Make Mass Texting Software Work for You, Not Against You

Adopting a solid mass texting strategy can feel very overwhelming. Even though you may understand the basics of how text messages work as a delivery system, it can be confusing to figure out how to tie it into your overall marketing goals and strategies.

How long is it going to take to get up and going? What do you need to do to maximize the effectiveness of your messaging? Fortunately, there are quite a few ways to make it work for you and your business. Here are some secrets to getting the results you want.

5 Steps to Master Mass Texting Software

1. Establish Key Goals and Objectives

You only have 160 characters of text and emojis to make your point, so it's important to think about how to make the most of every letter.

What are you trying to accomplish with texting? Some really common goals are things like getting leads, boosting traffic to your website, increasing sales, reducing appointment no-shows, improving debt collection, or improving employee communications.

Who are you trying to send your message to? Before you can start a good text messaging campaign, you have to have your customer’s phone number and their permission. There are several ways that you can get them to say yes to receiving your messages. You can use opt-in forms on your website and social channels. You can run a Keyword campaign where they will text a code to your number.

What are you going to share with your audience? You have to make sure that what you're sending provides a lot of value. If you're going to send things like coupons or notifications about special deals, then make sure that they're going to be relevant. If you provide news or information make sure it's something that they'll care about.

How are you going to measure success? Now that you have your goals you have to think about how to tell if you've met them. When you're designing your promotions, make sure that you'll be able to track the impact of them. This can include doing things like making offers that are only available to people that are your texting subscribers.

2. Build a Keyword and Get Your Short Code

Short codes are used along with Keywords to generate leads and subscribers for your list. You have probably seen these multiple times throughout the years or heard them on the radio. This would be something like “Text DEAL to 515151 to get a 10% off coupon.”

In this example, the Keyword is “Text” and “515151” is the short code. By texting “DEAL,” your audience is opting-in to your text list. This is an effortless way for them to opt in and receive immediate value from the interaction. And the best part is, text message marketing providers will automatically supply you with a shared short code, dedicated short code, or vanity short code.

You can also take this a step further and ask customers to text in their favorite type of beverage and make your Keywords be coffee, tea, and soda.

Then when they text in one of these Keywords, they would join a specific list in your account. This would enable you to send promotions specifically to your coffee lovers. Likewise, for the tea fanatics, you could send promotions that would make the most sense to them.

Strategies like this will help you save money. Most mass texting software is going to charge you for each text message that you send. So instead of opting everyone into the same generic list and blasting a message out to everyone, you are able to segment and send a very targeted message to the people that would matter the most.

This also helps you reduce contact churn. Because you were sending highly targeted offers to the relevant segment of your audience, they are more likely to find enjoyment and value in your message. As long as they are enjoying what you sent, they are less likely to unsubscribe.

3. Keep Text Messages Short, Simple, and Actionable

A well-built text marketing campaign will benefit your business and your subscribers alike. No matter what mass texting software you use, knowing how to structure your campaign can make a huge difference in its outcome. Keep in mind that your messages will be short, less than 160 characters. You don't have a lot of room to work with, so you have to make it all count. THIS IS ONLY TRUE FOR SMS

You should kick-off your first campaign with a can't-miss offer. Just like email marketing, SMS marketing requires an active audience. You can start building up this audience by giving a gift in exchange for subscribing to your list. This could be something like a buy-one-get-one-free promotion, a welcome coupon, access to exclusive content, invites to special events, or something else entirely.

After you get them to subscribe you need to make sure that they do not have any reason to want to take themselves off the list. With every message that you send, you need to continue adding value. If they opted-in because they wanted a special discount or deal, then make sure that you keep providing discounts and deals. If they opted-in for exclusive information or content, they continue sending them exclusive news and content.

It's also crucial that you take advantage of the mass texting software to help automate some aspects of your campaign. This makes sure that everything is running smoothly and you're on top of your communications even when you can't be. You won't have to remember to send emails, make phone calls, or waste your time figuring out what Keywords to bid on. Software programs can make sure that you don't miss out on any chances to connect with your subscribers. It can also let you schedule messages weeks or months in advance to prepare for upcoming promotions.

Finally, don't forget the action step. People aren't going to take that step and help you grow your business if you don't ask them to do so. This is the reason that calls to action have become such a significant part of marketing.

They help the viewer get a sense of the next step that they need to take, or the path they need to follow. Some examples of this include:

• Asking them to visit a specific webpage new line
• Giving them a coupon and asking them to come in
• Inviting them to a special event and asking them to attend or to purchase a ticket
• If you're following up about an outstanding debt, then ask them to pay it

4. Keep Working to Make it Better

Don't stop once you've launched your first campaign. You might set a goal for your campaign and realize that you’re falling short. Maybe you didn’t get the response rate that you were hoping for, or you didn’t get enough people to opt-in.

It’s not time to give up. Like most marketing tactics, you aren’t going to get right on the first try every time. If something isn't working, then don't be afraid to reevaluate and pivot. Wasting your time on bad campaigns isn't an effective way to maximize your text marketing.

You need to examine things that have worked and things that haven't. Only then can you come to a proper conclusion on what to change to make it better.

Here are a few things you can use to try to boost your campaigns:

Encourage Customer Interaction Across Multiple Channels

Today's consumers are used to a wide variety of ways to interact with a business on a wide range of channels of devices. You can create positive experiences by giving them new ways to engage with you. This could include things like having them send a text message to you and then displaying their name on a billboard or sign. You can add a call to action in your emails telling them to send a text message to sign up for mobile coupons. Then on your social media channels, you can use SMS as a way to get them to enter a Facebook competition.

Promote the Local Community

If you are participating in a local event or expo, giving people a short code and Keyword that they can text message is a more streamlined option than providing a phone number or website and waiting on them to call or click. This allows you to keep your information significantly more timely, valuable, and exclusive to the event that's being attended. Tactics like this can make your audience feel like they are part of your VIP list.

Provide More Value to In-Store Customers

When your customers are in your store, you can use SMS to bring more value to their shopping experience. You could have a particular Keyword that's only provided in the store to allow them access to a coupon discount or product recommendation.

You can also have them opt-in to a loyalty list that can provide them with more value and get them coming back into the store again later.

5. Connect With Text Marketing Experts

SMS marketing experts like EZ Texting have helped thousands of organizations use text message marketing to engage their followers better, boost revenue, and improve their marketing.

When you’re struggling to get results from your campaigns, they can provide additional insights and context. This can enable you to overcome many of the obstacles and setbacks that could hurt your ROI or just make it frustrating to get started and achieve results.

They can help you figure out how to:

• Acquire contacts by setting up Keywords, sign up form widgets that you can use on social media and on your website, and utilize advanced messaging features like group campaigns, text forwarding, recurring messages, and much more.
• Engage your audience with personalized reminders to make sure that they show up on time for appointments and meet their deadlines, utilize SMS polls to get feedback from customers quickly and easily, and make your messages pop with photos, videos, and expanded text length.
• Provide service to your customers through personalized one-on-one conversations, allow you to receive and reply to text messages on your existing business landline, and get your own short code whenever you've got high-volume or multiple clients so that you can provide dedicated services.

Take the Next Step with Mass Texting Software

Getting started with text message marketing may sound very complicated, but it doesn't have to be. With the right combination of support and powerful, easy-to-use mass texting software, you can get up and running quickly and achieve your goals.

Texting is one of the most effective ways to connect with your customers. Most text messages are opened within minutes and customers are continually reporting that they prefer to be able to receive text communications from businesses.

Don’t miss out on this powerful source of new customers.

Download our guide that shares four additional strategies for successful text marketing. You’ll learn how to effectively promote your goods or services, boost your engagement rate with customers, send alerts out quickly, and even automate appointment reminders.