The popularity of SMS marketing has exploded worldwide. Many businesses are adopting SMS marketing simply to keep up with everyone else without first understanding proper strategies

If you’re new to SMS marketing, or if you’re thinking about getting started, here are some things you’ll want to know.

Offer value

Like any other business-customer relationship, you want your SMS campaign to be mutually beneficial. Of course, you receive the benefit of having a base of loyal customers who will regularly purchase from you. In return for their loyalty, you need to offer value to them. Most commonly, this is done by offering mobile coupons and notifying them of special sales via text. As long as they perceive the value in receiving your texts, they won’t opt out.

Create urgency

If you don’t set an expiration date for a mobile deal, customers will have no sense of urgency when it comes to redeeming it. More often than not, they’ll forget all about it. Make it clear in each text that a deal is only valid for a certain length of time. You’ll see the highest coupon redemption rate when you create urgency.

Make offers exclusive

People opt in and remain opted in to receive your texts because they’re receiving something they won’t get any other way. If your offers aren’t exclusive, if you hand out the same coupons via other channels, many of your mobile customers may begin to wonder why they bother with receiving your texts. Of course you can utilize other channels but you should make sure that you’re offering exclusive deals to mobile customers regularly.

Mention your brand

This advice probably sounds like common sense but many businesses don’t use their brand name anywhere in their text.

Because customers aren’t going to have your brand name programmed into their phone, they’re not going to know who is texting them. So make sure that it’s clear from your text who is texting them.

Keep it short

A major advantage to text messages is that they’re short and to the point. If you’re not careful, you can lose customers by being overly wordy in your text messages. Get straight to the point in every message you send. Assuming you’re sending a mobile coupon, get right to the deal itself. If you can’t say what you want to say concisely in a text, consider using a different channel.

Include a call to action

Finally, you need to tell the customer what you want them to do. When possible, turn your call to action into a link that customers can click on. Never send a text without a call to action. Make sure that call to action is stated as clearly and concisely as possible so that there’s no chance for customers to misunderstand you.

Source: business2community.com/infographics/6-components-great-sms-marketing-campaign-infographic-01057141