90% of consumers view text messages, far more than see e-mails or Facebook or Twitter posts. Here are some suggestions for encouraging shoppers to sign up for a retailer’s texts.
What do you do when you receive a text message? If you’re like most people, you open it. Have you ever not opened a text message? Not likely: text messages are impossible to turn off and are rarely dismissed.
Text messaging is a highly effective marketing medium. Lacking spam filters, segregated folders (such as Google’s Gmail inbox), blacklisting, and limitations imposed by e-mail, text messaging is the essential marketing method to communicate with your customers.
Although text messaging has been in use for over 20 years, it wasn’t until 1999—when sending messages between different networks became possible—that adoption started to rise.
With the incremental introduction of T9 (Text on 9 keys), smartphones, touch screens, keyboards, and type-assist technology like Swype, text messaging has become, some say, the most widely used data application in the world. Certainly, most mobile phone subscribers use it.
In 2007 for the first time there were more text messages sent and received than phone calls! Texting remains popular due to its simplicity, ubiquity, reliability, and versatility. Although per-message content is limited to 160 characters, users can type more and include pictures and videos.
Text messages have a 90% open rate, and more people use text messaging daily than Facebook and Twitter combined. What’s more, the bulk of Facebook news stories aren’t viewed, most tweets are ignored, and only 20% of e-mails are opened. It’s getting increasingly difficult to connect with your customer. That makes text messaging more important than ever.
From account updates, shipping notifications, and password resets to outreach for contests, discounts, and events, text messages can be integrated into a variety of campaigns.
Here’s how to start building text message subscribers:
- Add a text message option to your e-mail newsletter sign-up process.
- For users that already opted into an e-mail newsletter list, replace the newsletter sign-up form with mobile sign-up.
- Replace e-mail with text discounts on popup offers for new visitors (for example, receive 20% off today’s purchase when you subscribe…)
- Ask your current list of newsletter subscribers to sign up for text.
- Add an option to collect mobile phone numbers on account creation/guest checkout, asking users to opt in for text message marketing.
When you follow best business practice (and regulatory standards), you’ll inform users how many messages they’ll receive per month. Don’t exceed your stated message count—it could get you banned from carrier networks. If you plan to increase the number of messages, inform users first and provide them an option to opt out (e.g., text keyword STOP).
Masterminds Digital, a division of SpendSmart Networks, Inc. (SSPC), specializes in e-commerce technology and digital marketing.
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