1.1. Understand The Compliance
The first and most important thing is to keep your SMS Marketing legally compliant. It is crucial to get explicit permission from your customer to send marketing text messages to their mobile number. As per the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, it is illegal to purchase phone numbers and send messages to them.
Secondly, don't abuse the privilege. Send time-sensitive messages to your customers. Limit your number of communication with them per month.
Thirdly, always provide an opt-out option for your customers with every message you send. You can either send an opt-out link or a keyword which they can text to stop receiving messages.
Always ensure that you comply with the SMS and telecom regulations of the country where you have your customers.
1.2. Make It Personal
The utmost goal of SMS marketing is to ensure that it is relevant. But, it works even better when it is personalized. SMS marketing gives you an informal opportunity to personalize the message by adding the recipient's first name or recommending products based on their purchase history or send offers based on their location. Such personalized messages can enhance customer experience and build a long-term relationship with them.
1.3. Keep It Simple
SMS is limited to 160 characters. So, use it effectively. Ensure that your message is straightforward, which is concise, and crisp. But not too concise. See the below example,
Get ur offer only 2day!
This will definitely make your text message to be considered spam.
To create a message that converts, keep in mind the following points
Write like a human
Keep it to the point
Send complete information
Offer a link to get more details on the offer/update
Provide a deadline
Avoid sending flippant messages
1.4. Send It At The Right Time With Right Frequency
Do not bombard your customers with SMS. When it comes to SMS marketing, less is always more. Optimize your message based on the time zones. Also, ensure that you send your message when clients have time to act on it. Your campaign is likely to fail if you’re sending them messages during normal work hours, in the dead of night, or early in the morning. The best time to send your marketing message is mid-morning or mid-afternoon and on the weekends.
1.5. Mind the five 'W's
When crafting a promotional message, keep these 5 W's in your mind.
Who? Your target audience
What? Your promotion details
Where? Location of your target audience
When? Availability and deadline for an offer
Why? Reason for providing the offer or discount