When making the decision to go mobile, there are so many different questions that start popping up! What company should I use? How many texts should I send out per month? How do I get more subscribers? What more can I do with my campaign? etc! …The questions are endless!
Following are 10 tips to those of you running a text campaign, or considering the idea! My hope is that these tips may shed light on some of your questions surrounding Mobile Marketing.
Tip #1: Shop Around!
This may come as a surprise to some, but Mobile Marketing companies are not identical in what they have to offer! For instance, SkyWire Media has been awarded patents on some of our mobile technology, allowing us to provide services that no other Mobile Marketing company could provide.
Be sure to find a company that completely fits the scope of your needs. The nine tips that follow should give you a good understanding, and outline of what to ask or look for when choosing your Mobile provider.
Tip #2: Incorporate Social Media
Social media outlets such as Facebook or Twitter can be great way to advertise participation into your SMS campaigns. Did I mention this is FREE? Far too often I see people miss the boat on this one. So you have 500 likes on your Facebook page and just launched your SMS marketing initiative? What better way to get people involved with your SMS program than to post or “Tweet” it to people who already like you.
Tip #3: Use Mobile To Your Advantage!
As outlined in my “Helpful Hints To Track Your Marketing” blog, mobile marketing is a great tool to enhance and track your non-mobile marketing initiatives. By using multiple keywords, for instance, you are able to view the traction each form of your non-mobile marketing is obtaining.
Tip #4: Be Consistent!
Be sure to tell your subscribers how many texts that you will be sending out per month when they opt-in. On top of that, pick a day of the week, or date of the month to send out your offers and stick to it. Your customers will expect to hear from you, and will be sure to look out for your texts. Consistency is a sure way to keep your opt-in numbers up, and your opt-out numbers down.
Tip #5: DO NOT SEND TEXTS IN ALL CAPS!
I have received messages from multiple companies offering me a great deal, BUT IN ALL CAPS! I feel like they are yelling at me, and as a customer, I don’t think that I deserve to be yelled at!
Tip #6: No Risk, No Reward
Don’t be scared to try out new ideas with your SMS initiatives. SMS is one of the most cost effective ways to provide new promotions or incentives to your customers. There is nothing worse than spending hundreds of dollars on new print or other media ad promotions just to have it not do as well as you hoped. Then you are left with those questions of what went wrong? Was my promo not good enough? And with out any real way track to your success.
SMS gives you the ability to evolve your marketing with out braking the bank and take a few risks in the process. Wouldn’t you rather spend $50 to reach 1000 people, than spending several hundred dollars to only reach several hundred people? You can now afford to think outside the box with SMS.
Tip #7: Mix It Up
Letting your mobile campaigns sit stagnant can hurt you in the long run. It is good to keep things fresh and exciting for your subscribers; this will cut down on opt-outs and provide them with a sense of loyalty. Generally speaking I find that one of the most successful ways to utilize SMS is by pushing out 3-4 unique messages to your subscribers each month. Whether it’s telling them about new happenings with your business or even offering them a little something extra just for being part of your mobile program.
Tip #8: Add Mobile Coupons
Something as simple a coupon inserted into your SMS can have a drastic effect on the success of your overall marting. Giving your subscribers a compelling incentives to participate in your mobile campaigns can be a good way to create loyalty as well as providing the them thing everyone loves “instant gratification”. I’m sure at one point we all have been prompted to go online and print a coupon to get the best deal, am I right? Which can be slightly trying and on one or more occasions just plain forgot you printed it out. With SMS coupons since the subscribers receive it on there cell phone instantly, this provides that instant gratification. And chances are if they don’t use it right away, they will have it with them at any given time (because who leaves home without there cell phone?), just nagging them to use it.
SMS Coupons are also very useful in driving traffic on a slow day. You may just surprise yourself, pushing out that one day only offer can yield you up to 25%+ return (from my experience). Did I mention you can track redemptions in real time?
Tip #9: Enhance, Don’t Replace
SMS marketing is a very low risk strategy and in most cases a high return on investment. But be mindful and don’t not make the common mistake of replacing your entire print or other marketing outlets with just SMS. Let SMS be your truly dynamic component to your current marketing strategies. This can cut down the cost on producing new or changing your current forms of advertisement. SMS provides you the ability to change a promotion a moments notice, and push that to your subscribers instantly. Let SMS close the loop on your marketing strategies.
Tip #10: Give it Time
This is probably the most important tip of all, far to often do I see small businesses just give up on SMS. Why? They just get to impatient to see the results, some giving up after just a couple weeks. A realistic time frame to cultivate a successful SMS campaign takes around 90 days. Be patient and don’t give up.
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