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SMS Marketing: Everyone is Doing it These Days, but is it Right for You?

SMS marketing (short message service), also known as text marketing, can play a vital role in a business’ marketing strategy. As so many have been jumping on the SMS bandwagon, you might wonder if this would be a good marketing option for your brand. To start, about 48.7 million consumers have opted-in to SMS marketing. Not only that, but 82 percent of people say they open every text they receive, and 70 percent think that SMS is a great way for businesses to connect and get their attention.

SMS marketing is incredibly promising, but as with all forms of marketing, there are some pros and cons. Here are a few things to consider as you determine if SMS marketing is right for your brand.

Pro It’s trackable. If you’re concerned about ROI, SMS is a wonderful option. Since brands use an automated system to send out the messages, you can see what’s been opened, what got click-throughs and more. This makes it easy to see what is performing, what isn’t and to optimize moving forward.

Pro High conversions. The conversion rate for SMS can be up to 45 percent, which is leaps and bounds above other marketing efforts including email (3.26 percent), Google Ads (3.17 percent) and Facebook Ads (9.21 percent).

Pro People see them almost immediately. Not only do people almost always have their phones on them, but a text message is a more direct route to grab their attention. It’s estimated that 95 percent of text messages are read within three minutes of receipt.

Pro Cost-effective. SMS is very cost-effective, with the ability to send hundreds of messages at low rates. Couple this with high CTR and conversions, and SMS has the capability of providing a strong ROI.

Con It takes consistent work. Just like any other addition to your marketing strategy, you have to put in the effort to see a strong ROI. You can’t send the same sales message every time and expect to maintain your opt-in base and receive the desired action. You’ll need to research your audience, possibly segment them, develop varying calls to action (CTAs) and different campaign types. This might mean reminders, contests and giveaways, requests for feedback, drip campaigns, coupons or special offers and other ways to connect.

Con You can’t just start. Just like with your email list, you’ll need to collect your customers’ mobile numbers and get their opt-in to receive messages. This means if you haven’t already been collecting phone numbers, you’ll need to start, and this might include the need to develop a mobile sign-up widget for your website to try to get those contacts.

Weigh your options
SMS marketing could be a great addition to your marketing mix. With the ability to track performance and a history of strong conversions and ROI, it could be just the thing you need to take your marketing to the next level. Just make sure that you have the time to put in the effort needed to develop engaging message content, and that you either have a phone list already to prompt opt-ins, or that you’ll be able to collect one.

Connect with one of our brand strategists to learn more about SMS marketing for business.

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