10 SMS Marketing Best Practices in 2024 + Examples

SMS marketing is still one of the most affordable and effective means of lead generation. It has a high conversion rate and is suitable for businesses of all types and sizes.

Of course, the competition is so competing that you can’t reach success by sending several promotional text messages. You need to think of a stronger marketing strategy to outperform your competitors.

If you’re willing to get the best result in your SMS campaigns, you’d better read this article. Here, we’ve listed the 10 SMS marketing best practices that can be helpful in 2024.

Also, if you have more questions about SMS marketing, you can contact us at WP SMS to get help.

What Is SMS Marketing?

As it comes from the name, SMS marketing is advertising your products using text messages. In other words, you have to send promotional messages, alerts, notifications, etc. via text messages.

This is a highly effective means of reaching out to potential customers. SMS has a personal nature and that’s why around 80% of customers are interested in receiving text messages.

SMS marketing is one of the most direct methods to communicate with your audience in real-time. So it’s a must for your business to have a strong SMS marketing strategy.

Benefits of SMS Marketing

Here are the advantages of using SMS marketing best practices in your advertising campaigns:

1. High Open Rates 

SMS messages have an open rate of around 98%. So you can be sure that your message will be read by most recipients.

2. Immediate Delivery

Your audience will receive text messages instantly. As a result, SMS marketing campaigns are ideal for time-sensitive promotions.

3. Personalization

Personalized messages in SMS marketing can enhance customer engagement and loyalty.

4. Cost-Effective: 

SMS marketing practices are relatively cheap compared to other marketing channels.

5. High Conversion Rates: 

The average conversion rate of SMS marketing campaigns is between 20-30%. This is acceptable compared to other marketing channels.

As you see, SMS marketing is a reliable and affordable channel for lead generation and boosting sales.

10 Top Practices for SMS Marketing in 2024 + Examples

Now let’s review some of the most effective SMS marketing practices that will help your business in 2024.

#1 Understand and Segment Your Audience

The first step in your SMS marketing journey is recognizing your audience. Then, you have to segment them into various groups according to certain criteria. In fact, you have to know who exactly your potential customers are.

You have to segment your audience based on the following:

• Demographics: Age, gender, location, income, education level.

• Behavior: Purchase history, browsing behavior, cart abandonment, loyalty status.   

• Interests: Product preferences, hobbies, lifestyle.

• Engagement: SMS open rates, click-through rates, response rates.

This way, you can send targeted text message advertising to each specific group. These messages are more likely to resonate with your recipients.

Examples of Segmentation

Here are some industry-specific examples of segmentation:

• E-commerce: You can segment customers based on purchase history (frequent buyers, one-time buyers, high-value customers.) Then, you can offer targeted promotions or product recommendations.

• Restaurant: It’s good to segment customers based on dining preferences (vegetarian, gluten-free, spicy food lovers.) This way, you can send targeted menu items or special offers.

• Fitness Studio: You have to segment customers based on fitness goals (weight loss, muscle gain, flexibility.) This way, you can offer relevant workout plans or class recommendations for each segment.

#2 Personalize Your Messages

Personalization is key to reaching higher engagement rates and building strong customer loyalty. It’s well-established that using the customer’s name in the text message will increase the engagement rate because it shows a certain level of intimacy.

Of course, if you want to outperform your competitors, you need to go beyond this simple rule of personalization in your SMS marketing campaign. 

Here are some other best practices in SMS marketing personalization:

• Leverage Purchase History: Recommend products based on past purchases of each customer, which shows you’re putting value on their choices.

• Consider Preferences: Customer interests and preferences are important. You can offer products based on their desires.

• Utilize Birthday & Anniversary Data: Send personalized greetings and offers on special occasions.

• Dynamic Content: Use SMS platforms that offer real-time personalization.

Personalization Examples

• E-commerce: “Hey [Customer Name], we noticed you loved our . Check out these similar items you might like: [link]“

• Restaurant: “Happy Birthday, [Customer Name]! Enjoy 20% off your next meal with us. Book now: [link]“

• Fitness Studio: “[Customer Name], your favorite instructor is teaching a new class tomorrow. Reserve your spot: [link]“

#3 Optimize Timing and Frequency

You have to pay special attention to the timing and frequency of your SMS messages. Remember that if you don’t send SMSs on time or send too many messages, your customers might get mad at you.

So instead of bothering them with a stream of messages, try to find the best time and frequency to send your text messages.

Although there is no specific formula for the best time to send SMS, 12 and 8 pm are considered the best time to get maximum exposure. 

Of course, time zone considerations are also important. You can also study more to find optimal timing and frequency based on your industry and time zone. One effective way is using A/B testing to reach the best range for your SMS marketing campaigns.

Examples of Timing and Frequency

• Event Planning: You can send reminders a week, a day, and an hour before the event. Also, consider offering last-minute ticket deals for increased attendance.

• Healthcare: It’s good to send appointment reminders, medication refill alerts, and health tips at specific intervals.

#4 Craft Clear and Compelling Messages

As you know, content is king! You need to pay special attention to the content of your messages and make sure of their clarity, conciseness, and a sense of urgency or desire.

You can also write a question as your CTA and ask the audience to send back an answer. Try to emphasize the benefits of your offer and encourage them to respond. It’s good to use emojis and also a sense of humor in your messages to make your conversation more intimate.

Remember that you have to avoid being too promotional because you’ll lose the trust of your audience.

Examples of Compelling Messages

• Ask for more Information: “Hi Kayla, I’m the technical support agent at High tech. We spoke last week about helping you recover your account. Please let me know if you would like me to send over that information.”

• Sense of Urgent: “TODAY ONLY get free U.S. shipping sitewide. Snag your gifts before shipping costs increase next week 🚚”

#5 Include a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA)

CTA is the most important part of your text message. Remember that you have to include a short but encouraging CTA to make your customers react.

In fact, your message should be an action-oriented sentence with a clear CTA like “Shop Now!” Of course, creativity is of paramount importance in this regard.

Examples of Compelling CTAs in SMS Marketing Campaigns

• E-commerce: “Shop Now and Save 20%,” “Add to Cart,” “Claim Your Free Gift“

• Event Planning: “Buy Tickets Now,” “RSVP Today,” “Learn More“

• Fast Food: “Order Online,” “Book a Table,” “Download Our Menu“

It should be noted that you can use some features to make your CTA appear clearly. For example, change the color, bold it, and use strong action verbs like “Learn More” and “Shop Now.”

#6 Use SMS for Customer Support

SMS is an effective channel for customer support. You can provide timely and helpful responses to customer inquiries to improve the customer experience and increase your brand loyalty.

It’s the best way to resolve issues quickly and efficiently so don’t forget to use this SMS marketing best practice.

Examples of Customer Support Using SMS

Suppose you have an airline and want to offer customer support using text messages. Here are some examples:

• Flight Status Updates: “Flight [flight number] is delayed by [time]. We apologize for the inconvenience. Updated info: [link]“

• Baggage Claim: “Your baggage is available at carousel [number]. If you can’t find it, reply with your flight details.“

• Customer Support: “Need help? Text us your question or booking reference.“

#7 Ensure Compliance with Regulations

You need to make sure that your SMS marketing campaigns comply with regulations like TCPA, CTIA, GDPR, and CCPA. Otherwise, you’ll face fines or great financial losses.

Examples of Non-Compliance with Regulations

• Sending SMS messages without explicit consent.
• Ignoring opt-out requests.
• Using an autodialer without proper consent.
• Failing to comply with data privacy regulations.

If you don’t comply with regulations, all of your efforts to run a successful SMS marketing campaign with best practices will lead to failure. WP SMS is one of the most reliable WordPress SMS plugins in this regard. The tool is unique when it comes to supporting regulations like GDPR.

#8 Integrate SMS Best Practices with Other Marketing Channels

You need to think of a cross-promotional integration between SMS marketing and other advertising channels.

Remember that you have to show your consistency on all platforms. So if your SMS marketing practices don’t align with other channels, you won’t get acceptable results.

Try to use a unique style and tone on all channels like SMS, email, website, and social media. 

Examples of Integrating SMS with Other Channels

• Retailer: When you offer a product using an email, it’s good to send an SMS with a limited-time discount code.

• Restaurant: Post a new menu item on Instagram and immediately offer an exclusive discount for early orders using SMS.

#9 Use Automation Tools

Automation is now essential for all marketing channels, and SMS is no exception. You can use automation tools for repetitive tasks, you can:

• Save time
• Reduce errors
• Focus on strategic tasks
• Improve customer experience
• Save money

As an example, you can use SMS automation tools to automate reminders of your events instead of manually sending text messages. You can use tools like WP SMS to automate your text message marketing campaigns.

#10 Monitor and Analyze SMS Marketing Best Practices Performance

Last but not least, you have to track the performance of your SMS practices to be able to optimize your future text message advertising.

Here are the key metrics you have to track:

• Delivery Rate: The percentage of messages successfully delivered.

• Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of recipients who clicked on a link in the message.

• Conversion Rate: The percentage of recipients who completed a desired action (e.g., purchase, sign-up).

• Opt-Out Rate: The percentage of recipients who unsubscribed.

• Return on Investment (ROI): The overall profitability of your campaign.

You can get help from SMS analytics tools like EZ Texting, TxtCart, and GetResponse.

3 Best SMS Marketing Services

Here are the top 3 services for implementing SMS marketing best practices in 2024:

#1 WP SMS

WP SMS is a WordPress plugin that provides diverse SMS marketing solutions for WordPress websites.

It supports all famous SMS gateways and offers features like bulk SMS sending, scheduling, and subscriber management.

Using this tool, you can easily send SMS to your customers directly from the dashboard of your website.

Pros of WP SMS

1. Integration with WordPress
2. Easy to use for WordPress site owners
3. Supports multiple SMS gateways

Cons of WP SMS

1. Limited to WordPress users

#2 EZ Texting

EZ Texting is a user-friendly SMS marketing platform. It’s specifically designed for small to medium-sized businesses.

This tool offers text message scheduling, keyword campaigns, and contact management. It can also be integrated with popular applications like Mailchimp and Zapier.

Pros of EZ Texting

1. User-friendly interface
2. Affordable pricing
3. Good customer support

Cons of EZ Texting

1. Limited customization options
2. May not be suitable for very large enterprises

#3 TextMagic

TextMagic is also a versatile SMS marketing service. It allows businesses to send notifications, alerts, reminders, and marketing messages.

Pros of TextMagic

1. Easy to set up and use
2. Competitive Pricing
3. Reliable delivery

Cons of TextMagic

1. Limited advanced features
2. Basic reporting compared to some competitors

Conclusion

SMS marketing is still one of the most effective channels to reach out to new customers and boost sales. We introduced the best practices for SMS marketing in 2024 to help you get the best result possible. Despite the simplicity of SMS marketing practices, it’s a fiercely competitive area. Try to use the best tools to outperform your competitors and build your brand identity on this channel. 

Here at WP SMS, we’re ready to help you in this regard. Try our demo to get familiar with all the features and get started marketing your products using SMS.

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