How to Write a Text Message
Having a text message marketing platform and a budget isn't enough to set you on the path to outpace the competition and grow your business. You need to know how to write a text message capable of reaching your target audience to nurture engagement and a long-lasting relationship.
The good news is, once you've figured out how to write an effective marketing text message, building a campaign around it is straightforward and affordably scalable.
Text message marketing is the only communication channel with an agile global reach. A text message won’t be junked into a spam folder, and 95% of them are opened and read within minutes of receipt. It’s not hard to see why mobile marketing campaign managers are so fond of text message marketing.
When devising a text message marketing strategy, the inherent properties of a text message amount to a head start - but only when you’re competing with businesses that lack a mobile strategy. As more and more industries latch on to the potential of SMS, it becomes harder to make your message stand out from the crowd.
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How To Write a Text Message
To get started, follow these rules of thumb for an effective text marketing campaign:
#1
Watch Your Tone
The four most common categories or "dimensions" of tone used to market brands are humor, formality, enthusiasm, and respectfulness. Tone of voice is critically important for successful campaigns. It infuses flavor into your brand voice. Successful marketing campaigns incorporate a balance between the company's voice and the audience's voice.
#2
Rethink Word Choices
Words carry significant meaning, and the language used to carry alerts, promotions, or reminders should be aligned with your unique brand voice. Before sending any texts, consider this your opportunity to be clever and leverage wordplay around your product or service to drive interest and, ultimately, sales.
#3
Use More Emojis
Let emojis help bring your messaging to life. Emojis create a visual component to SMS text messages that help retain customer attention and continue the conversation. Check out our breakdown of the top 50 emojis to learn their meaning and how to incorporate them more into your marketing strategy.
#4
Leverage Texting Frequency
Establishing a rhythm or messaging cadence helps ensure your customer base remains connected and engaged with your brand throughout the year. The primary goal of using a texting frequency or cadence is to share short bursts of relevant, high-quality information – promotional, educational, or otherwise – to the right people at the right time, whether at home or on the go.
#5
Add Strong CTAs
Just like a website, or email, the call-to-action in a text message indicates what specific action customers should take next. The EZ Texting Link Shortener is a multifunctional tool enabling your business to consolidate existing URLs through a shortening function in-app. The Link Shortener also allows you to track who clicks, creating more opportunities to glean individual customer data to help you build personalized message streams, like drip campaigns.
#6
Know Your Audience
To maximize the response rate for your next text message marketing messaging campaign, first, establish who you are targeting and adapt your language, and call-to-action accordingly. This might mean dividing your contact list into different demographics and creating a different message for each group.
#7
Time It Right
Most people have their phones with them at all times. But that doesn’t mean all bets are off when it comes to timing your message. Studies have indicated that mid to late afternoon is the most effective time to send a message. If your business serves multiple time zones, remember to stagger the ‘send’ times - a surefire way to alienate customers is to wake them up with a special offer at 3 AM!
#8
Grab Their Attention
Even more than other kinds of marketing, the space limitations imposed on SMS messaging mean you need to grab the attention of your audience quickly. Lead with the offer - the ‘thing of value’ - and remember they will see the first few words of your message as a preview before they open the text, so make them count.
#9
Test That Text
This should go without saying, but sending a test message to your own phone - and those of employees and friends - will help you iron out any kinks. You can’t really judge the impact of a text message until you see how it will appear to the recipient. Once your campaign starts, the testing stage isn’t over. Make small adjustments to your message each time you send a new one, and you’ll be able to work out which elements of the text are most effective.
Start Text Message Marketing and Grow Your Business
Now you know how to write a text message, jump on board the mobile bandwagon and start growing your customer base today! If you're ready to take the next step, start for free (no credit card required) or book a demo if you have more questions about nurturing engagement with your audience through text message marketing. There's no better day than today!
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