With just 160 characters to work with, it's easy to think that anything that fits into that space will work in your text message marketing campaign. Text messaging can sometimes feel informal, but it shouldn't be treated that way. How you craft each text message is important to generating a positive response and increasing engagement in your campaign.
Here are five things to avoid when creating a message:
- General call to actions. Phrases like "act now" and "call today" are overused to the point where they're all but invisible. Be specific. Offering a discount or other benefit to the customer and using a keyword or short code to let him or her know how to respond is a much better way to spur engagement.
- Avoid "text talk." Writing "CU there!" will only guarantee that you won't, or at least not in the numbers you're looking for. Keep your SMS messages professionial by using proper grammar and spelling. If you absolutely must use abbreviations to keep within the character limit, only use standard ones and avoid text slang.
- Power words. The character limit doesn't give you a lot of room to work with so make the most of every word. Use words that evoke action and emotion to paint receivers a picture of exactly what benefit they will get by responding.
- Focus. Stay on point. Reference your shop, brand and selling proposition. If possible, go even further by including specifics like time of the day or day of the week.
- Lead strong. The first line, and even the first few words of that line, have to hook the customer and make him or her read the rest of the message.
Swift SMS Gateway has the tools to help organizations launch a strong SMS strategy that will increase customer engagement and expand their marketing potential.
