Before there were smartphones, mobile marketing was a very different industry. When cellphones were a lot simpler, text messages were virtually all a marketer had to work with. Now mobile marketers have dozens of mobile channels at their disposal. Not surprisingly, SMS marketing is often forgotten amongst all of these other mobile marketing tools. What many marketers may not realize is that while SMS marketing is the oldest mobile marketing channel, it’s far from outdated. In fact, in remains one of the most effective mobile channels.

Eye opening stats

It’s estimated that 20% of people check their smartphone an average of once every ten minutes. An estimated 70% of people check their smartphone at least once an hour. In other words, people are literally sitting next to their phone and waiting for texts. In one survey, over 70% of mobile users reported that they felt SMS marketing improved their experience with the brand and 64% said that businesses should make more effort to use SMS. Combine these findings with the fact that text messages boast of a 99% open rate and you begin to see that while text messaging might be old, it’s not out of style. In fact, it’s very much in demand.

SMS marketing integrates all mobile channels

Think of SMS marketing as the glue that holds your mobile marketing strategy together. SMS marketing is the foundation that every mobile strategy needs. Whether you have a mobile app, a mobile website, social media accounts, or any number of other mobile marketing channels, you can use SMS to boost the effectiveness of these channels. Regardless of what mobile channels you’re utilizing, you can use SMS to notify your most loyal customers about these other channels. You can embed links to your mobile app or social media profiles in your texts to make it as easy as possible for customers to discover these channels.

SMS tips to consider

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when using SMS marketing:

• Text messages are limited by character count. Think of this as a blessing and not a curse. Say what you need to say in as few characters as you can. If you don’t use all of the characters, even better
• Always provide value. Your customers opt in to receive texts because they see the value in receiving them. If you stop providing incentives, customers may opt out
• Don’t intrude. If you text too frequently or if your texts are repetitive, customers may begin to see your texts as a burden. When the cost outweighs the benefits, they’ll opt out.

Source: business2community.com/marketing/sms-marketing-old-still-gold-01041587