7 “Best Practices” for Your SMS Campaigns

Today’s consumer is increasingly mobile, sending and receiving numerous SMS messages from their mobile phone every day. As a business, you need to position yourself on this communication channel in a relevant way, integrating other communication channels into your strategy (voice, emails…).

To do this, don’t forget the fundamental best practices of SMS communication, which you’ll need to keep in mind to make your SMS campaigns a success!

Best practices to master for your SMS campaigns

1 – Deliver a relevant message

To run a successful SMS campaign, you need to offer special and impactful deals. Indeed, there’s no point in sending information in a message that users can already find on your website. Don’t forget that consumers are very attached to their phones and that most of them associate them with friends and family. That’s why communicating on the SMS channel requires providing relevant information: if a user takes the time to read your message, it needs to be worth their while. Let them know about an offer, something new!

“The average open rate for SMS marketing is 95%, compared to only 30% for email.”

2 – Customize the sender name

The first thing your customer sees through your SMS campaign is the name of the sender who just texted them. If the sender appears as a short number: “36XXX” or “38XXX”, you’ve just missed an opportunity to promote your brand name while also undermining the credibility of your campaign. Take advantage of the option offered by the SMS Partner platform to customize your sender name: your recipient will recognize you, and that’s an important relationship-building element.

3 – Choose the right timing carefully

Choosing the right time to send your SMS campaign is a crucial factor in the success of your operation. Consumers expect to receive relevant information from a business when they need it (no matter where they are). So think carefully about a time slot or a period of the year for sending your SMS campaigns. The timing you choose should of course make sense in relation to your message. (Check out this article for some SMS campaign ideas). Commercial SMS messages should respect the recipient’s lifestyle as much as possible. You should avoid sending a campaign before 10am or after 7pm: nobody wants to receive an advertising SMS at 6 in the morning… let alone in the middle of the night! A few tips for choosing the best time.

“More than 70% of consumers read an SMS within 4 minutes of receiving it.”

4 – Get to know your customers better

While it may not be a priori the primary goal of your SMS message, every campaign is a valuable opportunity to learn a little more about your customers (their location, their preferences, …). Don’t hesitate to leverage the data you collect to optimize your future campaigns, or to target qualified prospect databases by directly renting phone numbers. (Learn more: 3 benefits of renting an SMS file)

5 – Consider the experience as a whole

As we’ve just seen, planning your campaign is important, but you also need to pay special attention to the experience your customer/prospect will have throughout the campaign. For example, if you include a link in your campaign: which page will it direct the mobile user to? Will they need to log in? If so, how? Consider using social login, such as Facebook, to make this experience easier.

6 – Support with multichannel communication

The best way to make a lasting impression on your customers and ensure they remember your offer is to set up a multichannel campaign with voice message drops and an email campaign. This allows customers to access content on the platform that suits them best, improving customer relationships and loyalty.

7 – GDPR Consent

Current regulations allow you to requalify your database to deliver more targeted marketing campaigns that generate a better click-through rate. To learn more about our GDPR commitments (click here!)

There you have it — all the best practices you need to launch an SMS campaign! Worried about forgetting these tips? We’ve created a free Notion checklist for you to download, covering all the key steps for a successful SMS campaign.

Feel free to contact us if you need more information about our SMS sending, voice message sending, or email campaign offerings.