If you’re currently or planning to use business texting in Australia, you should know that it has its own rulebook. You can’t send any message to anyone, any time. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has the Spam Act 2003, which requires explicit consent, clear sender identification, and a simple, low-cost opt-out in every message. 

And there’s another layer coming soon: A mandatory SMS Sender ID Register is rolling out on 15 December 2025.

If you use an alphanumeric sender name (basically, your brand name in the “from” field), you’ll need to register it or risk your messages being flagged and blocked. Here’s a helpful overview of SMS rules in Australia, including the new ACMA rules rolling out this year.

This is not legal advice. This information is provided for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice or a substitute for consultation with qualified legal counsel or your organization’s compliance professionals.  

A quick background on SMS regulations in Australia 

What is ACMA? 

ACMA is the Australian Communications and Media Authority, a.k.a. the regulator that polices business texting. If you send commercial SMS in Australia, ACMA sets the rules and enforces them under what’s known as the Spam Act 2003. 

To text customers legally, you need three things every time: 

1. Explicit consent (so no sneaky, pre-ticked boxes) 

2. Clear sender identification 

3. An easy, low-cost opt-out in every message 

How ACMA texting rules impact businesses 

In practice, this means you should be incorporating consent language right into your forms and checkout. You have to make it crystal clear what people are signing up for and keep a simple log of when and how each person opted in.  

Every SMS should also say who it’s from and give an easy get out clause, like “Reply STOP to opt out.” When someone opts out, you must remove them from your list straight away. 

What you need to know about new ACMA rules in Australia for texting 

From 15 December 2025, Australia will have a mandatory SMS Sender ID Register.  

This means if you send texts using your brand name in the “from” field, you’ll need to register that name.  

If you don’t, your sender ID might show up as “unverified” or “likely SCAM” and messages can (and most likely will) be blocked. This will have a direct impact on deliverability, but obviously the more important issue is that you stay compliant under these new rules.

About Australian SMS Sender ID Registry 

Why it matters 

If you don’t register your sender names, your messages could be marked as spam and ultimately blocked from getting where they need to go. That hurts delivery, damages brand trust, and wastes campaign spend.  

The idea behind the registration is that it helps carriers and customers recognise that the message really is from you. 

Who’s at risk? 

The ACMA new texting rules apply to any business using alphanumeric sender IDs to text people in Australia, whether you’re sending promos, alerts, or reminders. If you use short/long codes instead, you still have to follow the core rules as above: consent, clear identification, and a low-cost opt-out in every message. 

What should you do and when?  

• Now: Audit all sender names you use in AU, decide which to keep, and map them to the right business entities. 

• Before 15 Dec 2025: Register each alphanumeric sender ID. Update templates so your brand name and opt-out line are crystal clear and train your team. 

• After go-live: Monitor delivery and any on-device labelling. If a label looks off, investigate quickly and keep your consent/opt-out processes tight. 

Tip: Keep a central list of sender IDs, owners, and use cases. Standardise naming (avoid lookalikes), and make sure they match across all your platforms (e.g., POS, helpdesk, marketing). Keep proof of consent and make sure you remove opt-outs from your lists immediately. 

The importance of consent is SMS marketing in Australia 

While the main reason for getting consent is compliance with the rules and regulations in Australia, there’s a secondary benefit for brands. People actually engage more when they know they’ve expressly signed up and can leave at any time. SMS works best when it’s transparent and permission-based. 

Examples of opt-ins and opt-outs 

Here are some tried-and-tested ways you can get explicit consent from customers and give them the opportunity to opt-out if they want.  

Opt-in: 

• A checkout or website form with an unticked SMS box and clear wording that says something like, “Yes, text me order updates and offers.” 

• A keyword flow where a customer can text “YES” to join and your confirmation message repeats what they’ll receive and how to opt out. 

• Signed T&Cs that clearly cover SMS and link to your privacy policy. 

• Double opt-in for promo lists: form submit > confirm via SMS “YES.” 

• In-store posters or QR codes that spell out what you’ll send and how to opt out. 

• After offering customer support, ask if they’d like delivery alerts or service reminders by SMS and make sure you record the “yes.” 

Opt-out: 

• Delivery update: “Hi Sam, your Apple order #1234 has shipped. Track: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out.” 

• Appointment reminder: “Reminder: Dr. Patel, Tue 10:30am, 12 High St. Change: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out.” 

• Promotion: “Sam, 20% off trainers till Sun. Shop: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out.” 

What happens if you don’t get consumer consent for SMS? 

Short answer: you’re asking for trouble. 

No consent means you’re non-compliant, which puts you at risk of ACMA action, and your texts are more likely to be filtered, blocked, or just plain old ignored.  

With the new SMS Sender ID Register rolling out, it’ll be even clearer who’s sending what. Messages that look unauthorised or non-compliant can be labelled “Unverified” or “Likely SCAM,” or not delivered at all. Not a great look, but an easy problem to avoid with proper opt-in. 

New ACMA guidelines for Australia: texting checklist 

• Count your Sender IDs. Pull a list of every alphanumeric sender name you use in Australia (marketing, CX, stores, etc). Merge duplicates and get rid of lookalikes. Ideally, choose one primary brand ID. 

• Register the ones you’ll keep. Pick an internal owner, grab your ABN/ACN, and register each ID before 15 Dec 2025. Save the approval emails and write a quick “how we register new IDs” note for future you. 

• Fix your templates. Make it obvious who the text is from and include a clear opt-out line in every message. Test on a few common phones and carriers, and ditch any old copy that hides the opt-out. 

• Tighten consent. Use unticked boxes and plain-English wording on forms/checkout. If you use keywords, make “YES” the join action and confirm what they’ll get. Log when, how, and what they agreed to. 

• Automate opt-outs. Make “STOP” suppress that number right away across all tools, including your marketing platform, POS, and helpdesk. Send a short confirmation (“You’re opted out”) and make sure they’re removed from all lists. 

• Teach your team. Give marketing, customer success, and store staff a one-pager that includes when they can text, any approved templates, how to capture consent, and what to do with opt-outs.  

• Keep a close eye on things after you go-live. Monitor delivery, replies, complaints, and any labels that show on devices. If you ever see “Unverified” or “Likely SCAM,” raise it immediately with your provider and investigate. 

How SMS platforms like MessageMedia make compliance easier 

Keeping up with constantly changing regulations can be challenging, but it’s much easier with a trusted, compliant SMS platform. 

While you are always responsible for registering your alphanumeric sender ID and taking the necessary steps to meet ACMA compliance obligations – our complete SMS platform makes it easy to incorporate compliant sending practices into your texting strategy.  

Some features and support we offer that help with ACMA compliance include: 

• Initiating registration on your behalf  

• In-app reminders for upcoming registration deadlines 

• Built-in opt-in and opt-out tools 

• Automated list management 

• 24/7 local support 

And what’s even more reassuring: Many brands who work with us have seen that compliance doesn’t mean sacrificing performance. Our conversational SMS customers have achieved 12% CTRs and 15% reply rates, all while staying fully ACMA-compliant. 

For more comprehensive details on ACMA’s new updates, please refer to the ACMA’s official website or our support article.

And if you’re ready to explore how Sinch MessageMedia can help your business with smarter SMS, book a demo or try our platform for free. 

The post Navigating new ACMA rules: A guide to compliant SMS marketing in Australia appeared first on Sinch MessageMedia.

What’s email to text, and why is it useful?

With email to text, you can send an SMS message anywhere in the world. It works for traditional email clients like Thunderbird or Outlook and web-based clients like Gmail or Yahoo.

Without getting too technical, email to SMS uses Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and a gateway or SMS API to convert emails into SMS format, before sending to the recipient’s mobile number.

WHAT IS SMTP: SMTP is a set of rules (the protocol) for sending emails from one email account to another over the internet. The emails get sorted by an SMTP server, a bit like mail gets sorted at a post office, before being sent off to their destination.

There might be several reasons why you’d want to send an email as an SMS.

• You’re using SMS for marketing because it gets you higher engagement and more conversions than other channels, but your team prefers using an email client.
• You want to reach people on a universal messaging service that’s already on everyone’s mobile phone.
• You’re sending out important alerts or notifications that need to reach everybody, regardless of carrier, iPhone vs. Android issues, preferred instant messaging service, or operating system.
• You’re somewhere where you don’t have cellular coverage, but your data plan works and you need to reach somebody via text.

That’s exactly when an email to SMS service comes into play.

Sending an email as text message through an SMS gateway

The easiest way to send email messages as SMS in Australia is to use an SMS gateway service provider like Sinch MessageMedia. You’ll be able to send email to text to individual contacts and contact groups.

Here’s how this works.

1. Sign up for an account with MessageMedia. You’ll get 25 free credits to test email to text.
2. Register an email address or your company domain.
3. For sending messages to a single contact, go to your email client and in the “to” field enter the SMS mobile number, followed by @e2s.messagemedia.com (e.g. 61400000000@e2s.messagemedia.com). If you want to send a bulk SMS to multiple people, you can set up email groups with the contacts of your choice and then pick the group you want to text.
4. Add the content of your message to either the subject and/or body of the email.
5. Hit send!

Replies to the SMS will appear in both the email client inbox and also in the Sinch MessageMedia Hub inbox. You can use any standard email client, like Gmail, Outlook, or Hotmail. You can send emails as text messages to both mobiles and landlines, with landline SMS messages converted to voice that’ll reach recipients as a phone call.

Keep in mind that if you live in Australia, you should add +61 at the beginning of the number and delete the first 0. For example, if your number is 0418719130, change it to 61418719130. If sending to a landline, make sure to include the area code. For example, if you’re in NSW, and the number is 1234 5678, change it to 02 1234 5678.

What to keep in mind when sending a text from an email

Here are some things to look out for when sending a text from your email client.

• When composing messages, remember that the recipient will see it on their phone. Keep it under 160 characters to avoid using extra SMS credits.
• Make sure that you use the tags {end sms} or {end} at the end of the message, otherwise your email signature will be sent in the SMS.
• You can write your message in the subject line or the body of the email. If you write the entire message in the subject line, add {end sms} or {end} at the end of your subject line or at the top of the email.

• Only subscribed recipients can receive messages from email to SMS.
• Sending to an unsubscribed contact will result in a send failure.

Before you start sending to customers, it’s a good idea to test it out using your own mobile phone number. Also, try sending an SMS to the email address by texting back to check if everything’s set up correctly.

Then, you’re good to go. It really is that easy.

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Try MessageMedia for free, plus get 25 SMS credits.

Let’s go

Three useful business scenarios for sending email to text

There are so many powerful ways for businesses to use email to text. Here are just a few of them:

1. Sending one-off messages. Let’s say your sales agent hasn’t been able to get in touch with a client via email. With email to SMS, they can send a quick message without leaving their email inbox. Or, say you’re waiting on a colleague to send you something so you can complete an important project. Instead of sending an email (which can get buried in an inbox), use SMS to give them a nudge.
   
2. Reaching your team in the field. If your company typically uses email to communicate, but you’re trying to get in touch with employees on a job site, text them. With email to SMS, you can still use your email client and reach your team faster. (Need an SMS solution that can scale with your team and sync with your ERP, CRM, and tech stack? We’ve got you – check out our easy, powerful integrations with NetSuite, HubSpot, Salesforce, and more).
   
3. Making life easier for your users. Schools, non-profits and other organisations with distributed teams love the speed and simplicity of sending text messages from an email address. For example, teachers can quickly send SMS to parents right from their inbox. There’s no need for them to learn another software platform – you simply teach the teachers how to send SMS through email.

Given how easy it is, it’s no wonder that businesses of all shapes and sizes send email to SMS. For example:

• Non-profit organisations with volunteer groups  
• Clinics with multiple GPs, doctors or specialists 
• Multi-brand businesses
• Salons, hairdressers, beauty therapists 
• Hospitality venues like bars, restaurants, cafés 
• Fitness businesses like gyms, studios, therapists

One simple solution, many big benefits

Sending text messages via email is quick, easy, and cost-effective. Think of it like a short-cut. With the right authorisations in place, your team can bypass the SMS portal to get urgent messages out to customers using the email platform they know and love.

And, because it saves time and isn’t more expensive than sending SMS via the web portal, it can end up leaving your business better off.

Want to give it a try yourself? Explore our email-to-text capabilities and all-in-one business text messaging platform today.

The post How to send a message via email to text appeared first on Sinch MessageMedia.

What is MMS messaging?

MMS is short for Multimedia Messaging Service (to recap, SMS stands for Short Message Service). 

What makes it unique is right in the definition of MMS: ‘Multimedia’ is the keyword here. In an MMS, you can attach pictures and GIFs to your messages – making them stand out from your standard SMS.

Here’s an example of an MMS message. You can have an optional heading, a longer block of text, plus an image (which could be a JPEG, PNG or a moving GIF).

You can send MMS messages to customers across Australia. As long as they have a compatible device (most modern smartphones are) and it is activated for mobile data and MMS, then they’ll get your message. And if they can’t receive MMS messages? The message still gets through (text-only) as an SMS.

If you’re planning on going global, you can also send MMS from Australia to many mobile numbers overseas.

Is MMS worth it?

Already smashing goals with SMS? Then you might be wondering why bother with MMS. After all, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

While SMS might not be broken, MMS might deliver even better results. 

Across all channels, imagery is proven to help boost engagement. Almost a decade ago, Buffer reported that tweets with images received 150% more retweets than those without. Since then, the use of images in social campaigns has skyrocketed.

Using images in your text messages has a similar impact.

Let’s take for instance Yarn, Australia’s premier marketplace for authentic First Nations collaborations and products. As stunning as their products are, it’s still a challenge for the e-commerce company to cut through the clutter when sending out marketing campaigns. So, Yarn experimented with SMS and MMS campaigns. And it worked!

“With SMS and MMS, we can reach those people who are engaged with the business and know the brand, but might not check their emails regularly.”

Adam Benz

Virtual Marketing Officer, Yarn

Aside from reaching a new audience with text messaging, Yarn has also seen a massive increase in engagement and conversions, particularly after introducing MMS messaging to their campaign channels. 

• SMS campaigns get a 4% average click-through rate. 
• For MMS campaigns, that number is more than double – 11%. 

Try out MMS

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Does MMS messaging cost more than SMS?

In terms of the pure cost of sending an MMS vs. an SMS, yes! MMS messaging is more expensive because you’re sending more data. In Australia, you’re looking at about 20 to 50 cents per MMS message and 7 cents for an SMS. Specific pricing will, however, vary, depending on your provider and your pricing plan, as many MMS providers offer subscription-based pricing that includes a certain number of SMS and MMS per month.

Also keep in mind that when calculating the cost, you should also think about return on investment. If, for instance, MMS delivers you a 2% increase in completed purchases, the higher returns make up for and probably surpass your investment costs.

In order to figure out if it’s worth for your business, we recommend running A/B tests with SMS vs. MMS and see what delivers better results. It’s also good to try this with different campaigns to get the full picture. Maybe you’ll find that MMS works great for re-engagement campaigns, but doesn’t make a difference for growing your customer base.

How do SMS and MMS compare?

Both SMS and MMS are messages that are sent from one phone (or, through a virtual SMS service) to another phone. They use mobile data networks to get the message from A to B.

But there are a few crucial differences between SMS vs. MMS.

SMS

• Text length: Up to 160 characters 
• No images, video, or audio
• Great for quick updates, alerts, links to more information

MMS

• Text length: Up to 5,000 characters
• Images (including animated) of up to 410KB
• Great for brand-led messaging, sending product promos, tickets, QR codes, and more

Why and how to use MMS messaging in your next campaign

From higher open rates to personalised experiences, MMS could be the secret ingredient your business is looking for. Here are a few tips to make your messages as effective as possible.

1. Lure more customers in with stand-out images

People remember 80% of what they see, compared to just 20% of what they read. You can tap into this handy psychological trick to really stand out from the crowd – whether you’re using an alluring product image or by popping your offer or campaign in a cute graphic. Get your imagery right before hitting ‘send’ on an MMS, and watch engagement soar.

2. Say more with MMS messaging

Let’s face it. Limiting yourself to 160 characters in an SMS can be hard. Sure, short and snappy text messages are extremely effective – but only if you’ve got a single message to get across. If you want deeper engagement, then MMS is a great choice for better customer communication.

MMS character limit is huge, giving you 5,000 characters to play with for your using marketing messages, product descriptions, or offers.

TOP TIP: While it can be tempting to use up all those characters, less is still best. Say what you need to say, but try to keep it under 500 characters for the greatest impact without losing the reader.

Don’t forget, you can also set up two-way chat using MMS. For example, say your customer support team needs to see an image of a faulty product before issuing a warranty replacement. Or they need to see a receipt before sending a refund. A customer can take a quick photo on their phone and send it straight back to you – too easy.  

3. Grab their attention with a snappy subject line

Your MMS can include a bold subject line of up to 64 characters. A bit like an email subject line, it’s a powerful way to hook your customers in. 

Subject lines can be super-straightforward and helpful, so your customers know exactly what’s ahead. For example:

• Earn triple points on today’s buys
• Limited time: 10% off all sunglasses

Or, you can create intrigue to lure them in. For example:

• Forgotten something? 
• If there’s one launch you won’t want to miss, it’s this one

TOP TIP: Like with email, you don’t want to cross the line and make your SMS sound spammy. And don’t forget to understand and follow opt out rules.

4. Make it personal

For even better results, personalise each and every message you send. Personalisation is proven to win your customers’ trust and make them more engaged, which in turn helps you boost sales, reduce churn, and build better relationships.

With MMS’ inherent ability to support visually engaging media, you can get creative (and crafty) with your personalisation, adding images and short videos, changing text fields, and more.

5. There’s always a text backup

Had delivery failures in the past? You don’t need to worry about that with MMS. Even those few customers whose devices don’t accept MMS will still receive an ‘SMS fall-back message’ – giving you peace of mind that your message will always get through.

Grow engagement with MMS

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Best practices for successful MMS messaging

Just like with SMS, there are some things you should keep in mind when sending MMS.

Get people’s permission before sending

You need to get consent from customers before you start sending MMS (or SMS, for that matter). These rules don’t come from us – they’re from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which exists to help protect people from receiving unwanted messages from spammers, scammers, and overly zealous businesses.

To capture consent, you could add a checkbox to online or printed registration forms, or run a fun competition. Here are some other ideas to build your subscriber list.

While on the subject of opt-in and opt-out rules, don’t forget to add an unsubscribe option to each message, too. This could be as simple as adding “Reply STOP to opt-out” to every message you send.

Double-check your file size

Size matters when it comes to MMS. File size, that is. If you’re sending through the Sinch MessageMedia platform, your MMS can be a maximum total file size of 600kb. This includes a maximum of 190kb for text content and a maximum of 410kb for an image (.jpg, .png, and .gif).

When you work with the Sinch MessageMedia tool, you’ll see the MMS size as you’re composing the message.

Add a call to action

To get maximum value from your MMS campaigns, you want your customers to do something after they read your message, right? Whether it’s to click through to an online sale, register for an event, book a table at your restaurant, or sign up to a newsletter, spell out exactly what you want them to do – and provide a link through to the web page or form where they can do that thing.

TOP TIP: Use a short SMS link for your calls to action. This way, you can easily track who clicked through, while also saving valuable characters.

Test before hitting “send”

Before sending a beautiful new MMS out to the masses, it’s important to test it first. After all, the last thing you want is a glitch in your gorgeous graphics or a typo in your text. In the Sinch MessageMedia platform, testing your messages is easy — use the “Send Test” button to send test copies of your message to one or more phone numbers. Then, when you’re happy that everything looks spot on, you’re ready to hit “Send” for real.

How OTT messaging fits into the picture

Many brands also use over-the-top (OTT) services like iMessage, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger to get messages across. And for good reason — OTT messaging is a great way to meet your customers where they hang out.

Like MMS, you can use OTT channels to send messages that include text, photos, and videos. You can also do things like send group messages, make voice and video calls, add product catalogues, and more. And, because OTT uses data networks, it can be cheaper than MMS.

But OTT does have its drawbacks. For starters, you need to make sure your customers are on the same platform as you. If they haven’t downloaded the app or don’t use the right operating system (here’s looking at you, iMessage), your message might not get through. For example, a WhatsApp message only works if both you and your customers are on WhatsApp. On the other hand, MMS and SMS can be sent to any phone.

Ready to get started? Here’s how to send MMS

If you’re an existing Sinch MessageMedia customer, to get started with MMS you’ll just need to get in touch with our team. We can easily add the feature to your account so you can start sending multimedia content in your messages right away.

Then, it’s simply a matter of choosing the ‘Picture message (MMS)’ option in the portal and uploading your JPEG, PNG or GIF. It’s business as usual for the rest of the message content.

Not a customer yet? Try Sinch MessageMedia for free today.

What is MMS messaging: FAQs

The post What is MMS messaging? Your guide to creating memorable messages appeared first on Sinch MessageMedia.

Effective customer communication is key for a successful business or organisation. Mass text messages offer just that! With one single message, you can reach many users at once. How does that work, and what’s the best way to send mass texts? Let’s explore!

What is mass texting?

Mass texting, also known as bulk SMS or one-to-many broadcast, means that you send one text message to multiple users at once. So, instead of having to type and send the same message several times, you just do it once.

Mass texting doesn’t actually happen from your regular phone, but through special mass texting services. These work very much like a professional email newsletter tool like Mailchimp or Mailjet.

What’s the difference between a mass text and a group text?

When you send a group text, your message ends up in a group chat, where everyone sees the entire message exchange. Mass texting on the other hand opens up an individual chat with every single recipient.

This means: if you send the same text to 40,000 people, you’ll be able to start 40,000 separate private chats afterwards. Also, if a user replies to your message, you’re the only one that sees that response and consequently, the entire one-on-one conversation stays between you two. Given this scale, it’s more fitting for businesses to use mass texts vs. private individuals.

Since mass texting services are designed for businesses, there are also special features that apply across various business texting use cases. Some of those special texting features include:

• Sending images, audio, and longer texts through MMS
• Using a dedicated mobile landing page
• Applying variables like {{firstname}} that’ll automatically personalise each message
• Segmenting target contact groups for a more customised message
• Setting automation rules for certain responses
• Getting detailed insights into each campaign with SMS analytics,

A trusted mass texting platform like MessageMedia handles all of the above and more.

Get started with mass texting in minutes

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Why should businesses use mass texting?

There are several benefits to reaching out to customers via bulk SMS.

1. Wide reach

Australia counts 22.77 million mobile subscriptions with 98.82% of the population covered by mobile networks. And you can reach all of these people easily by sending an SMS. Even in more remote areas where internet data connections might be shaky, a text message can still get through.

SMS also reaches more people because text messages really cut through the noise. There are no deterring algorithms, no spam folders, and your message ends up front and centre on a phone screen where it gets the user’s full attention.

2. High open and click-through rates

Text messages not only reach a lot of people, Aussies also really love texting! 80% of people check their phones within 15 minutes of waking up and 70% open an SMS within five minutes of receiving it.

SMS reaches open rates of 98% and click-through rates of up to 36%. Those are some seriously impressive engagement metrics. Just imagine, where bulk SMS could take you!

3. Cost-effective messaging

Sending text messages is also cost-effective, especially with a special business plan that fits your company’s specific needs.

There’s also something else to keep in mind. SMS has an impressive return on investment (ROI). According to the Association of National Advertisers, SMS ROI performs at 102%, making SMS a smart investment. Think how much you have to pay for a Google ad and about the conversion rates you get out of these ads. In comparison, sending text messages is more affordable AND you get higher conversions. Win-win.

“SMS is the biggest return on investment that you can get. You can’t get that kind of ROI on the share market. You can’t get that anywhere.”

Luke Newton

Director and Co-founder, LockedOn

4. Efficient communication

With mass texting, you can reach thousands of people with only one message. That’s obviously more efficient than having to type and send an SMS 1,000 times. But that’s not the only way in which mass texting is efficient.

When using a business tool, there are also other ways to scale your messaging. For example, you can schedule messages to be sent at a certain time. You can set automations for certain behaviour, like a reminder text for abandoned shopping carts. It’s also easier to set up opt-in and opt-out choices for users.

5. Versatile use

Mass texting can also be very versatile. You can use it to send newsletters to subscribers, announce the launch of a new product, or notify customers that an item is back in stock. You can also segment your audience and send a special deal to your most loyal customers or happy birthday messages with a dedicated discount code. Bulk SMS is also a great tool for staff communication.

The possibilities are really endless, and literally any business from real estate agencies to flower shops to beauty parlours can benefit from it.

How to send mass text messages in 6 steps

With the right tool, sending bulk SMS is really easy, and it can all happen on the go from a mobile app or from the comfort of your desktop computer. Let’s have a look at how to send mass text messages in just 6 steps.

1. Find a mass texting service that suits your needs and create an account. Some providers like Sinch MessageMedia offer free trials as well.
2. With Sinch MessageMedia, you then simply click on the    icon and then select New Message.
3. Now, you can add multiple numbers either by copy-pasting them, adding them from the Contact Groups or by importing them from a file per drag-and-drop or uploading a file.
4. Write your message in the Message content field. You’ll notice that the personalised fields are now mirroring the column headers in your imported data file.
5. To see how the message will display on a recipient handset, you can click Send test. This allows you to send the composed message to yourself and / or a colleague without losing any of your data so you can continue with the send after vetting the message.
6. Once you are happy, simply click Send now.

Take it for a spin

Sign up for a 14-day free trial and check out how easy mass texting is with Sinch MessageMedia.

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10 ways to use bulk SMS

There are many use cases for sending out bulk SMS to your customers, employees, or even students. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Promotional messages

From a special deal for a popular product to promoting a new service: inform your customers about existing offers via mass texting.

Holiday deals

Offering a big discount on flowers for Valentine’s Day or a two-for-one deal around Australia Day? Send out a bulk SMS to get these deals in front of shoppers.

Loyalty rewards

Entice loyal customers to shop again by sending them vouchers. With a mass texting service, you can easily segment your customers and improve your targeting.

This method is extremely effective. Take for instance the American Doughnut Kitchen. By using customised bulk SMS, the company achieved a 40% increase in loyalty card redemption from customers.

Event invites

Bulk SMS can also be a great way to inform people about an upcoming event. Add a link to a mobile landing page or an RSVP form where people can also sign up right away. In a next step, you can even set up automated reminder messages to anyone who signed up to increase the number of participants.

Newsletters

You can also use mass SMS to keep users in the know about new products, upcoming events, company news, important industry developments, and much more.

Feedback and surveys

Gathering reviews and feedback can be tough. Make it easier for customers by sending them feedback forms and quick surveys on a channel they love to engage with! It’ll increase the number of answers you’ll get.

Special announcements

Are you opening up another store at a new location or gifting free parking to anyone who gets an annual gym membership? Mass text messages are perfect for those special announcements you want to get out to as many people as possible!

Staff notifications

Bulk SMS are also very useful for keeping your staff in the loop about relevant company news.

Important information for students

For educational institutions it might not always be very easy to get out critical information to all the students. Why not use bulk SMS? It’s fast, convenient, and will reach your students immediately.

How to send mass text messages for urgent alerts

From a bad weather alert to last-minute changes: sometimes you need to get important information out as quickly as possible. Simply send an SMS alert to keep everyone up to date.

Best practices for sending mass texts

Sending a mass text is different from sending an email newsletter or posting on social media. Since you have a character limit and people are reading your message on the go on a mobile device, your message has to be short and to the point. You also have to keep some special regulations in mind.

Here are some tips to help you get started.

Respect anti-spam regulations

Under the Australian Spam Act, users have to actively give you permission (opt-in) to send them text messages. They should also always have an option to unsubscribe from your messages (opt-out), for instance by replying “STOP”. You also have to identify yourself as a sender and include your contact information.

Not complying with these regulations, can have harsh consequences. Organisations can be liable to pay up to 220,000 Australian dollars (the fee for individuals can be up to 44,000 dollars) for a single day. Repeat offenders can face fines up to 1.1 million dollars (220,000 for individuals) per day.

Be mindful about the length

A text message is limited to 160 characters. When you add special symbols or emojis, your limit goes down to 70 characters. People also read your message on a small screen and often while they’re out and about. You should therefore be on point with your SMS to get your message across.

There are also some tricks to add more content into a text message, like adding links to web pages where users can find out more. You could also include an image that has additional information.

Include multimedia elements

Adding multimedia elements like images, links, or mobile landing pages also make your messages more engaging and lead to higher click-through and conversion rates. With a mass texting service like Sinch MessageMedia, you can easily add image files, links, and even mobile landing pages to your campaigns.

Make sure your content is useful

Don’t just send mass text messages to send them. Unless they bring real value to your customers, they won’t be successful. Before starting a bulk SMS campaign, you should therefore think carefully about what type of content your audience would really benefit from the most.

If you’re not sure, you can also ask your audience directly! Send users a brief survey to find out what content they would want to get from you.

Don’t send messages at anti-social hours

Timing is key to a successful mass texting campaign. You could have the most thoughtfully-crafted marketing message, but if your target audience is asleep while you send it, they might be more annoyed than pleased with your notification. So make sure, your message gets there at the right time.

Of course, the “right” time varies, depending on your target group. A 5 AM update for farmers fits wonderfully into their morning routine, while bankers will have more time to read your texts during their lunch break. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different time slots to figure out the best schedule.

Measure your results and optimise

When sending out mass text messages, you might not always get it right the first time. No worries! That’s where analytics tools come in handy. They’ll show you open and click-through rates, response times, and much more. These detailed insights will help you to optimise your campaigns. The more you look at what your customers really respond to, the more you’ll get out of mass texting for your business.

The post How to send mass text messages appeared first on Sinch MessageMedia.

While a variety of messaging channels let you reach customers and prospects, basic SMS campaigns are often the first step towards developing a more advanced text message marketing program. That’s because SMS is super ubiquitous. Practically every consumer with a mobile device can send and receive texts, and many are open to getting them from brands they trust.

In this article, we’ll list some essential steps and key pieces of advice for SMS marketing. That includes 11 tips for planning a campaign, 16 tips for executing it, and 11 suggestions for taking your text-based marketing to the next level. For those of you keeping track at home, 11 + 16 + 11 = 38 tips for getting the most out of SMS.

Why should you run SMS campaigns?

Besides the fact that you can reach a very wide audience through bulk text messaging, there are some other big benefits to running SMS campaigns:

• Cost-effective marketing: While there are costs associated with SMS communication, they’re much lower than other marketing channels such as paid digital ads or direct mail.
• High engagement rates: Consumers tend to respond quickly and eagerly to SMS campaigns. Texts enjoy impressive open rates averaging around 98% as well as click-through rates as high as 36%. SMS is ideal for direct communication and immediate actions.
• Reliability: When you have important, time-sensitive messages to get out, SMS produces high delivery rates too. That means you know most of your messages reached your contacts’ devices. Common delivery failures are usually on the recipient’s end (out of data, memory is full, no mobile service, etc.).

There are also a few main categories of SMS messages that businesses send to subscribers.

1. Transactional texts deliver relevant information to individual recipients. That includes everything from order confirmations and two-factor authentication (2FA) to fraud alerts, and shipping updates.
2. Service texts enable real-time, back-and-forth dialogue between brands and consumers. This makes the channel ideal for customer service and support functions, whether it’s a live representative, automated responses, or an SMS chatbot providing answers. Likewise, an automated SMS conversation could help people confirm, cancel, or reschedule an appointment.
3. Promotional texts make use of SMS for marketing purposes. These texts get the word out, drive revenue, and help foster an ongoing connection with the people you want to reach.

Because we’re focusing on SMS campaigns, this piece mostly covers promotional text messaging. However, if your business is considering the overall value of SMS communication, don’t discount the impact transactional messages and two-way text conversations have on the customer experience.

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11 tips for planning an SMS campaign

Initially, you’ll need to invest some time and resources before you start sending texts to customers and contacts. But with the right partner, you’ll be ready in no time. It’s also smart to establish a solid strategy ahead of launching your first SMS campaign. Let’s take a look at what you should consider.

1. Make sure you’re set up to send

Before your first SMS campaign shows up on smartphones, you’ll need to get set up and find the right tools for the job. Here are the most significant factors:

• Phone number for your campaign: A text from a business can’t come from just any mobile number. You can choose from a 10-digit long-code (10DLC). Sometimes local businesses decide to have a recognisable, existing number text-enabled. In Australia, dedicated short codes are possible, but they come at a high cost and with tighter regulations. Find out more about using short codes vs long codes.
• SMS sending platform: You’ll also need an application that connects to an SMS gateway for sending bulk text messages. For example, Sinch MessageMedia helps you send SMS via API. Evaluate the other tools and features potential partners offer to find a vendor that meets your needs.
• Registration and carrier approval: Your sender ID must be pre-registered registered. The good news is, a Campaign Service Provider (CSP) like Sinch MessageMedia helps take care of a lot of this for you.

2. Integrate SMS with your tech stack

When choosing an SMS application and CSP, a key consideration is how easy it’ll be to integrate with other platforms your business uses for marketing, communication, and measurement. Can you connect SMS campaigns to your company’s customer relationship management (CRM) or e-commerce platform?

Sinch MessageMedia offers painless integrations with the most popular software on the planet. Learn more about some those integrations:

• SMS for HubSpot
• SMS for Salesforce
• SMS for Zoho
• SMS for Shopify
• SMS for BigCommerce

Those are just a few of our integrations. Check out the full list to find out if your tech stack integrates with Sinch MessageMedia, or review this article on options for SMS integration for more information.

3. Specify SMS campaign goals and objectives

Once you’ve got your tools and technical details in place, the real work begins. Obviously, you’ll want to define the reasons you’re running an SMS campaign and what you hope to achieve. We’re 99.99% sure you weren’t planning to text customers just for fun, right? 😉

Outlining goals and objectives encourages you to think about the intended audience, execution, and potential results of your SMS campaign.

By the way… Think of your goal as the big picture, while objectives tend to be more specific. For example, the goal of an SMS campaign may be spreading the word about the benefits of a featured product while the objective may be to boost sales by a certain percent in a chosen product category. You may have the goal of educating your audience on how to do something, and the campaign’s objective is to generate a certain number of clicks and video views.

Setting goals and objectives helps you understand whether you’re getting a good return on investment (ROI) from an SMS campaign.

4. Set the campaign budget

Speaking of that investment, you’ll want to determine how SMS campaigns fit into your overall marketing budget. Costs associated with SMS marketing will include the expense of leasing a short code or 10DLC, as well as the cost of a monthly plan through your provider and any overages. Most SMS providers give their customers a set number of SMS credits per month, and it switches to a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) model when additional credits are needed. Luckily, it’s only a fraction of a penny for every SMS. See our pricing page to find out more.

Keep in mind that, if your campaign includes multimedia elements such as images or video, it becomes an MMS (Multimedia Message Service) campaign. There are different rates for SMS and MMS messages, but delivering a text message campaign that includes visuals may be well worth it.

5. Confirm your list of contacts

Who will be on the receiving end of your SMS campaign? No matter where the mobile numbers in your database come from, you’ll need to get permission to text those people first. You may be able to obtain consent when new customers create accounts or fill out forms on your website. You could also try asking existing email subscribers to sign up for promotional text campaigns. Scannable QR codes in stores, on signage, and on menus are another way to collect new SMS subscribers. Get more ideas for building your contact list.

SMS marketing typically uses keywords to make opting in easy. Recipients often respond to an initial message with “Yes” or “Y” to indicate they’re interested in the content of your campaign and want to learn more. Even if they’ve signed up elsewhere, using an SMS keyword is an ideal way to implement a double opt-in that proves you’ve received consent.

6. Know your rules and regulations

While obtaining consent is one of the most crucial rules to follow, there are other factors you’ll need to understand so that you’re in compliance with consumer privacy laws. That includes how you store and protect data like personally identifiable information (PII) as well as respecting “quiet hours” when texts from businesses shouldn’t be delivered.

In Australia, the main regulations to follow are the 1988 Privacy Act, the 2003 Spam Act, and the Spam regulations from 2021.

If you do business abroad, keep in mind that you’ll also have to comply with other countries’ regulations like the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act in New Zealand or the Telephone Consumer Protection Act in the U.S. And in the European Union, the General Data Protection Regulation applies.

It can be helpful to get some prior legal advice on how to best follow international regulations.

7. Segment the list

List segmentation helps you deliver targeted messaging to defined groups of contacts. For example, you may want to tailor messages for people in different demographics (age, gender, location, etc.). This sort of segmentation makes your SMS campaign more relevant to individual subscribers, even though you’re sending mass text messages. For example, if you sold shoes, you may want to direct male and female contacts to different product categories.

You could also segment contacts based on engagement levels, purchase behaviors, job title, or any other first- and zero-party data you’ve collected. Let’s say you have a subset of customers who tend to place an order once a month. You can use that purchasing pattern to create a segment and text those customers at an appropriate time to ensure they keep coming back.

8. Get the timing right

Understanding the buying cycle isn’t the only way to schedule your SMS campaigns. Imagine hearing a notification on your smartphone in the middle of the night. “It must be an emergency!” you think while fumbling around your nightstand trying to find the device in the dark. How would you feel if it was a promotional SMS campaign from a brand that disturbed your dreaming? That’s the definition of bad timing.

Segmenting your contact list by time zones or geolocations is an effective way to be sure you’re delivering messages to people at an appropriate time of day. Don’t forget, some provinces have defined quiet hours when texts from businesses are prohibited.

9. Define a sending cadence

Your SMS campaign will most likely contain a series of messages delivered over time. You’ll need to decide how often to send those messages, including the time in between sends. It’s a good idea to be clear about how frequently you’ll be texting contacts when they opt in to receive your SMS campaigns.

Keep in mind that texting the same numbers too many times in a single day can make you look spammy. Mobile carriers may block messages from sender IDs that message people too frequently. It’s also important to note that you’ll need to text contacts at least once per month because it’s the minimum frequency for sending instructions on how to opt out. That’s a good reason to plan out your SMS campaign cadence in 30-day periods.

10. Find some SMS campaign templates

Wondering what to put in the text of actual messages that’ll be part of your campaign? There are a lot of standard texts and auto-replies that are used in SMS communications. Using templates makes things faster and keeps them consistent. You don’t have to start from scratch with every message.

Here are a couple of examples of text message templates that a chain of retail stores might use:

Sinch MessageMedia has a library of free SMS templates you can start using now. It includes standard messages for various industries, including e-commerce, financial services, healthcare, and more. Many of the templates are also set up to use SMS personalisation.

11. Automate responses

Make conversational marketing easy with automated responses to your contacts. Many of your SMS templates may be responses that are automatically sent after someone replies to your initial message or completes a desired action. Once you map out all your message “flows” in an SMS campaign, you’ll be able to identify places in the flow of communication where triggered responses make sense.

Some of these automated responses will be based on SMS keywords, such as those used to opt in and out, enter a contest, receive a discount code, get help from support, or request more information. Check out some examples of automated text messages for more ideas.

16 tips for executing SMS campaigns

Next, we’ll go over some advice for effectively carrying out text message marketing campaigns. These tips will help you work efficiently, keep you in compliance with privacy laws, and maximise the impact of your campaign.

1. Start with a welcome message

How will your SMS campaign begin its flow? It’s a good idea to welcome new subscribers as they opt in. Thank them for joining, briefly let them know what to expect, and explain how to opt out.

Welcome message flows are also a good time to ask subscribers a few questions that’ll help you segment and customise the SMS campaign for them. For example, you could ask them who they’ll be shopping for or when their birthday is (so you can send them special deals). If the purpose of the campaign is delivering deals and discounts via SMS, don’t make people wait. Give them their first chance to shop and save right after they opt in.

2. Let recipients know who you are

At the start of every SMS campaign conversation, you must identify yourself to recipients. Especially in the beginning, contacts won’t recognise you by a sender ID like a short code. Plus, identifying your business in SMS messages is also a TCPA requirement.

Many businesses comply with this requirement by simply including their brand name at the start of the text followed by a colon and then the rest of the message:

Sinch MessageMedia: Thanks for signing up to send SMS campaigns with us. Text HELP if you need assistance getting started. STOP to opt out.

That’s a good way to introduce yourself without using too many characters. Avoid using abbreviations or acronyms for your business, however, unless it is easily recognised by a shortened version of its name.

3. Write concise copy

This is your friendly reminder that SMS stands for Short Message Service. That’s why keeping SMS campaign messages short and to the point is crucial.

An SMS message is limited to 160 characters. If you add emojis or other Unicode characters, the character count limit drops to 70. You can send SMS campaigns longer than 160 characters. However, when you do so, it turns into a multi-part message and the character limit becomes 153 (or 67 with Unicode characters). That’s because multi-part messages require a data header that ensures everything gets reassembled in the right order on the recipient’s device.

Be aware that a multi-part SMS counts as more than one message or credit in terms of billing with your provider. Check out the flowchart below for a visual explanation, and read our article on SMS character limits for more information.

It may sometimes feel challenging to write effective marketing copy that’s so short and also includes required language for compliance. Just remember that text messaging is a form of communication that has always been brief and to the point. People expect short texts and may ignore long copy.

You can also try adding commonly used texting abbreviations in your SMS campaigns (FYI, BTW, LOL, ICYMI, BOGO, etc.) as long as you’re confident the target audience understands them. This will help you stick to those character limits, and they’re totally natural to use in text conversations.

4. Create clear calls to action (CTAs)

Another best practice that’ll help you get results and comply with regulations involves the CTAs in your SMS campaigns. Any call to action that’s connected to opting in should clearly state what the contact is opting in to receive. That’s required for compliance.

It’s also smart to add clear CTA copy to subsequent messages in your SMS campaign, especially if there’s an action you want the recipient to take or a web page you want them to visit. Text marketing CTAs are usually followed by a shortened link. Your copy should be straightforward about what will happen if they tap that link and what they’ll find when they visit your website.

5. Avoid free/public link shorteners

Speaking of shortened links, they’re another good way to manage the SMS character limit. If you’re using UTM parameters to track SMS campaign performance, shortening the link will be a necessity. But there’s a bit of a catch. Most mobile carriers prohibit the use of free or public link shorteners (such as bit.ly or TinyURL). That’s because SMS spammers and bad actors frequently abuse those free services. So, using them makes a message look suspicious.

Mobile carriers require that you use a branded or private link shortener that makes use of your custom domain. At Sinch MessageMedia, we provide short trackable links that are only 22 characters long. The feature helps you save space and track SMS campaign performance on our platform.

6. Use a conversational tone

Because text messaging is commonly used for peer-to-peer (P2P) communication with friends and family, a familiar, conversational tone is somewhat expected on the channel. That means copy for application-to-peer (A2P) SMS campaigns can also be quite conversational. After all, text messaging allows for two-way conversations. So, it only makes sense that your texts should sound more like a friendly discussion.

Of course, you can still keep your brand voice in mind, but you may want to adjust it slightly for this channel. The way you text your customers and contacts could be a bit different from how you write emails, articles, or landing page copy.

7. Personalise your SMS campaigns

An easy way to make your text campaigns more conversational is to personalise them with the contact’s first name. It’s an ideal way to make your automated responses feel less robotic. Name personalisation, however, is just the beginning.

You can make messages even more personalised if you segment campaigns around data you have on your customers’ and contacts’ preferences and interests. Most consumers are no longer impressed by name personalisation. On the other hand, when you send messages like the one below, it will make it seem like you really know them:

8. Add emojis strategically

While SMS campaigns tend to contain mostly plain text and the occasional link, there is one way to add visual elements to your messages. SMS does support the use of emojis. So, you can liven up the campaign with an appropriate and strategically placed emoji or two.

Don’t forget that adding emojis shortens the character limit for an SMS message. Think about your audience and your brand. Would an emoji set the right tone For example, the right emoji could easily enhance an SMS campaign for a flash sale, but using an emoji in a fraud notification text would just feel wrong.

9. Be timely and relevant

While sending at an appropriate time of day is important for compliance as well as getting a good response, there are other ways to deliver timely SMS campaigns. Consider building your text marketing strategy around seasonal events and holidays. Check out our list of dates for your 2024 marketing calendar to get some ideas. Think beyond end of financial year (EOFY). There are other seasons that spark consumer spending. That includes the start of summer, back-to-school shopping, Mother’s Day, and more. What times of year are closely connected to what your company offers?

You can also use data and insights you have around the buyer’s journey to send SMS messages at an ideal time. For example, if you offer a consumer product that comes with a 30, 60, or 90-day supply, you know exactly when to prompt customers to place a new order.

10. Include a sense of urgency

One of the benefits of SMS marketing is how it’s a direct marketing channel that encourages immediate action by the recipient. If a consumer chooses not to act on your CTA when they first view the message, it’s pretty unlikely that they’ll go back to the text later. Your message will probably be forgotten as it’s buried beneath the other texts they receive.

For that reason, your SMS campaign should have a sense of urgency that encourages the recipient to act right away. That’s why limited time offers, a fear of missing out (FOMO), and last calls work well in text marketing. You don’t have to be overdramatic, but you should let recipients know when time’s running out.

11. Don’t overwhelm subscribers

Whether it’s emails, texts, or other forms of digital communication, studies show the most common reason people give for unsubscribing from a brand’s messages is that they simply get too many of them. Another common reason for opting out is that the messages are irrelevant to the subscriber.

You know that annoying friend who’s constantly texting you about things you don’t care about? Don’t let your brand’s text message marketing be like that.

12. Separate email and SMS campaigns

You could also overwhelm customers with marketing messages if they subscribe to more than one channel. That’s why it’s often a good idea to separate email and SMS campaigns. You may want to use them for different deals and discounts. If someone keeps getting the same sort of messages around the same time on multiple channels, there’s a good chance they’ll opt out of at least one of them.

There may be situations when your brand has a major sales event you want to publicise across multiple channels. In that case, try using email and SMS in collaboration with each other. For instance, rather than overlapping messages across these channels, send email marketing campaigns at the beginning of the campaign. Use SMS as a reminder and to motivate procrastinators when it’s their last chance to save.

Here’s an example of staggering email and SMS messages over a seven-day campaign for an online sale:

13. Enable two-way conversations

We typically think of SMS marketing as a one-way street: blast out our promotions and exit. Well, you might be ignoring a lot of your customers with that one-sided strategy. Customer experience surveys show that consumers are increasingly interested in having a conversation with brands. So, they actually want to interact with you, but it’s frustrating (and, honestly, quite rude) if they hit a dead-end road, or you don’t answer their questions.

Conversational messaging creates a stronger bond with customers, more engagement, and typically leads to higher conversion rates than direct marketing. Don’t miss out on that!

While direct marketing is still relevant, it might be worth switching gears for some of your more personalised campaigns. With the right mass texting tool, that shouldn’t be a problem. Sinch MessageMedia, for example, also enables two-way messaging for bulk texting.

14. Make it easy to opt out

Providing an easy way to rescind their decision to consent to receive your texts is just as essential as obtaining consent in the first place. To get approved, your SMS campaign workflow will need to include keywords that make it possible for subscribers to opt out. Besides “STOP,” the opt-out keywords may also include “CANCEL”, “UNSUBSCRIBE”, “QUIT”, and others.

You have a legal obligation to regularly remind people how to opt out and to honour such requests as quickly as possible.

15. Make it easy to opt back in

A decision to opt out may not last forever. There could be instances in which people decide they miss your messages or need to start receiving them again.

That’s why part of your campaign flow should include a keyword that adds people back to your list of opted-in contacts. The last message you send them to confirm their decision to opt out could also provide instructions for opting back in. Here’s an example:

Sinch MessageMedia: You’ve successfully unsubscribed from our weekly SMS tips. Text “START” when you want to begin receiving our expert tips again.

16. Measure SMS campaign performance

Whether your campaign eventually comes to an end or continues with new contacts and new messages, you’ll need a way to track and measure how well it has performed. It’s likely that the SMS platform you choose to use will supply some sort of campaign reporting dashboard, but the data and metrics you’ll get may differ.

Here are some key metrics for measuring SMS campaigns:

• Delivery rate: This measures the percentage of messages that reach intended recipients without being blocked by carriers or experiencing a delivery failure.
• Open and click rates: The rate of opens and clicks helps you understand whether contacts are engaging with your messages. Low numbers may indicate you need to make adjustments.
• Response rate: This metric measures the percentage of recipients who replied to your message by texting you back, including with predefined SMS keywords.
• Unsubscribe rate: This refers to the percentage of contacts who decide to opt out after receiving a message.
• Conversion rate: This metric measures the percentage of people who complete a desired action after viewing your text. That could include filling out a form, making a purchase, watching a video, using a discount code, and more.

To truly understand the impact of SMS marketing, find ways to measure what happens after contacts click on links in your campaigns.

Get more out of SMS

Start a 14-day free trial with Sinch MessageMedia, and take our SMS campaign features for a spin!

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11 tips to take text message marketing further

To wrap things up, let’s look at some ways to use SMS for distinct marketing purposes as well as options for expanding and enhancing your strategies and tactics.

1. Deliver coupon codes

Exclusive deals and discounts for SMS subscribers are a great way to add value to text marketing. When consumers give you permission to text them, it shows they trust your brand enough to let you into an area of their digital lives that’s quite personal – their text message inbox. Opting in also proves they’re interested in what you offer.

So, giving them a chance to save that they wouldn’t have received elsewhere makes signing up for your texts worth it. Coupon codes that are exclusive to an SMS campaign are also a clear way to measure engagement and conversions.

2. Provide helpful content via SMS

It doesn’t always have to be about sales and promotions. Text messaging is an effective channel for delivering links to informative or entertaining content your brand produces. The content marketers in your company will definitely appreciate having another channel for distributing articles, videos, and even webinar reminders. Personalised content recommendations are also a great way to add value and relevance to an SMS campaign.

3. Celebrate customer milestones

When it’s your special day, we bet one of the first things you do is check your phone to see who’s texted you. SMS campaigns that mark your subscribers’ birthdays, the anniversary of doing business with you, or other significant events will create a unique connection between customers and your brand. The example below shows how a birthday text message could help drive foot traffic to a retail store.

4. Mobilise web chats or use an SMS chatbot

You can take SMS beyond basic automated replies when you build a conversational chatbot that works over text messaging. For example, some brands use chatbots driven by artificial intelligence to build AI shopping assistants that help people make the right purchase decisions.

If your company already has a web-based chatbot it uses for customer service, you can take advantage of the Chatbox to SMS feature from Sinch MessageMedia. This lets customers provide a mobile number so they can leave your company’s website while taking the support conversation with them. A chat that starts on a desktop can keep going on their smartphone. Plus, Sinch MessageMedia also offers a ChatGPT integration.

5. Run an SMS contest

Text-to-win contests and sweepstakes are a fun way to launch an engaging SMS campaign. To enter, recipients can simply text a certain SMS keyword to a short code.

You can also run an SMS campaign that asks recipients to vote for something by texting in their pick. That’s what Sinch MessageMedia customer Mae DeLarue did to boost engagement around her burlesque competition.

6. Hold an SMS flash sale

Because SMS campaigns work well when they require immediate action, it’s a convenient way to spread the word about flash sales. These promotional events typically last for a short period of time and may involve limited inventory. That’s why EOFY promotional strategies often involve flash sales.

7. Collect customer feedback

Text messages from customers are also a fast and easy way to gather their opinions on your products and services. For example, simply ask recipients to rate something based on a scale of one to ten by texting back a number that reflects their experience with your brand or a recent purchase.

8. Add images (MMS only)

Perhaps the best way to level up your SMS campaign strategy is upgrading to MMS. This lets you go way beyond short text messages. MMS makes room for as many as 1,600 characters (although there are data limits). But more importantly, you can also send images. That means your campaign could include a graphic, product photo, or other visual elements. See the difference between an SMS and MMS campaign experience for yourself:

Aside from MMS, mobile landing pages can also be a visually appealing strategy for SMS campaigns.

9. Include videos and animations (MMS only)

MMS campaigns also support animated GIFs and video content. This is often accomplished by sending videos that are hosted on approved platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo.

10. Get interactive with RCS

The next big thing in text message marketing is Rich Communication Services (RCS). This format provides an interactive mobile experience that functions more like an application than a simple message. RCS is already taking off in regions such as France. One drawback is that it was only supported on Android devices — but that’s changing. Now that Apple announced its support for RCS, it’s likely that iPhone users in RCS-ready markets like Australia will be able to experience RCS campaigns from business sometime in the near future.

The GIF below shows you an example of how a brand might use a gamified RCS campaign to build a highly interactive experience:

To learn more about this emerging trend in customer communications, get some RCS messaging insights from Sinch. You can also check out the story of how French food brand Picard used RCS in a highly successful holiday campaign.

11. Test and optimise text message marketing

There will always be room for improvement. After you launch an SMS campaign, start experimenting to see if changes to your messages and strategy impact performance. Running SMS A/B tests is a powerful way to find out what resonates with recipients.

For example, you could test the difference between SMS and MMS campaigns, experiment with different sending frequencies, or try out various link placements to see what gets more clicks. Does adding an emoji increase the response rate? Are some keywords more effective than others? Is your audience more likely to engage with texts in the morning or evening hours? These are all things you can A/B test with SMS marketing.

Start prepping for your first SMS campaign today

We’ve probably given you a lot to think about, but don’t be overwhelmed. There are plenty of ways to begin using SMS for better marketing and improved customer communication, and there’s a strategy that’s right for your organisation. If you just want to try things out, Sinch MessageMedia offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. Explore our platform for yourself. Find out how we can support your plans for mobile marketing mastery.

The post 38 tips for a successful SMS campaign appeared first on Sinch MessageMedia.

What is an SMS broadcast?

Also called bulk SMS or broadcast text message, an SMS broadcast is what’s known as a ‘one-to-many’ message. It can reach thousands of customers at once. Millions, if you have them. So, with just one message you can reach as many people as you want. An SMS broadcast is therefore very similar to sending out an email newsletter.

Despite the fact that you’re sending the same message to thousands of people at once, an SMS broadcast will always feel like a one-to-one message to the customer (particularly if you personalise it). All they see is a single text from your business.

And this is where they differ from a group message sent from an iPhone or Android phone – which can only handle groups of up to 100 people – or a group text you’d send on an instant messaging app like WhatsApp. In group messages, everyone in the group can send and receive messages to each other and everybody sees the entire exchange, which can lead to some pretty messy messaging threads.

While this might be exactly what you want for your family group chat, it’s typically not what you’re looking for as a business when reaching out to customers. That’s where SMS broadcasts come in. You can still reach the masses, but one by one — and with very little effort.

Why send out broadcasts via SMS? Bulk texts, bulk benefits!

Using SMS to get your message out to the masses is a shrewd strategy. While mass texts are most commonly used for marketing campaigns, you can actually benefit from SMS broadcast across marketing, sales, and customer support.

1. Realise better ROI

With their sky-high open rates of around 90%, SMS cuts through the noise. It means your SMS broadcasts are an incredibly cost-effective way to get your message heard. Just take a look at the ROI that businesses in key industries can realise:

In terms of pricing, the rate you pay will depend on the pricing plan you choose. If you send an SMS broadcast to 1,000 people, then that broadcast equates to 1,000 SMS credits.

2. Get started fast

It only takes a few minutes to set yourself up with an SMS broadcasting platform, no special IT skills needed. Then, you’ll be ready to send messages out to millions of people in seconds.

3. Make every message personal

Just because it’s bulk, doesn’t mean it has to feel impersonal. Using custom fields, you can easily personalise each and every SMS, even if it’s part of a mass SMS marketing campaign. So your recipients feel like they’re the one and only person you’re speaking to. Even simply adding the recipient’s first name can make all the difference. Of course, none of this should be done manually. When using an SMS broadcast service, you can work with templates and variables to automate the process.

Elevate your text game with these templates

Save time and stay on brand with our SMS templates for key industries. Just copy and paste, sprinkle in details relevant to you, and save for later use.

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4. Invite a conversation

Turn your SMS blasts into a two-way conversation. Whether you choose to set up auto-replies by using keyword triggers or you have someone on standby to chat with customers, it’s a great way to integrate SMS into your marketing strategy to build stronger relationships and boost customer loyalty.

5. Free up your team’s time

Behind the scenes, scaling SMS messages deliver big in the time-saving stakes. You can schedule your messages in advance to coincide with big promotions or sales events like EOFY – freeing up your time to focus on the big day. Or, if you urgently need to spread the word about something, you can jump in and send your SMS alerts in just a few clicks.

6. Enjoy peace of mind

An SMS provider like Sinch MessageMedia offers the safest way to deliver bulk SMS – with easy opt-in and opt-out integration, 2FA, ready-to-go templates, alpha tags, and more. Plus, you can rest assured that our gateway keeps you and your customers’ data safe and secure.

7. Reach more customers

It’s pretty hard to keep in touch with all your customers on just one channel. Some of your customers might love emails, while others would rather hear from you via text message. That’s why an omnichannel strategy is so powerful. You can interact with each customer on the platform they actually prefer, reach completely new target groups, and grow your business faster.

If you’re already using email marketing or reaching out to customers through platforms like HubSpot or Shopify, it’s very easy to add SMS to the mix. At Sinch MessageMedia, you can simply stick to the platforms you’re already using while being able to integrate a new channel. Win-win!

How to send an SMS broadcast

You can’t send bulk text messages with a regular mobile phone or through a carrier plan. At least not in an easy way. Of course, you could type out the same message over and over and send it again and again, but that’s not efficient. Plus, who really wants to do that?

Another option is to use an online SMS service that lets you send text messages from your computer to a phone. However, most of these services either don’t offer the option to add multiple recipients or they explicitly block bulk messaging. The reason for that is very simple: Providers want to protect users from spam.

That’s also why there are strict regulations on text marketing and you need special business solutions like Sinch MessageMedia to send an SMS broadcast.

These professional platforms are purpose-built for broadcasts (and many other types text message customer communication), and ensure your promotional messages get delivered without being marked as spam. Of course, you still have to follow guidelines and always make sure to collect opt-ins from your customers first.

Get started with SMS broadcasts

Try Sinch MessageMedia for 14 days for free, and get free access to our SMS broadcasting platform.

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First steps with an SMS broadcast

Once you’ve set up your account, you need to decide what phone number you’ll use to send your messages. You’ve got options here, depending on your budget:

• Use a random free mobile phone number to save on sending.
• Set up your own dedicated number, short code, or alpha tag to make it easier for customers to recognise you.

Next, you’ll need to make sure your contact list, or database, is accurate and up-to-date. As part of this, don’t forget to capture consent before you hit ‘send’ on any messages – in Australia, you need to follow the rules for sending text messages, and a big part of it is getting the green light from customers before you text them.

Top tip: You can easily import a contact list to the Sinch MessageMedia platform, regardless of whether it’s a .csv file or it’s in an Excel spreadsheet. See this support article for instructions – look for the ‘bulk messaging’ tab. You can segment it, too. This makes it easier for you to send more targeted messages to key groups in your contact list.

Once your contact list is imported, you’re ready to start sending SMS campaigns from the platform. It’s as simple as choosing a group of contacts, writing your message, adding personalised fields, and hitting send.

Top tip: Don’t forget to test, test, test! When you’re sending a message out to thousands of customers, the last thing you want is an embarrassing typo or a link that doesn’t work.

The fun’s not over once you hit ‘send’. With bulk text notifications, you can also put the power of SMS automation to work to help you manage replies. It’s easy to set up automated follow-up messages using keyword triggers, which helps ensure your customers feel heard.

Situations where SMS broadcasts shine

Have you ever thought to yourself, “I wish I could let every single one of my customers know about this great deal, right now”? With a broadcast text message, your wish is granted. Here are some examples of when sending an SMS blast is hands-down the best way to reach all of your customers or contacts, at once.

1. Spruiking your stuff

In just a few clicks, you can send limited-time offers and promotions to your entire database or a segment of it, fast. Include a trackable link so you can see who clicks through to grab a bargain.

2. Welcoming new customers

At the end of each day or week, you might want to send out a mass text to all the new customers or subscribers to your business, along with a friendly offer or deal to make them feel welcome.

3. Giving order updates

Use automated broadcast text alerts to keep your customers in the loop about their orders and shipments. Automation takes the pressure off you and keeps your customers informed, which in turn can reduce the pressure on your call centre.

4. Sending urgent alerts

Need to shut your school because of a nearby bushfire? Cancelling a class because of wild weather? Unexpected power outage affecting thousands of households? Send an SMS broadcast to all the people affected by the closure, cancellation or disruption to service.

5. Reminding customers of appointments

We all have busy lives, and it’s easy to forget appointments. Make it easier for your customers to remember them by sending out appointment reminders as an SMS message. With bulk SMS, you can automate these reminders by setting certain triggers or time frames and integrate them into your nurturing or follow-up flows as well. And: you reduce the no-shows that always cut into your bottom line.

6. Keeping staff in the know

Need to let all staff know about a change to an all-hands meeting? Got an exciting announcement? Use SMS broadcasts for quick, time-sensitive updates or to alert them to check their emails for more information.

Ready to get started with broadcast text messages?

Now that you’re sold on the benefits of SMS broadcasts, and you’ve seen how easy it is to get started, it’s time to dive in. If you’re already a Sinch MessageMedia customer, you can start sending SMS broadcasts right away.

Not a customer yet? Not a problem! Try Sinch MessageMedia for free today.

The post What’s an SMS broadcast, and how can your business use it? appeared first on Sinch MessageMedia.

But if you’re new to text message marketing, where do you start? In this guide, we’ll explain all the details so you can decide how to come up with a strategy that works for your audience, budget, and business goals.

What is text marketing?

Text marketing is a strategic approach to sending targeted SMS or MMS messages to a group of recipients. Text message campaigns can be informative or promotional. They can also be personalised, conversational, and include automated responses. That’s what makes SMS marketing a highly engaging form of two-way communication between a customer and the sender.

While typical text messaging is P2P (person to person or peer to peer), text campaigns are A2P (application to person). The biggest difference is that A2P messaging is sent through a text marketing service like Sinch MessageMedia while P2P messages go directly between phones.

Text marketing protocols: SMS and MMS

There are two basic types of messages for text marketing: SMS and MMS. A third option is RCS or Rich Communication Services, which enables rich text messaging experience similar to messaging apps like WhatsApp or Messenger. However, RCS is currently only available on Android devices and hasn’t been rolled out globally yet. For now, however, the MMS and SMS protocols can cover the majority of your mobile marketing needs.

SMS stands for Short Message Service. A single SMS message is limited to 160 characters – or just 70 if it includes an emoji or other type of Unicode character. That’s where the “short” comes from. An SMS campaign can contain more than 160 characters, but it will be sent as a multi-part message and reassembled as one on the recipient’s device. That’s why you’ll need to keep SMS campaigns clear and concise. So, pay attention to text message character counts.

An MMS marketing campaign offers more flexibility and can include up to 1600 characters. MMS stands for Multimedia Message Service, and as the name suggests, it supports delivery of media such as images and videos. Here’s a visual example of the difference between MMS and SMS campaigns:

MMS and SMS campaigns help deliver all sorts of messages and information. Of course, you’ll want to have a specific purpose and goal for every campaign so it’s clear what you expect to achieve and so you can measure your success.

8 types of text marketing campaigns

Text campaigns serve many purposes and enhance communications connected to the customer experience. For example, there are multiple ways to use transactional SMS to deliver important details to individuals. That includes order confirmations, fraud notifications, delivery updates, password resets, and two-factor authentication (2FA).

In this article, we’ll focus more on bulk text message campaigns that send information and promotions to groups of people. Here are some of the common ways businesses use text marketing.

1. SMS opt-in campaigns

You may already have a database that includes mobile phone numbers for customers and contacts. However, before you start sending promotional text messages, you need to get permission from those people. That’s where an SMS opt-in comes in.

These are simple campaigns in which contacts send a standard reply to a message that asks them to opt in and receive more messages. For example, an opt-in request for text marketing messages might read like this:

Business X wants to send you texts about our deals and discounts. You may receive up to 3 messages/week. Reply “YES” to subscribe. “STOP” to opt out.

This method also works well for double opt-ins. That’s when, for example, someone signs up for promotional texts at an event or point-of-purchase, but you still want a digital record of their consent.

While you may have inferred consent to text customers, the type of campaign as well as regional rules and regulations could also require you to obtain explicit consent.  No matter what laws you must follow, getting permission is always a good practice.

2. Exclusive offers and updates

Once you’ve received an appropriate level of permission, you can use SMS campaigns to drive more awareness, website traffic, and sales. Text messaging campaigns that highlight special offers are an effective way to engage consumers and even to increase signups.

Research from Sinch Mailjet found 24% of consumers primarily sign up for texts from a brand to get a one-time discount while another 22% opt in to receive regular offers. So, text marketing is a good way to promote and distribute coupon codes.

Text marketing works especially well for things like flash sales. That’s because texts are a good way to get your message out and get responses quickly.

SMS campaigns are perfect for encouraging immediate action because response rates are much higher than on channels like email or social media ads. SMS open rates are as high as 98%, and 90% of messages are viewed within the first few minutes of delivery.

Here’s how a personalised MMS campaign promoting a sale at an online store might look. This type of text marketing can include imagery to enhance the experience and showcase what’s on sale.

3. Cart abandonment SMS campaign

An SMS campaign can also be used to bring shoppers back to your website. If you run an e-commerce business or online store, cart abandonment solutions are an ideal way to capture revenue you’re losing.

A cart abandonment text message may read like this:

Service providers like Sinch MessageMedia make it easy to integrate with popular ecommerce platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce to simplify cart abandonment campaign execution.

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4. SMS notifications and reminders

Besides abandoned cart messages, there are many other types of marketing reminders for which SMS is an ideal communication channel.

Appointment reminders can help some businesses while others may want to keep an audience informed about upcoming events. SMS reminder campaigns often deliver specific, personalised information to individuals, but they can also provide updates to your entire customer base.

For example, here’s an SMS reminder for Mother’s Day shoppers.

Text message reminders are useful for both customers and businesses. And they can go beyond just reminding someone to shop for a special occasion. Appointment reminders that you sent via SMS reduce no-shows and keep business running smoothly while making people feel valued.

5. Customer feedback and surveys

Another way to make people feel valued is to use SMS to ask for their opinions.

Text messaging campaigns are a practical way to follow up with customers and request a review of your products or services. You can also send SMS messages asking for specific feedback.

This is a great way to collect information that helps you improve everything from product development and in-store experiences to customer service and more. You can either send recipients to a web page or use an automated sequence to get feedback via SMS.

SMS campaigns can even be used to collect first-party data for insights that support efforts such as segmentation and personalization. If all you have is a phone number, you can request additional information about the contact via text – one question at a time.

The example below shows how The Chambers restaurant uses Sinch MessageMedia’s SMS templates to request ratings from diners and encourage more positive online reviews.

Allowing customer to rate their experience via text messages has not only increased the number of positive reviews, but also given the team valuable insights.

6. Keyword campaigns

SMS keywords are one-word terms consisting of letters and/or numbers that people use to request information or to sign up. As we saw in the first example, you can use a keyword to facilitate SMS opt ins and opt outs. But they can do more than that…

Brands use SMS keywords for a wide variety of text marketing campaigns. It could be to subscribe to a drip campaign that sends weekly tips to customers. It could be a keyword used to receive an exclusive discount. Here’s a text marketing example featuring a keyword used to join a VIP program.

SMS keyword campaigns are usually connected to autoresponders, which allow you to reply almost instantly to requests from recipients who use the keyword. SMS keywords also help with compliance because they are a clear signal that someone is opting in to receive the texts.

7. Loyalty and reward campaigns

The point of launching a rewards program is to create loyal, repeat customers. Once people sign up, you can use text marketing campaigns to increase the chances of customers returning and reduce the risk of churning.

Consumers will view personalised updates as helpful reminders, and they’ll be prompted to take advantage of the rewards program, which is good for your business. Here’s how a message could look.

Personalise SMS loyalty campaigns even further by delivering special rewards and incentives for customers’ birthdays or other milestone moments.

8. Informational SMS campaigns

There will also be situations where you’ll want to send a bulk text message that isn’t necessarily related to boosting sales. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations needed to communicate important safety updates or news of closures to customers.

Of course, it won’t always be urgent. It may be an SMS campaign that simply informs customers about seasonal hours of operation.

Or, you could even use SMS alerts to communicate important information to staff, parents, and students. For instance, schools or teachers can send out low grade alerts to parents to help them improve their children’s performance.

The point is, SMS communication is a helpful way to quickly and efficiently deliver time-sensitive messages to the people you serve.

What makes a good text marketing campaign?

To get the most out of every text message campaign, your strategy should focus on three simple words: anticipated, personal, and relevant. Marketing expert, Seth Godin, used those words in his 1999 book Permission Marketing to describe effective brand communication in the digital age.

While Godin was mainly writing about email marketing back then, the book’s lessons still apply to mobile marketing. Here’s how it works with text marketing:

• Anticipated: Be sure to define clear expectations for what you’ll send and how often you’ll text people. When someone gives you permission to contact them, they’ll be anticipating your messages. Automated SMS replies happen in real time, which means no waiting for a brand or representative to respond.
• Personal: SMS already feels personal because texting is a common form of peer-to-peer communications. Enhance that feeling with conversational campaign copywriting and by personalizing your text marketing.
• Relevant: Respect recipients who gave you permission to text them. Only send the types of SMS campaigns they signed up for and do your best to deliver messages that resonate with them. Find ways to segment SMS subscribers to increase the relevancy of your campaigns.

It may be helpful to imagine you’re in a dating relationship with your customers. That’s another lesson from Permission Marketing. How would you use SMS if you wanted to maintain a relationship? If you overwhelm people with messages, bore them, or even ghost them, you’re going to get dumped.

Ready to try out SMS marketing?

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5 things you need to run a text campaign

Now that you’ve got some ideas for how your business could take advantage of text message marketing, let’s explore some of the things you need before you start sending texts to customers and prospects.

1. Find a service provider

First things first, you’ll need to choose an SMS service provider that can offer a platform equipped with all the tools and options you’ll need. A text marketing service may also be called an SMS aggregator or SMS gateway, and it’s what connects your brand to the mobile carriers serving your contacts.

Here are a few key considerations:

• The provider’s network: A tier-1 network is going to give you the widest reach along with many other benefits. Tier-2 networks often only operate in specific regions, and tier-3 networks often have to pay tier-1 networks. Tier-1 is the most direct route and may also be called a super network because of its breadth and power.
• Speed and scalability: Ideally, you’ll find a provider with high delivery rates and low latency for reliable performance. Will the provider be able to handle increasing volumes as you grow? Can it support incoming (two-way) messages? You may also want an option that lets you expand into other channels.
• Security and compliance: Make sure you understand regulations for SMS communication wherever you’re doing business. Do due diligence to find out if a potential SMS provider helps you comply with laws and protects consumer data.
• Reporting and analytics: Find out how an SMS provider helps you track and measure the success of your campaigns. The more details you can access, the more insights you’ll have for success in the future.
• Ease of integration: Will your SMS provider be able to connect with other business applications such as a customer relationship management (CRM) platform or ecommerce solution?

The ability to easily integrate with existing software solutions is a critical consideration. As you’re probably already using effective tools for your marketing campaigns, you don’t want to go back and forth between tools. This is especially true when you’re going for a multichannel approach where you work with multiple channels to optimise your reach.

For example, when the Australian online wine retailer Vinomofo wanted to use text campaigns to reduce churn, they needed to integrate SMS with Hubspot because that was the tool they were already using successfully for their email campaigns. Find out how they did it.

2. Choose a phone number and SMS sender ID

There are a few different types of numbers you can use to run SMS campaigns. Here are the basics on each type:

• Toll-free numbers: SMS-enabled toll-free numbers are 10 digits long and can be used for marketing. You may be able to use an existing 1-800 number (or other prefix) if your business has a recognizable option. Throughput for toll-free numbers is lower at around 30 messages per second (mps), but they’re also the most affordable option.
• Dedicated short codes: Dedicated short codes are five to six-digit numbers that belong to one business. In Australia, dedicated short codes exist, but they come with high costs and compliance requirements, which has led to the popularity of free to text Virtual Mobile Numbers (dedicated numbers) as the short code alternative that most businesses use. Virtual numbers are also known as 10DLC numbers or long code.
• 10DLC numbers: A 10-digit long code is formatted like a typical phone number, including an area code. In Australia, and many other countries, these long code numbers are ten digits long, but there are countries where this might be different.

To learn more about these numbers, dive into the details of long codes vs short codes for SMS communications.

In addition to the number, you’ll need a verified SMS sender ID, which is the name that appears in the text identifying you as the sender. Don’t worry too much about all of this. A reliable text message marketing service should help you get everything set up.

3. Pre-register your

In 2022, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) introduced the Scam Code. This industry code establishes “processes for identifying, tracing, blocking and otherwise disrupting Scam Calls and Scam SMS”. Part of these regulations require businesses to pre-register their alphanumeric sender IDs.

You can do this through your business SMS provider like Sinch MessageMedia.

4. Build a list of contacts

After you’re all set up on the technical side of things, it’s time to prepare and grow the list of numbers you’ll send SMS marketing messages to. As we’ve already made very clear, obtaining consent to text people through some form of opt in is crucial.

Offering incentives and running text-based contests are two convincing ways to get consumers to give you permission to send them SMS marketing campaigns. Check out our article on how to grow an SMS contact list for more ideas and advice.

5. Create SMS campaign templates

As your text message marketing strategy matures, you’ll find more ways to use SMS to improve communications and marketing efforts. Having SMS templates for different scenarios helps you save time and move quickly.

These templates are pre-written, pre-defined messages you keep on hand to use whenever necessary. Sinch MessageMedia offers a comprehensive collection of SMS templates for various industries that you can use to get started.

Text message marketing compliance

The main laws that handle SMS regulations and best practices in Australia are:

• The Privacy Act (1988)
• The Spam Act (2003)
• Spam Regulations (2021)

However, if you have customers in other regions, you might also need to follow local guidelines like the TCPA in the US, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the Data Protection Act in the UK. In New Zealand, there’s also the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007.

It’s a lot to consider, but many of these regulations have similar requirements. Once again, a good text marketing service will help you understand and follow the laws relating to consumer privacy and data protection. It’s your job to choose a trustworthy provider.

Here are some of the most important SMS compliance practices to follow:

• Always obtain proper consent before texting contacts.
• Provide an easy way to opt out of your text marketing and honor all requests.
• Do not use public or free link shorteners in text marketing.
• Only link to your own website/domain.
• Avoid using ALL CAPS in messages.
• Display clear, unambiguous calls to action (CTAs).

For more in depth details of SMS guidelines, visit our resource on SMS Compliance and Best Practices.

How to track text message campaigns

Once your text marketing campaigns are out in the wild, you’ll want to know if they’re working. Your provider should have some sort of analytics dashboard you can review.

These are some of the most important SMS marketing metrics to track:

• Delivery rate: The percentage of messages that reach subscribers’ devices. This helps you understand a campaign’s reach.
• Opt-out rate: The percentage of recipients who unsubscribe after receiving a specific campaign. This helps you understand if relevant content is being sent to contacts.
• Response rate: An engagment metric that measures replies to an SMS campaign. The average SMS response rate is 45%.
• Number of inbound messages: A metric for sales and customer service that measures how often people reach out to you via SMS.
• Click-through rate: The percentage of recipients who clicked the link in your message. This is an important engagement metric that shows interest in the SMS campaign.
• Conversion rate: The percentage of SMS recipients who completed a desired action such as making a purchase, viewing a video, or responding to a survey.

Marketing, sales, and customer service will have different goals for text messaging campaigns. So, it’s important to choose the right metric when determining the best way to measure success. Get more information in our article on SMS analytics.

Moving beyond SMS to omnichannel marketing

Text message campaigns are a great way to get started with mobile marketing, but SMS is far from the only way to reach people. There are other channels and protocols to consider for your marketing mix.

Your goal should be to connect with your target audience on whatever channels they prefer while providing a seamless customer experience across those channels. That’s omnichannel communications.

Here are some brief descriptions of other ways to reach people with your messages:

• MMS: Multimedia Messaging Services enable senders to deliver more than just basic texts. Send videos, images, and more to increase engagement.
• RCS: Rich Communication Services create an interactive, app-like experience inside text messaging inboxes. It’s an emerging protocol meant to eventually replace SMS and MMS.
• Mobile messaging apps: Services such as Messenger and WhatsApp are popular and represent effective channels for direct brand-to-consumer communication.
• Email marketing: A traditional option that remains an important way for brands and consumers to connect through transactional and promotional messages.
• Voice: An ideal channel for informational messages and for automating customer support through technology such as Interactive Voice Response (IVR).

As your business grows, your digital communication strategy should expand and mature along with it. The benefit of starting with text marketing is that it’s easy to get going and represents a channel that is available on nearly every mobile phone across the globe.

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Get started with text marketing today

When you’re ready to begin exploring what’s possible with SMS and MMS marketing campaigns, Sinch MessageMedia is ready to help.

You can take advantage of a free trial for 14 days (no credit card required). You can start out with a basic plan for SMS and MMS, and flexibly add additional channels as needed. All plans include a two-way messaging inbox and more than 5,000 connected apps.

Start today and get on the path to launching your first successful SMS campaign.

The post Text marketing: How to deliver engaging SMS campaigns appeared first on Sinch MessageMedia.

Texting from your phone obviously works just fine. However, there might be reasons for you to look for more efficient methods. Especially when you start using SMS to communicate with your customers, typing out every single message manually on a phone becomes quite tedious. The good news is: there ARE more efficient ways to send SMS, especially from a computer.

1. Send a text message from your computer with a texting platform

The easiest way to send a text from your computer is to use a professional texting platform like Sinch MessageMedia. These platforms are specifically designed to make it as convenient as possible for businesses to send text messages to customers or staff.

“We use SMS because we all have busy lives, and also because it’s convenient for both us and our customers. Sinch MessageMedia’s SMS service is fast and easy to use – setting up and sending a campaign only takes us 10 minutes, much less than other platforms.”

Nathan Collins

Manager, SportsPower Kadina

How does this work?

A texting platform is typically a web-based software. So sending a text message works just like sending an email: you just type it on your computer and hit send. On Sinch MessageMedia, for instance, this includes group texts, bulk messaging, personalised marketing texts, two-way conversations, automations, and several integrations like Hubspot, Zoho, NetSuite, Salesforce, Shopify, and more.

You can also include engaging multimedia elements in your text messages, such as sending images or mobile landing pages.

Are you also using other messaging channels, such as Instagram, Facebook Messenger, or Google Messages? No problem! With Sinch MessageMedia, you can manage all messages from one inbox.

How do I get started with a texting software?

Sinch MessageMedia is designed to be a no-frills solution. So, it only takes minutes to start texting! All you have to do is:

• Sign up for our 14-day free trial and set up your account
• Select the type of message you want to send
• Add phone numbers by uploading your contact list or exporting a spreadsheet
• Write your message
• Include an unsubscribe option for campaigns
• Hit send

Send SMS from your computer, easily

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2. Send text messages through your Windows phone link

If you’re using a Windows computer, you can send a text from your computer by using the Phone Link feature. This service is available for Android devices and iPhones. Only messages from the past 30 days are shown.

How does this work?

• Go to or search for your Phone Link feature.
• Select “Messages”.
• Start a new conversation by selecting “new message”.
• Now enter the name or phone number of your contact and choose the contact you want to text.
• This will start a new message thread.

You can also include images, emojis, and GIFs by clicking on the three menu dots. For select Samsung devices, RCS is also available.

3. Send SMS from your Mac

Similarly, if you’re using an iPhone, you can also send and receive text messages from your Mac computer. This requires an OS X Yosemite or later and your iPhone has to be on and connected to the same Wi-Fi network when you first launch the “messages” feature.

How does this work?

Search for “messages” by clicking on the magnifying glass (top right of your computer) and open the app. Sign into your Mac with your Apple ID. Then go to your messages feature on your phone, tap the “text message forwarding” option, and select your Mac.

Now, you can start sending messages. Simply go to “file” and “new messages” to start a new text. You enter a contact’s name or a phone number through the “+” option. You can also add videos, audio files, and photos to your text.

Keep in mind that this isn’t Apple’s business service. So, you won’t find features like bulk messaging or templates. If you’re interested in using iMessage for your business, Apple Messages for Business is the better solution for you.

4. Use Google Messages

If you use an Android phone, you can also work with Google Messages to text from your computer.

How does this work?

You’ll need an Android phone (with Wi-Fi or data connection), the latest version of the “Messages” app on your phone, a web browser, and your computer has to be connected to the internet.

To get started, you have to sync your phone with your Google Messages.

• Open the “Messages” app on your phone.
• Select “Device pairing”.
• How, go to your computer and open Google’s web messaging service in your browser.
• You’ll see a QR code that you then need to scan with your phone.

This pairs your two devices, which allows you to now send text messages through Google messages from your computer.

However, just like with Apple, this Google feature is really meant for private users. However, there’s a business option as well, Google Messages for Business.

5. Send texts with Google Voice

Google Voice can also work for sending text from your computer.

How does this work?

This method requires a Google Voice account (there’s a free version and business plans), a computer, and an internet connection.

Once you’ve set up an account, open the “Messages” tab in your dashboard. You’ll see the option to “send a new message” in the top left corner. Clicking on it opens the “to” field where you can enter your contact’s phone number. Now, all you have to do is compose your message and hit send.

Important: Google Voice is only a suitable option if you want to send one-on-one messages. Bulk messaging is not allowed on Google Voice and could get your account suspended!

6. Send text messages from your computer via email

With a professional SMS tool, businesses can also send an email as a text message from a computer.

How does this work?

Some online texting tools for businesses offer an email to SMS option.

Sinch MessageMedia, for example, integrates into your existing email service via our SMS API, so you won’t need to download new software. You can also use your existing email service. All you have to do is email us your SMS, and we’ll convert it to a text message and send it to your customers. This can be a one-on-one message, a group text, an alert, or even an MMS.

Email to SMS

Communicate with customers promptly and efficiently – while you are on the go!

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7. Send SMS with a VoIP service

The Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) allows you to make and receive phone calls as well as text messages through an internet-based application. One of the most well-known VoIP services is probably Skype, but there are many other providers, both, for private users and businesses.

How does this work?

VoIP means that calls or text messages are sent and received over the internet instead of a landline or mobile phone network. This means that you can use your computer to text with a VoIP service. Because VoIP providers route calls and messages through the internet, it can also be cheaper to send a text message via VoIP than through a carrier network.

In order to use a VoIP service, you usually have to download a provider’s application and sign up for an account. Some providers charge a fee for sending text messages and calling.

However, unless you’re using a business VoIP solution, these apps don’t go beyond sending single text messages from your device.

8. Use a website for free online SMS

When looking for convenient ways to send a text from your computer, you’ll find many offers from free browser-based services like Opentextingonline or AfreeSMS.

How does this work?

These sites are pretty straight-forward: you select a country, add the recipient’s phone number, write your text, and hit “send”. While this is a convenient service when you’re on vacation abroad or want to text a family member in a different country, there are several shortcomings for business texting.

1. There are no bulk messaging features. So you’ll still end up doing a lot of manual copy-and-paste work.
2. These sites don’t have any options for two-way messaging. So if customers answer your messages, have questions, or you want to use text messaging for customer service, these free programs aren’t helpful.
3. You don’t have options to add variables for personalization for scaling marketing messages.
4. There are no group text features.
5. These sites might also not comply with data and privacy regulations.

You also want to be cautious when using a free service to ensure security standards like two-factor authentication or spam-free messaging.

That’s why, overall, when looking to scale your SMS customer communication, you’re better off with a professional tool like Sinch MessageMedia. Here, you can not only send texts from your computer, but you also get access to many features, such as bulk messaging, automation, two-way conversations, and several integrations, and you can do all of this in a safe environment. And the best part is, our solution is really no-frills, so you can get started in minutes!

FAQ: How to send a text message from my computer

The post 8 time-saving methods to send a text message from your computer appeared first on Sinch MessageMedia.

What do you do when you want to share important information with many people really fast? You probably don’t start calling people one by one or sending them emails they might not have access to right away. You send a text message! 

That’s true for private communication as it is for businesses. The fastest and most convenient way to reach your customers is through text alerts. But how to set up text alerts for your business? What are the best tools for this? And how can your text alerts cut through the noise? We’ll share tips, best practices, and use cases. 

What are text alerts?

A short message service (SMS) alert, or text alert, is a brief message that businesses send out to customers and employees to inform them of something relevant. Unlike a push notification that is sent through a non-native smartphone app that users have to download, text alerts end up in the SMS inbox everyone already has on their mobile phone. 

Some might think of a text alert mainly as an urgent notification like a bad weather alert. However, there are various use cases for businesses to use text alerts and even more benefits. 

Why businesses benefit from text alerts

Broad reach

Let’s say you want to notify customers of an online flash sale. Or, you want to send out appointment reminders or shipping notification. Or, you want to get an urgent update out to your staff. All you have to do is send out one text message, and it’ll immediately goes to everyone’s phone at once. It’s also your best bet to reach people in more remote areas.

Full attention

Text alerts end up on a user’s phone, typically on their locked screen. That puts your message front and center. People also love to engage with text messages. SMS have a whooping open rate of 98% and 80.5% of Americans read their messages within five minutes of getting them. Being able to reach people on the go and on a channel they immediatly engage with offers your business a unique way to get your message across and engage customers. 

Efficiency

Sending one short SMS and reaching many people simultaneously is the definition of efficient communication. For businesses, this is about as quick, easy, and cost-efficient as it gets. 

Personalisation 

50% of consumers say they would ignore a message if it wasn’t personalized. But how do you personalise a bulk message? With the right tool! Businesses can use professional text messaging services for SMS alerts that’ll allow you to combine the best of both worlds: scaling your messaging and personalising the content. 

Peace of mind 

When sending out text alerts, the “read” receipt immediately shows you if and when someone has seen your message. Especially in urgent situations, this adds an extra layer of peace of mind. Text messaging tools also allow you to get insights on open rates, link clicks, and much more

Top use cases for SMS alerts

Text alerts can really come in handy for a variety of use cases.

Planning an online flash sales this weekend? Or maybe, you’re offering a special upgrade deal to loyal customers? Let them know about it with a text alert! If you integrate your CRM system with your SMS alerts, you can even personalize the texts and reach better conversion rates. 

Appointment reminder 

When customers don’t show up for an appointment, it disrupts your business. At the same time, a client might have simply made an honest mistake and mixed up the dates. Text alerts can help! They’ll remind customers of their appointments and cut down on no-shows for your business. You can also automate these reminders to be even more efficient. 

Urgent updates 

Unforeseen things happen. There’s a snowstorm that’s delaying your customers’ trip or you had to close your office due to a water damage? Simply send out a quick SMS alert to notify everyone. 

Staff communication 

If you’re looking for an efficient way to reach your employees, SMS alerts are the way to go. No matter if they work from home, on the road, or in different offices: a text message will keep them updated about the latest company news. 

Want to put the power of SMS alerts to work?

Start a 14-day free trial with Sinch MessageMedia today, and see how easy it is to get important updates out, fast.

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How to set up text alerts for your business: Defining goals

As effective as text alerts are, it’s important to take a moment to define a strategy before you start mass texting your customers. Assess your needs and goals and set up a plan for your alerts. 

• Map out your business goals. Define what you want achieve by sending out alerts and track results. 
• Clarify what type of text alert you want to send out. Don’t try to do too much at once! Start with your main use case, test it, and scale from there. 
• Define your target audience and cater the content accordingly. 
• Think about how often and when do you want to send alerts and? Run tests to see what time and frequency works best for your audience. 

How to set up text alerts for your business: Choosing the right text alert system

Choosing the right text alert system goes hand in hand with defining your goals. Once you know what you want to achieve with your text alerts, you can look for a system that offers the right features. Here are some ideas what to look for: 

• Automation: Can you schedule text alerts or even automate responses (appointment reminders, abandoned cart reminders, etc.)? 
• Two-way conversations: Mass messaging customers is only the first step. But what happens if customers reply? You want to make sure your text alert system also supports conversational messaging via two-way conversations. 
• Integrations: If you’re already using CRM or messaging tools such as Zoho or Hubspot for your customer communication, double-check if your text solution can be easily integrated into existing systems. 
• Scalability: Does the system allow you to easily scale your messaging? You might be surprised, but customers love to interact with businesses through texts, so you’re likely to look for ways to scale your messaging soon once you get started. 
• Reporting: Does the tool give you insights into user behavior? Can you see delivery rates, click-through-rates, or conversion rates? Especially if you’re considering using SMS for marketing, these are must-haves in a tool! 
• Ease of use: How fast can you get started? How intuitive is the user experience on the platform? Do you have templates available that let you get started right away? 
• Support: How is the customer support for the text alert tool? Especially when you send out alerts to many people, you always want to make sure that you can turn to someone in case something goes wrong. 

How to set up a text alerts for your business in five steps

With Sinch MessageMedia, sending text alerts is as easy as it can get. 

Simply follow these five steps:   

1. Sign up for an account 
2. Once logged in, select ‘New Campaign’ from the menu 
3. Add phone numbers by exporting a spreadsheet or uploading a contact list 
4. Write your text notification in the Message Contact field 
5. Include an unsubsribe option
6. Hit send

That’s it! 

Ready to hit the ground running with text alerts?

Start a 14-day free trial with Sinch MessageMedia today and see how easy it is to SMS alerts out to customers.

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How to get started with text alerts for your business: Best practices for getting your message across

When you send out notifications to customers, the last thing you want is for people to ignore it. Follow these tips when sending updates to make sure every message is seen. 

Introduce yourself

Show your customers you’re legit with a number they can recognize or an alpha tag. Or, clearly state who you are in the text itself.   

Keep it concise 

Texts alerts should be short and to the point, especially if they’re relaying urgent information. That said, it’s a fine balance — you don’t want to be so succinct that you leave out any important details. The best length also depends on your audience. An alert you send to a business partner can be longer than an e-commerce alert for shoppers. 

Use shortened URLs 

If you can’t fit all the information into a text, add a link that sends people to a website where they can find out more. This could help reduce the burden on your call center — which can get overwhelmed during times of crisis.   

Don’t be a spammer 

Avoid any behavior or messaging that could be construed as spammy. In other words, respect your customers’ preferences and only mark something as “urgent” if it is. Ensure that the alerts you send are wanted (always gather opt-ins first!) and add value for your customers. 

Follow the rules 

Keen to avoid costly fines? Brush up on the rules around sending text messages to customers.  

Test, measure, repeat 

And finally, don’t be afraid to try things out. What’s the best time to send alerts? What links convert best? What content gets read? You won’t know until you try it out. Make sure to measure and track your results to see how you can improve. 

The post How to set up text alerts for your business  appeared first on Sinch MessageMedia.

How do a 98% open rate and a 64% click-through rate sound? Incredible? Like every marketer’s dream? Well, that’s exactly the type of results that SMS marketing can deliver!

What is SMS marketing?

SMS stands for short messaging service, and is also known as “texting” or “sending text messages”. SMS marketing is therefore exactly what it sounds like: sending marketing messages like promotions, updates, and special deals via SMS.

Since you’re limited to 160 characters or fewer, SMS marketing has to be short and to the point. However, you can include interactive elements like links and multimedia elements like images (MMS) or mobile landing pages to make your messages more engaging.

There are two types of SMS marketing: direct marketing and conversational marketing.

In direct marketing, businesses send out alerts, updates, or bulk messages directly to customers. These one-to-many marketing messages typically contain an offer or a service that a business wants to promote and a call to action (CTA) that people can follow if they’re interested in making a purchase. Direct marketing is typically one-sided in the sense that businesses send out messages, but users usually don’t respond (or aren’t expected to).

Conversational marketing is looking at marketing texts as a conversation starter between businesses and (potential) customers. This marketing strategy focuses on the interaction between customers and companies and sees marketing as a two-way conversation.

There’s definitely a shift in marketing towards conversational strategies because it’s essentially what customers want. Studies show that nine out of ten consumers want to be able to have two-way conversations with businesses via messaging channels.

5 business messaging trends that cut through the noise

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Does SMS marketing really work?

The short answer is: you bet!

First off, literally everyone in Australia owns a mobile phone. In fact, there are more mobile phone connections in the country than there are people! And Aussies also love texting. 65% of mobile phone owners will read a text message within five minutes of receiving it. That’s why SMS marketing is really a no-brainer. It also offers several advantages for businesses.

It’s immediate

SMS marketing cuts through the clutter. Text messages end up front and centre on a locked screen. They also don’t have to bypass any algorithms, and they rarely end up in SPAM folders. This means that your messages reach consumers in real-time and get their full attention.

It’s far-reaching

SMS gives you access to anybody who uses a mobile phone. As all mobile phones come with a pre-installed text messaging app, you don’t have to worry about messages not getting through: nobody has to install a separate app and SMS also works for all operating systems. In other words, you can literally reach anybody and everybody.

It’s engaging

Text messages have a whooping open rate of 98% and some of the highest click-through rates. If you want to get your customers’ attention, send them a text!

It’s cost-effective

Compared to many other channels, SMS is fairly inexpensive. And once a customer interacts with you, all it takes is another SMS to re-engage them, which lowers your re-targeting costs as well. If you add to that their high engagement rates, SMS offers a great ROI for marketing.

How to use SMS marketing

The greatest part about using SMS for marketing is that you can get really creative with it. Here are some ideas for how to get the most out of it.

Send welcome messages

Customers already know welcome emails, so why not say “hello” via SMS as well? It’s a very personal way to welcome new customers, and you can even add a discount code as an incentive for users to join your mailing list.

Promote new arrivals

Customers love to be the first to know about new products coming in. By sending them a text message about a new arrival, you can update them much faster. Given the high SMS click-through rates, it’ll also help you create more buzz around new arrivals and ultimately push sales.

Push back-in-stock notifications

For existing customers, you should also integrate back-in-stock notifications into your SMS marketing strategy. If customers can buy a product they loved again by just following a link in a text message, they’re a lot more likely to make a repeat purchase. We recommend integrating your existing CRM system into your SMS marketing for more targeted and personalised campaigns.

Invite users to a flash sale

With flash sales or limited offers, every minute counts. Because text messages reach customers immediately and no time is wasted, SMS campaigns are perfect for flash sales.

For the sporting goods retailer network SportsPower, sending out SMS for a limited offer really made a difference. They messaged 2,000 customers to invite them to their VIP sales nights prior to SportsPower’s twice-yearly sales. 40% of their database followed the invite link, which boosted their website visits by 40%! And the best part is, with the Sinch MessageMedia platform, it took the team only ten minutes to send out the SMS campaign.

Engage customers with exclusive deals

You can also use SMS marketing to send exclusive deals to selected customers. That’s a great way to say “thank you” to loyal customers and boost engagement. It’ll also help you set your brand apart.

Case in point: the Australian wine seller Vinomofo.

As an ecommerce company, Vinomofo has built a brand around “uniting a tribe with their love of wine, food, and adventure.” Being close to their “mofos” (aka, customers) and offering highly personalised experiences is at the heart of Vinomofo’s business. Vinomofo had recognised the power of SMS marketing, and once they found a solution they could easily integrate into their HubSpot workflow, they started experimenting with personalised and exclusive SMS re-engagement campaigns.

With incredible results! They saw:

• 50% re-engaged customers 
• 120x return on investment 
• 21% increase in sales conversion 
• 0.05% low unsubscribe rate 

Ready to try out SMS marketing?

Take Sinch MessageMedia for a spin to see how it can benefit your marketing strategy.

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Offer seasonal sales

From restaurants to online fashion brands to local bakeries: literally everybody will have a special sales event for special occasions like Black Friday, Valentine’s Day, or Mother’s Day. During these highly competitive seasonal sales, SMS campaigns will help you cut through the noise!

That’s why the online florist “Petals” decided to set up a special SMS Christmas campaign. In order to really stand out, they not only used SMS to send a special discount code, they also set up an interactive and engaging mobile landing page.

This approach resulted in impressively high engagement rates.

Send out surveys

SMS marketing goes beyond sending customers deals. It can also be a valuable channel for gathering insights. For instance, you can send out surveys to your most satisfied customers. You can also add a special incentive like entering a raffle to get more filled out forms.

Keep customers updated with newsletters

You can also use SMS to keep your customers in the know with regular newsletters. SMS newsletters are a great tool to keep your brand in the mind of customers and to let them know about important updates, new product launches, events, and much more. With professional SMS marketing tools, you can even personalise your newsletters to send subscribers the content they’re really interested in.

Gather feedback

Gathering feedback on a product or service can be a difficult task as it takes extra effort on the customers’ end. If, aside from just leaving feedback, customers have to set up a profile on a review site or download a new app, it becomes even more difficult.

That’s why the restaurant group Wilson Group decided to gather feedback directly by text message. Together with Sinch MessageMedia, the Wilson Group set up an automated flow that made it easy for customers to rate their experience. Customers that left a high rating were led to leave a review, customers with lower ratings were guided to the support team.

This enabled the Wilson Group to gather more positive reviews while using poor feedback to improve their service. This strategy delivered up to a 33% ROI on some of their restaurants.

Use SMS marketing for loyalty programs

The personal touch of a text message makes SMS marketing particularly efficient in engaging with customers. That’s not only true for new customers, but especially for loyal ones. Interacting with existing customers via SMS adds an extra layer of exclusivity, which results in greater and more frequent contact, higher engagement, and greater loyalty.

That’s also the experience the American Doughnut Kitchen had. Once they started sending out text messages to push their loyalty programs, they saw higher click-through rates and a rate of almost 9% completed purchases from these specific SMS campaigns.

Best practices for successful SMS marketing

The success of SMS marketing also depends on how well you set up and run your campaigns. Here are some tips to get more out of your SMS marketing.

Build an audience

The first step to successful marketing is to build an engaged audience for your messaging list. You can invite existing customers to join your SMS list, promote your SMS channel on social media, or send special incentives like discounts for anyone who joins your broadcasting list.

Ask for permission and follow the rules

Always gather opt-ins first and brush up on SMS business regulations. Prior consent is not only required by law, it’ll also ensure that you only message people that are truly interested in hearing from you.

Send valuable content

SMS marketing can only be successful if your content is valuable for users. Of course, what’s valuable to customers varies depending on the customers, your business, and your specific industry. If you’re addressing a deal-hunting audience, you can send them the hottest new deals. If your audience is all about engaging with your brand on a personal level, your content should cater to that.

Create target groups

Creating specific target groups will render a better ROI for your SMS campaigns. The clearer the customer segmentation is, the easier it’ll be to create the most engaging SMS experience.

Personalise messages

The chances that customer open a message or click on a link double if you personalise the text message. With an SMS tool that you can easily link to your CRM system, you can create highly personalised campaigns that’ll cut through.

Include multimedia

Including multimedia in your text will make your message more engaging. You can enrich the SMS experience by adding images (MMS) or including mobile landing pages.

Optimise frequency, length, and timing

SMS marketing is the most successful when you get the right content in the right form to the right people at the right time. We suggest experimenting with frequency, length, and times to see what works best for your audience.

Track your campaigns

Make sure to set up some key SMS analytics you want to track. This could be open rates, click-through rates, or engagement rates, depending on your campaign goals. It’s important to monitor your results in order to see if you meet your goals and where you still have room for improvement.

Use automation

Automation is a key factor in scaling your SMS marketing, as it frees up resources and improves your ROI. For instance, you can send customers automated re-engagement messages after a set period of time or have a whole series of timed messages as part of a larger campaign flow.

Work with a professional SMS tool

Getting the most out of SMS marketing also requires a professional SMS tool. After all, if your team has to manually send 2,000 text messages or go back and forth between different CRM systems, it’s neither productive nor effective.

When choosing a fitting SMS tool for marketing, you should look for:

• bulk SMS capabilities
• two-way SMS option
• integrations with other systems you’re already using like Zoho, HubSpot, and Shopify
• automation
• multimedia capabilities for adding images or creating mobile landing pages
• easy user interface
• 2FA feature for an added layer of security
• toll-free numbers
• great customer support

With the right tool, you can take your SMS marketing to the next level.

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