Best practice is a term that’s bandied about a lot these days, but just what does it actually mean? More importantly, what does it mean when it comes to SMS marketing? And most important of all, how do you put one together?

Here are the four key practices to bear in mind when you’re putting together your next SMS campaign.

1) Be as brief and as focused as you can

Always make your SMS marketing messages as succinct as possible. Unlike other forms of marketing, SMS messaging demands you get straight to the point.

First, do your homework precisely regarding what your target consumers want from your products and/or services, and then address their needs and concerns directly. Try to keep it simple and mention only how the recipient will benefit from your offerings.

2) No hype, abbreviations or slang should be used

Don’t make your text messages look like spam, so stick to the facts. If you try to woo your recipients through hype or exaggeration, you’re doomed to fail. Customers expect a certain basic level of professionalism from you — so avoid the slang (it just eats into your precious word count anyway).  

3) Offer something that benefits consumers with immediate effect

The competition is too tough nowadays, and unless you can come up with some other offer that delivers immediate value to your customer, you may as well lose them to your rival entities. Better to offer them a coupon with one week to use it than offer a newsletter to arrive next month. Remember, bulk mobile messaging is an instant medium, therefore the benefits of your offers should also be instantaneous.

Regardless of whether you are trying to sell a product or service, make it a point to convey the benefits of “acting now” to your recipients.

4) Come up with personalized offers

Even though easier said than done, you should always try to come up with personalized offers for your target customers. While this may sound like an unnecessary amount of busy work, segmenting your list properly (such functionality is available via Texta) targets your customer with an offer specific to him or her, not only resulting in a better conversion rate, but establishing a very real intimacy and goodwill with your customer.