The SMS Marketing Blog

Entry By Kim Humes

Text message marketing can be a fast and affordable way to get important messages to your customers. However, it can be a huge waste of time and resources to send out messages randomly - when it comes to text message marketing campaigns, timing is everything.

If your customers receive one of your messages at a time when the information is not relevant to them, they will likely ignore it or even be annoyed by it. How you time your messages can have a great impact on what action your customers take, if any.

How often should I send my message(s)?

Less is more. The last thing you want to do is alienate your customers by bombarding their inboxes with several messages every single day. At the same time, you don’t want your customers to feel neglected (as they might if you only send messages out once a month). One or two messages each week strikes a nice balance – it gives your customers some breathing room, but also lets them know you are still there. At least one of your regular messages should include some kind of incentive – discounts, coupons, free products – no matter what the timing.

What time of the day/week should I send my message(s)?

The main point you want to keep in mind is that you want your text messages to drive traffic toward your business. You want to give people incentive to come see you or make contact with you and ultimately, make a purchase.

What times during the day and week is your business the most desperate for traffic? Sending messages on days when your business tends to be slow is a good way to grab your customers’ attention. For example, retail stores tend to be slower when the weather is bad or there are no major holidays coming up. Sending special deals to your customers may surprise them, and therefore intrigue them enough to visit. Sending a “same-day” deal drives them to come your way even more since they don’t have the option of waiting.

Thinking about how your customers plan their lives in relation to your business is another great way to figure out the best timing for your messages. Do you host events? Send your first blast a few weeks before the event encouraging registration or providing registration incentives. Then send a reminder 3 days before or the morning of to get people pumped leading into the big day/night or to pick up last-minute attendees.

If you run a business, such as a salon or a clinic, that requires appointments, text messages can be a great way to send reminders – either about existing appointments or about appointments that have not yet been made, but should be (e.g. dental cleaning). Texting customers the day before not only

reminds them, but gives them time to adjust their appointment if needed. Plus you are not reminding them so far in advance of the appointment that they simply end up forgetting again.

Sending out a promotional message to restaurant customers approximately 1-2 hours prior to  meal time catches people as they are making plans.  Most people tend to think about what and where they are going to eat lunch around mid-morning, and dinner around late-afternoon (maybe 4pm). Giving a customer incentive to visit your restaurant just as they are thinking about where to eat could mean the difference between them choosing your business over a competitor.

One of the biggest motivators for today’s consumers is convenience, so overall it is extremely important for businesses to provide this to their customers as much as possible. Make it easy for them.

Text message marketing can be a great way for businesses to get in touch with their customers – but time is money. If you don’t send your messages at the right time, you might as well be sending them to your grandmother.  

Don’t risk your text messages being overlooked by your target audience – learn how to time your marketing messages effectively.

Entry By Jason Brick

Mixed Martial Arts has begun to learn from mobile marketing and social media -- a fact evidenced by the UFC's decision to pay four-and five-figure bonuses to fighters who maintain a social media presence. 

The reverse is also true. SMS marketers can learn from the example of fighters in this newest of professional sports. The training, tactics and techniques of the Octagon have their applications in the world of mobile media. 

Hit With Combinations

In the ring, a fighter never throws a single punch or kick. He throws combinations -- a flurry of strikes that add up to serious cumulative effect. In SMS marketing, a single message won't have much effect. You need to maintain a long-term program of multiple messages. No single broadcast will suddenly turn your business around, but their cumulative effect can bring customers to the door. 

Use All Your Tools

Mixed martial arts get its name from the fact that fighters use grappling and stand-up fighting techniques to win a match. Even specialized competitors learn enough of other modalities to defend against the common techniques. 

A good SMS program incorporates not just mobile marketing, but your print campaign and web presence as well. The multiple impressions you make will engage customers with different preferences, abilities and needs. 

Be Responsive

Every fighter comes to the ring with a game plan, but good fighters will change the plan to adjust to what their opponents do. The degree to which a mixed martial artist can do this is the degree to which that athlete is successful.

One of the "killer apps" of SMS is a delivery cycle measured in terms of hours -- meaning you can respond to the reactions of your mailing list quickly and improve your message in real time. Failing to take advantage of this is a mistake.

Set Them Up, Knock them Down

In a mixed martial arts fight, the best competitors will "sucker" an opponent in with a false opening. When that opponent takes the bait, he capitalizes on the mistake with a pre-planned counter that can end the bout.

You should never pummel your customer base or choke them into unconsciousness. However, sending SMS messages that invite an immediate response can "pull in" your customer base by making them feel more engaged and interested in your brand. 

The Most Important Work is Invisible

Fights aren't won in the ring. They're won in training through practice, conditioning and skills development. The audience doesn't see that "behind the scenes" action -- but they see the result.

Your SMS campaign should work the same way. It takes effort, training and meticulous attention to detail if you want the message to work -- but your mailing list will never see the rough drafts, corrections and sweat you put into it. All they'll see is the stunning and actionable result. 

Entry By Jason Brick

There's something appropriate about mobile marketers getting their daily fix of industry news from podcasts. But with thousands of podcasts streaming every day, the question becomes: which podcasts are most useful to the busy SMS or mobile text message marketing expert? 

If your mobile marketing guy isn't listening to at least one of the streams listed below, here are four New Year's gifts he'll enjoy year round:

The Bunker Project

It's a locally produced podcast recorded in a bar in the middle of the afternoon, but don't let that fool you. Andrew and Bob stay on top of social media trends and deliver actionable news and advice with informal titles like "Tearing Facebook a New One" and "Sex, Drugs and Social Media." Irreverent, sometimes hilarious, usually safe for work, and indispensable. 

Tech In Twenty

Luis Sandoval and Jennifer Navarrete deliver twenty minutes of tech news, with frequent discussion of social media, web 2.0 and similar small business marketing concerns. It's not always directly relevant to mobile marketing, but will keep your team on top of changes and trends in the industry on their drive in to work.

For Immediate Release

A bi-weekly discussion of what's going on in communications, public relations and social media. Hosted by Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson, it's such a staple that you could ask about it in interviews – and reject everybody who hasn't heard of it. The podcast has several different modes: Book reviews and press releases run a few minutes; interviews run for about twenty, while regular episodes take an hour and change. One special feature of this podcast is that the hosts hail from the U.S. and U.K. – giving the show a uniquely international perspective. 

6 Pixels of Separation

One of the longest-running marketing podcasts, Pixels was active before mobile marketing became a thing, though host Mitch Joel's insights have evolved with the times. He's a leading expert on digital and social media, and covers topics ranging from keeping costs low to effective calls to action to guerrilla marketing tactics. 

There are plenty of "podfaded" 'casts out there as well, such as the Mobile Mavens' Mobile Marketing Review and the Area Mobile Marketing Podcast. Though defunct for long enough to be nowhere near topical, they can still be sources of inspiration – or simply context – for your mobile marketing team. 

Entry By Jason Brick

The best part of an SMS marketing campaign is reaching your audience multiple times each week with a new and compelling message. 

The worst part of an SMS campaign is you have to come up with a new and compelling message for your audience multiple times each week. 

What happens when you're all couponed out? When you've conducted all the user polls you can stand? When you think seeing an opt-in keyword just one more time will make you lose your mind?

You take ideas from these unusual resources, and make your copy new and fresh. You'll enjoy yourself more, and your audience will respond positively to the new direction.

1. Greeting Cards
Greeting cards are masterful examples of communicating an effective concept with a minimum of words. You can harvest examples from cards you receive, or go hang out at the Hallmark store for a while. This option works best during the holiday season, since you'll be receiving inspiring examples at the exact time of year when they'll be the most topical.

2. "Of the Day" Calendars
Whether it's a quote, dictionary word, bible verse or Far Side panel, these calendars can be a source of daily inspiration to work into your SMS messages. Take the basic kernel and "pop" it into an actionable message with a strong call to action. For example: "Free soda today for anybody who can define 'macerate.' Text definition for coupon."

3. The Local News
Local news, either the radio or paper, keeps you on top of local events, trends and happenings that you can turn into a topical and engaging SMS message. A new business in town can become a combined coupon offer. A local festival can turn into a flash mob for your company. Even the local traffic report can be a chance for a quick broadcast about catching up on lost time by getting takeout with a discount coupon.

4. The Calendar
Holiday-themed SMS messages can give your campaign just the variation it needs, but you don't have to stick with the red-letter days on your wall calendar. Check out one of the many lists of commemorative days, weeks and months. It's "Gopher Lovers' Appreciation Weekend" somewhere, and you can capitalize on those who celebrate it.

5. Bumper Stickers
These are another terrific example of displaying a powerful message in minimal space. However, bumper stickers will rarely be long enough or topical enough to use verbatim in a text message -- but they can provide a framework for how to pose your own message in a clever or funny way. Other sources on this line include t-shirts and coffee mugs.

The best marketers, writers and artists draw inspiration from the world all around them. If you get in the habit of harvesting ideas from what you see, hear and read, you'll never be short of material for compelling copy.