

Clearly communicate participation benefits.

Give the list time to grow


As your subscriber base grows, the costs decrease and the ROI rises.

Commit to promoting your CTA, building a subscriber base and giving your mobile marketing campaign enough time to grow to a self-sustaining level that will pay off in the long term.

Promote omnichannel mobile campaigns


Everywhere you have existing marketing is an opportunity to promote your CTA, including social media, email, print, television, radio and in-store.

Distinguish your mobile program with exclusive offers


Offers available only through the SMS channel help build your subscriber base and make your messaging relevant to your customers.

Provide a different keyword for each channel


Keywords can help measure which media channel is most effective.

With mobile, you have the ability to track all your channels by using different flows and keywords for your various calls to actions and campaigns.

Clearly indicate the terms and conditions/opt out Procedures


Follow all guidelines set forth in the CTIA Short Code Monitoring Handbook and include these in all your promotional material.

Integrate mobile data into your marketing database


It’s important to include your mobile data into your marketing database so that you have a complete holistic view of your customers.

Follow TCPA guidelines


Consult with your legal counsel as it relates to how your mobile program might be affected by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act guidelines.

It’s important to have a fully-compliant program from initial CTA, to opt in to on-going recurring messaging.

Need more advice on effective SMS marketing?


SMS can be a very effective tool in any multi-channel marketing program. When implemented correctly, your customers will be engaged and you can create a true omni-channel solution, providing valuable data for creating future targeted campaigns. If you’re looking for help with SMS marketing, talk to the team at Zeta.

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