8 Tips on Text Message Campaigns
Text campaigns can be used in multiple ways. We have used it as a way to interact with healthcare workers who do not have time to access their office email frequently and for extremely loyal fans who want immediate, actionable interactions. Here are some things you should know about text campaigns.
1. Create an Opt-in Campaign. To develop a database, you will need to recruit participants through other channels. In our instance, we used social media, direct mail and internal communications within hospitals – posters, digital media, flyer and table tents. It is important to create a compelling reason for individuals to give up their privacy and allow your messages in. We developed a giveaway for those who participated. We also gave them clear communication on what to expect and why we were requesting their information.
2. Have a clear call to action. SMS campaigns are driven by 2 factors – the keyword and a short code. The keyword should be easy to remember for the brand.
3. Make the offer easy to obtain. Give them a promotional code in the message to use when they appear in your store/restaurant/site. Make the landing page relevant to the SMS message if you send a link. Since some 50% of your subscribers will be responding via phone, make sure your page is responsive and clearly relates to the message you sent.
4. Pay attention to frequency. Ideally 2-4 texts per month is enough. In fact, it is good to include your frequency in the “auto reply” to your keywords with something like “receive up to 4 text messages per month.”
5. Respect your audience. Realize that the persons who respond are really loyal to your brand. Your text campaigns need to provide more than just selling messages. Not all of the communication needs to be transaction-based. You can provide helpful information to them, provide services not available to other consumers, send reminders, or invite them to events.
6. Leverage the immediacy of texting. A reminder of an event the day before, a news alert of a special need or weather closings are examples of the type of immediacy involved in text campaigns.
7. Provide consistent communications. Using the media consistently is important. If you go months without connecting via SMS is likely going to cause a high unsubscribe rate with every send. High profile brands typically send one text a week. Every brand should develop their own optimized frequency.
8. Measurement of campaigns. Here are some types of metrics that can be used to measure your campaign – Subscriber Growth, Subscriber Churn, Keyword Engagement (using different keywords for different media to identify performance), Redemption Rate, and Cost per Redeeming Subscriber.
Mobile texting campaigns are a very private way to communicate with your consumers. And texting campaigns are a way to create stronger loyalty and engagement. Go ahead and try it out.
