Why everyone seems to be giving out their phone number on social media
And how I’d want my favourite Fashion & Beauty brands to text me…
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For me, it was Humble the poet and then Cassey Ho on my Instagram feed who posted their phone numbers and asked us, humble followers, to text them?!
And after that, I kept coming across Attentive every week in the Modern Retail email newsletter... They were talking about something called SMS marketing……
I mean I‘m a Gen-Zer but who sends SMSes anymore? Don’t you have Whatsapp or something?
But turns out, especially in the US, texting is HUGE. And the very future of Mobile Marketing. Let’s discuss.
Why SMS Marketing?
There’s a lot of reasons, but I’ll highlight my 3 favourites.
- It is a ‘universal’ channel
Every social circle has its own messaging home. Sometimes even different countries have their choices. It’s a lot of FB messenger in France, tons of WhatsApp for Indians, iMessage for the US and a whole different ballgame in circles within countries like China.
The good ol’ “messages” app though, is a universal friend. We all have it on our phones and it just pings so rarely for some that, when it does, an immediate opening is inevitable. This has led to statistics such as an average of 99% open rate for texts as compared to 47% for emails.
2. Back2Basics
Do tell me if I’m wrong, but I’ve noticed a pattern.
And I sincerely believe SMS Marketing is our attempt at creating that balance.
3. Go with the flow NOT
I am not sure if Social Media has peaked, but it is rather saturated. Individuals are brands and brands are content. At times, we see the post but not the creator; the person, but not the place; the shoes, but not the designer. There’s a feed but hardly a way to give the ‘feedback’.
And because of this saturation, social media stars, as well as brands, know very well that it’s time to gather 1:1 time with consumers. Enter: SMS Marketing.
How I’d like brands to text me!
Detailed preference forms:
Before I surrender my precious digits to an online sign-up form, I’d love to have the choice to pick what I want to receive texts for. A detailed one. Please don’t have the words “and more….” in any option. 🙊
Things I’d pick, for example 😉:
☑️ Sales. ✖️ New Products
☑️ Order Tracking. ✖️ Things I left in my cart ( if I want it, I got it 😏)
Text Consultations:
Chatbots are clearly automated and it's just a lot easier to text on iMessage than opening websites and apps ➡️
Having a closet/fashion crisis? Having skin issues? Text our advisor directly.
Short & Sweet ➡️
Want store details? Text us!
Want an appointment? Text us DATE, TIME, NAME.
^ Might work really well for all local and niche brands!
Text Shopping:
I don’t know about you, but during this pandemic, I’ve shopped, but I haven’t tried on clothes in-store. I’ve seen material quality in store and shopped the same clothes online because I didn’t want to wait in line. Maybe texts can make it faster?
Quick/Busy Shopper? Send us photos of the tags of clothing you’d like to add to your online cart! Place your order via text and shop hands-free!
In our store but your favourite product is out of stock? Send us a text and we’ll notify you when it’s back!
So, yeah! These are some of my ideas and thoughts on SMS Marketing.
Have you been texting celebrities and brands? Did they text back? 😏
Tell me all about it in the comments below or reply to the email 😍
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Resources to read more:
^ They have tons of case studies and blog posts (focused on Fashion brands) that are superb to understand SMS Marketing, especially in the US.
