Let me put this out there right up front: SMS marketing is quickly becoming the best use for your marketing budget.  Take a look around… everyone is looking at their smart phones and sending messages between one another. When you send a marketing message, it is a sure-fire method to getting your message out there, but you want to make sure that you are sending the right message.  Here are 6 tips for better SMS Marketing:

1.       If you want to send messages via an SMS text service NZ, be certain to ask people to opt in to receive your messages.  You never want to send unsolicited messages to people or you may find yourself in deep trouble.  Many people have to pay for incoming text messages over a certain amount of data, so you want to ensure they are permitting you to send them text messages.

2.       You are limited to a message containing 160 characters.  This means you had better ensure that your message is laser targeted and extremely specific.  The message needs to say what you need it to while remaining within your character limit.

3.       Never use “cute” abbreviations.  While these are perfect for personal communications, they really have no place when it comes to marketing communications.  Using SMS short code is completely acceptable, but ensures that you are using business terms.

4.       Use action words to tell your message recipients exactly what you expect them to do.  This is known as a “call to action” and is used at the end of many messages, but since your message space is limited, you will include a call to action as part of your message.

5.       Never capitalize your message.  All caps is usually used to convey an urgent message or an emergency situation.  Your marketing message is neither, so don’t go there.  You can convey a message without the dramatic typeface and all caps are really difficult to read on such a small screen.

6.       Make it easy for your customers to make a purchase.  If they need to text a code to get a discount, then make that code short and memorable.

When you are ready to get the message out to your customers, consider using a text marketing provider to deliver your message in an efficient and professional manner.  Remember, you only get a few seconds to deliver your message, so you want to ensure that it is the right one!