Why mass SMS mailing are annoying and how to make them an effective marketing tool
In this article, we will tell you how to turn SMS advertising mailing from an annoying tool into an effective way to attract customers. We will offer you competent strategies and tell you how to properly set up and launch your own SMS advertising campaign. This way, instead of annoyance, you will be able to convert recipients into potential buyers.
Why might recipients rate you as an SMS spam sender?
Два наиболее очевидных фактора, которые могут привести получателей к тому, чтобы считать вас отправителем СМС-спама, – это частота сообщений и неактуальная информация в них. Например, когда девушке предлагают услуги барбершопа, а мужчине приглашение на занятие по растяжке, получатель понимает, что это спам. Кроме того, некоторые отправители могут обещать легкий заработок или предлагать недостоверные условия кредитования. Вероятно, вам тоже приходила в голову мысль о неудачной смс-рекламе.
Text messages are different from social media notifications. To avoid negative reactions from recipients, you need to make sure your messages don’t make them uncomfortable, like walking in with wet shoes. It’s better to create an atmosphere of holiday anticipation so that recipients look forward to your next messages. How this can be done, we will tell you later. The main idea is to make sure that your mailing brings real value to your recipients. Ultimately, satisfied customers are more likely to return and bring you more money.
Don’t miss out on SMS marketing as an additional way to get new traffic and increase sales. A report shows that the average open rate of SMS messages is 98%, while emails sent via email are only read by about 21%. However, it is necessary to utilize this tool properly.
Businesses can use SMS mailing to:
- informing customers about discounts,
- promotions and special offers;
- conducting audience surveys, for example, you can ask customers to leave feedback on a manager’s work or a purchase on a
- marketplace;
- stimulating demand for specific products;
- activating old potential customers through SMS mailing ;
- offering personalized options for customers
sending service SMS messages about delivery or purchase status; - attracting new customers by mailing to ready-made databases.
If you are planning to do mailing to an existing address database, it is important to make sure that your offer is attractive and accurately matches the interests of your audience. At the same time, pay attention to the requirements of the law on personal data protection and obtaining the recipient’s consent for mailing .
The easiest way to obtain consent to a mailing is to give the user the option to check the privacy policy and receive the newsletter when they register on the site. You can also offer to fill out a form with data and subscribe to the mailing in exchange for a discount, promo code or certificate.
The subtleties of SMS advertising to avoid annoying users
Dispatch frequency
Research shows that most people prefer to receive a mailing with a certain frequency. About 56% of respondents prefer to receive a bi-weekly mailing , 29% prefer a weekly mailing, and 10.5% prefer to receive a bi-weekly mailing .
It’s important to note that the survey results are only guidelines and are not strict standards. If you choose to send a mailing every three weeks or even once a month, but still achieve the desired results, that is also acceptable. This approach will help you save your budget and avoid negative associations with your recipients.
Short links with a call to action
Short links with a call to action can be pleasing to the reader’s eye. Moreover, they are easy to use. The recipient will be able to immediately go to the site and order the product or buy the service mentioned in the message. At the same time, with the help of utm-tags, you will be able to analyze the number of conversions, purchases and the time of their completion.
A call to action can either encourage or discourage the reader from performing the targeted action. For example, if you speak too strictly in the imperative mood, like “subscribe”, “click through”, “open”, the customer may feel resistance. Therefore, try to write more gently: “explore detailed information on the link”, “have time to place an order”, “use a promo code”. Try several variants and watch the results.
Short, medium and long texts
Test different variations of sms ads that have different lengths. By sending both short and long messages, you will be able to determine the formula that is most effective for your business or specific situation.
For example, if you have a fitness studio, you can test variations with a short text about discounts on an annual membership and a longer, personalized version. This will allow you to save budget and increase your profits in the future.
Make the messages diverse
If you keep repeating about discounts, it can get annoying and may not encourage customers to buy. Include promo codes, personalization, current holiday promotions, and other interesting offers in your mass mailing.
For example, if you have a coffee shop, you can offer a discount to birthday kids every week. This will allow you to attract new customers and retain old ones by creating comfortable conditions and special offers for them.
Personalization
Advanis conducted a survey to find out the reasons why people unsubscribe from email mailing lists. Interestingly, it turned out that the votes for and against are almost equal. 15% of respondents reported that they were annoyed by personalization, while 11% unsubscribed due to lack of personalization.
When it comes to receiving SMS messages, customer behavior and reactions won’t differ much.
You will have representatives of both categories in your database. Therefore, it is recommended to test both options and analyze conversion rates. Perhaps, if you alternate these options, the performance will be better.
Don’t forget to customize your ads based on gender, age, geographic location, and other parameters.
Dispatch time
When guided by statistics from Popsters, we can see that users are most active on social media from 10 to 11 am and 7 to 8 pm. During these times, people also tend to browse their news feed during their lunch break. This means that the phone is in the users’ hands and the chances of missing a sent message will be lower.
Based on this data, you can customize your mailing in a suitable way. For example, if your business sells catering products or services, morning time would be ideal for sending information about current promotions for the day or week. On the other hand, if your product or service is in a more complex category and requires careful consideration of the offer (such as buying an apartment or freelance courses), it’s better to send messages in the evening.