8 Tips to optimize your SMS campaign
In our years of SMS delivery at MessageBird, we’ve taken notice of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to messaging campaigns. Here’s an advisory list of do’s and don’ts to help you make the most out of yours.
1. Personalize & customize
Adding dynamic content to your messages, such as names, invoice numbers, or preferred product categories is easy to do, and it’ll boost your conversion rates and customer engagement. Find out how to add customer-specific info to your SMS messages in our Knowledge Base.
2. Make your content relevant
Cut through all the noise by targeting your content and making sure the material you’re sharing is relevant to your recipients. Customizing and personalizing your messages is a good start, but also think about aiming for micro-segments by grouping your customers based on their personal tastes and preferences.
3. Keep it short & sweet
Besides keeping messages short, remember that any questions you ask should allow for quick, simple answers. This ensures faster replies and reduces the barrier to response. Need more detailed answers? Ask your customers when’s the best time to call them.
4. Timing is key
The time at which you send your SMS messages impacts their success. So, experiment with our planning tool (you can find it at the final step of sending a message from our platform). Get to know your customers, try out different delivery times, and be sure to make your delivery times look realistic (for example 11:10 rather than 11:00 on the dot).
5. Know your limits
While studies have shown that 81% of consumers still prefer SMS in mobile brand communication, you should never pass the threshold of sending too many messages and becoming an annoyance. Of course this threshold is different for every customer so it’s recommended that you inform your customers in advance of the amount of messages you’ll be sending. Or even better: ask them how many they’d like to receive.
6. Stay on top of your opt-out’s
The proper management of cancellations from your contacts list, although crucial, is often overlooked. Keep in mind that consumers are protected by laws and you risk high fines or even lawsuits if you don’t comply with them. Read more about how to manage opt-outs from your contacts in our Knowledge Base.
7. Use SMS for customer service
Considering that 99% of SMS messages are read (compared to just 30% of emails), SMS is the most effective way to reach your customers. Whether you’re sending out notifications, last-minute alerts about a delivery, or just checking in with a customer, SMS gives you a fast, reliable method of direct communication. Have a look at your current service flow, and ask yourself what value SMS can add.
8. Combine SMS with e-mail to boost conversion rates
Oger, a high-end retailer and MessageBird customer uses SMS to . Their Marketing & CRM Manager Jeroen Janssen told us, “To boost our conversion rates, we send SMS messages to customers that have not opened the latest email newsletter. This way, we increase our reach.”
