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Advances in technology have given businesses so many more opportunities to connect with their customers. Almost every business recognizes the importance of having a functional website, along with social networking profiles on Facebook and Twitter. Our culture is so technology-based that most people rely on the Internet for information, and it is the first place they’ll go to learn more about your business or give you feedback. People use their laptops, tablets and smartphones constantly. Businesses try to utilize those devices to open as many lines of communication as possible. The email list, for example, is a way to directly let your customers know about sales or new stuff.
Text message promotions are just another way to enhance your customers’ interaction with your business. Text messages are growing in popularity for advertising and marketing. More and more often customers are hearing, “Text (keyword) to (number) for special offers.” And more and more often, they’re doing it. Should your business offer text message promotions? Here are some things to consider and help you decide.
How Does It Work?
To start a text messaging campaign, you will contract with a service provider or company. They will manage your account, and they will give you your “short code” number, which is an abbreviated phone number, usually 5-6 numbers long. You will also pick a keyword, and customers will text the keyword to the short code to opt-in to your campaign. By doing this they are letting you know they want to receive promotional text messages from you, and they’ve become part of your subscriber list. Whenever you want to send out a promotional text message, it will be sent to all your subscribers.
Why Should You Do It?
Doing promotions via text message is great because text messages are highly visible. When people receive a text message, they almost never ignore it or delete it without reading it. Your message is sure to be read, and it is usually read very quickly. It is an instant and direct connection to your customers.
How Should You Use It?
Your text message promotions should be in addition to your other marketing strategies, but they should offer completely exclusive deals or information. The exclusivity is what makes it worthwhile for people to sign up. One of the most popular ways to use promotions is to offer special discounts or giveaways. You can also make the campaign a sweepstakes, with every text message you receive counting as an entry to win a prize. You can get create with the benefits to your customers, as long as the benefits are unique and worthwhile. Also, because text messages are usually read almost immediately,
How Should You Not Use It?
Do not, under any circumstance, barrage your subscribers with text messages. Use text promotions very seldom, or people will get annoyed and opt-out of your campaign. Also, don’t use it to tell them anything unimportant or nonessential. Nothing is worse for your campaign than sending texts that your subscribers don’t want to get.
Strategy
Come up with a good strategy for your text promos, and you will have success. Decide on a target audience, and market to them. Remember that texts are often read extremely quickly, so send promos that are timely and relevant immediately. For example, send them sales and discounts that are going on now, not sometime in the future or they’ll probably forget. Take time to think about when you send your messages, also. Send them at times when people are most likely to be able to take advantage of a deal right away or likely to be interested in your product, such as promos for pizza delivery around dinnertime. If you have an effective text promo strategy, it will likely generate business and buzz for your company.
This article came to fruition thanks to the research of Lisa Hann. We verify grammatical accuracy using Grammarly grammar checker. You can learn more about strategies for small business by reviewing superior content written by the Grammarly team.
