6 common pitfalls of an SMS marketing campaign

6 common pitfalls of an SMS marketing campaign

 

Are you planning to run an SMS marketing campaign? This article explores the most common pitfalls of a text marketing campaign and how to avoid them. 

As of 2021, there are 3.8 billion smartphone users globally. Data shows that the average person checks their mobile phone 160 times a day. 46% of people admit checking their phones before they even get out of bed in the morning. These are just three strong reasons why SMS is still a relevant and powerful marketing tool. Businesses that get their SMS marketing right see incredibly high ROI.

But, despite being a great marketing channel, SMS marketing isn't that easy. Certain mistakes are committed by marketers time after time. Some are related to no or very little prior research. Others are made because of not paying attention to details. Either way, even the slightest mistake could reduce the success rates of your campaign. Thus, it's helpful to know how to avoid these six common pitfalls of an SMS marketing campaign.

  1. Sending your texts to the wrong audience

Knowing your audience inside out is paramount to get your marketing campaign right, whether you're using SMS or other channels. You simply can't create a campaign that attracts, engages, and sells without understanding your audience's needs, wants, and preferences.

For this reason, prior research is crucial. You should learn more about your audience's age, gender, location, concerns, and even buyer behavior through research. Using all the data and characteristics you identify, you can create and tailor a text marketing campaign that will appeal to the people you send it to.

  1. Sending your SMS at the wrong time

Great timing is another crucial factor that can impact the success of your bulk text marketing campaign. Keep in mind that with SMS marketing, your receivers can easily opt out of receiving your texts. Think about it: sending your messages outside of business hours would feel for your customers precisely like receiving a call from a telemarketer when they were about to sit down for dinner. In other words, it would be annoying and win your brand no goodwill.

So, you should avoid creating any scenario where your customers would want to unsubscribe from hearing from you. To prevent that, there are a few timing rules you should respect:

  • Don't text your potential or loyal customers too early, nor too late when the customer is already in bed.
  • Avoid sending your messages during peak hours because your customers are already overwhelmed with other activities.
  • Don't send your texts during weekends because these days have a high unsubscribe rate.

Data shows that the best time for businesses to send their SMS marketing campaigns is between 12:00 and 15:00 during weekdays.

  1. Creating irrelevant or generic content

Remember that effective SMS marketing campaigns are tailored for a specific audience. Thus, being too generic or irrelevant in your content will definitely translate into low engagement levels.

These days, personalization is king in marketing precisely because today's consumers want to feel a personalized approach. They want brands to address them by their names and show helpful and relevant content for them. Luckily, these two can be achieved even with bulk SMS marketing as long as you do your research and understand the type of content your audience prefers to engage with. One promising approach would be to divide your audience into different segments considering their age, gender, and other characteristics and create tailored messages for every group.

Besides that, when creating the content for your SMS marketing campaign, also make sure to use clear and specific language that your customers can understand and relate to. Don't use too industry-specific or technical terms because these can be hard for your audience to understand.

  1. Not checking your texts for typos

No matter the type of content, typos significantly reduce its quality. Besides that, they can also hurt your brand's reputation. There are a few reasons for that:

  • Sloppy content can negatively impact the receivers' reading experience.
  • Typos and other mistakes in the content can distract readers from understanding and engaging with your brand's message.
  • Receivers can believe that your brand doesn't pay attention to detail or care to deliver quality content.

Now, typos are bound to happen when you write. Even your audience knows that. However, people expect brands to make sure that they fix these typos before pressing the "Send" button. So, make sure to double-check your bulk text campaign before sending it. You can even use spell check and other online grammar tools to catch typos and fix them.

  1. Being too "salesy" or too formal

Your SMS marketing campaign has a specific goal: to sell, attract people to your website, or increase brand awareness. Yet, that's not what the people receiving your texts should feel.

Texting is a very personal and intimate way for your customers to connect with other people in their lives, like family and friends. A very formal and "salesy" text will only be a disruptive experience because this is not how they are used to see or use SMS.

Hence, make sure to avoid sounding robotic. Use your brand's voice and personality when creating your texts. This will give you authenticity and help you better connect with your audience.

  1. Not including CTAs in your texts

At the end of the day, you're running your bulk SMS campaign with a clear purpose in mind, be it to sell, attract, engage, or convince recipients to take a specific action after reading your text. To make sure that you meet your goals, you need to guide your audience with call-to-action phrases.

Not including clear CTAs in your texts might leave your audience confused about what they should do next after interacting with your message. In contrast, inviting the receivers to enter your website, visit your business location, subscribe to something, or contact you for more information about an offer gives people a clear idea of what action they should do next.

SMS marketing is a great way to reach a large number of people from your audience and get your brand's message in front of the right pair of eyes. Avoid these pitfalls to make your text message marketing an effective part of your customer communications.