You’re constantly thinking of new ways to reach the younger demographic. But outside of spending more time on social media, how else can you get more young shoppers in your store — or on your website?
If you’ve never considered using text messages to draw more consumers to your business, then you’re selling yourself short in today’s high-tech marketing world.
Research shows that 95% of American adults have cell phones. Although more people are using messaging apps today compared with years ago, text messaging still plays an important role in reaching potential customers who aren’t excited about using these apps.
Here’s a rundown on how you can capitalize on text message marketing for small business in 2019 and beyond.
Let’s jump in!
Know Your Audience When It Comes to Text Message Marketing for Small Business
When you interact with customers or potential customers, ask them if they’d like to be added to your texting list. And make sure that you let them know what to expect from the messages you send.
Then, if they say they’d like to get text messages from you, feel free to send them messages.
Note that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act prevents businesses from sending texts to individuals who haven’t opted to get them. For this reason, it’s paramount that you give customers the option of receiving your texts. You can give them this choice during an online subscription process, for example.
If you’re careful in this area, you’ll avoid getting in trouble with the law. And you’ll also make sure that your texts go only to individuals who would be interested in receiving them, rather than being annoyed by them.
Find out more about how to protect yourself from legal issues when it comes to sending text messages to your customers.
Pay Attention to Timing
When you send texts to consumers, avoid sending your messages too early in the morning or late in the evening. Later in the morning is generally a good time to send messages, as this will give your recipients the opportunity to act on them.
Also, be careful when sending out coupons. For instance, it doesn’t make sense to send out a coupon for a product after many customers have already purchased the product.
You should also take into consideration how frequently you send your messages. If you overload your recipients with messages, they’ll get annoyed. The next thing you know, they’ll start deleting or ignoring your texts.
Ideally, you should send messages no more than once a week or once every couple of weeks. That’s plenty often to get good responses from customers.
Be Succinct and Clear
Make sure that each message you send is concise. As a general rule of thumb, a message of no more than 160 characters is perfect.
Here’s why.
If you send a text longer than 160 characters, a customer’s phone company will break it up into several texts. This could prevent your whole message from being delivered. And if your message does get through to the recipient, you may rack up additional fees.
Also, be sure to include a solid call to action at the end of each text. This will let your recipients know what next steps they should take after reading your message.
Excellent calls to action feature the URL for your business or your company’s phone number, for example.
In your messages, try to avoid slang, as not all of your customers may understand it. And be creative. This will help you to stand out among competitors who may also be sending out text messages.
Switch Things Up
When it comes to text message marketing, you should continually update your text messages.
It may be okay to post the same message more than once on social media, but it’s best not to send a single message twice by text. The more varied your text messages are, the more likely you are to maintain your message recipients’ interest.
Also, try to offer something in the texts that’s different from other promotions you’re offering in email or on social media, for example. After all, there’s no reason for a customer to sign up for texts if they can access the same deals elsewhere.
Let Your Message Recipients Opt Out
According to United States law, you must tell your text message recipients how to opt out of your text messages if they no longer want them.
A few brief instructions in your text message will likely be sufficient. For instance, you can include “Text STOP to stop receiving messages.”
In addition, keep monitoring and assessing your text message marketing results. This will help you to make sure that you’re sending only the most critical information to your audiences.
Valuable metrics to track include your subscriber number, conversion number, click-through rate, and open rate. You should also keep an eye on how many people are opting out of your text messages.
Finally, remember that cell phone numbers are frequently deleted and changed. For this reason, it’s critical that you constantly check to ensure that you are sending your texts to the proper individuals.
How We Can Help
In addition to providing tips regarding text message marketing for small business, we offer a wide range of other news and tips related to technology.
For instance, you can learn how to convert a WordPress site to a mobile app. You can also find out how to generate revenue from blogging.
You can even learn how to become a successful influencer on social media sites, like Instagram.
Take a peek here to learn more about how the latest developments in technology can help you to take your company to the next level in the months and years ahead.
