SMS Text Marketing Blog

Reconnect with your customers by using text messages in an intentional, sensible way.

You spend so much time trying to bring new customers in the door, whether that door is a real one or the sales page of a website. Once those customers have been with you for a while, it's easy to assume that they'll always come back. However, if you stop paying attention to your customers, they'll stop paying attention to you as well. Text message marketing can be a valuable tool to market for customer retention: here's how to use it well. 

1. Make Their Presence an Invitation 

Are your customers in your store or on your website? Congratulations: you have customer engagement. Or do you? Enhance your engagement by inviting your customers to connect with you via text. Whether you place an invitation to text on a napkin in a restaurant or you use a social media message to get your customers to text now for a special offer code, you can use text to encourage your customers to opt into further engagement while they're already interacting with your brand. 

2.  Send Them a Reminder 

Have you ever gotten a reminder that you're overdue for an oil change or a medical exam? These key appointments are ones that you might book on a relatively regular basis, but what about other products? You can send out text messages to prompt your customers to visit and buy at certain times of the year or at specific intervals. 

Make these reminders valuable. A home supply business in a hurricane-prone area could send out a text reminding customers to get ready and letting them know that there's a discount available on key supplies. Don't be a nag: be a helpful inspiration instead. 

3. Make Your Customers' Lives Easier 

Modern life is busy, and you want to make your customers' lives easier, not more cluttered. Instead of just providing a reminder, give your customers a reminder with something of value, such as a coupon. For instance, if you have a sale on t-shirts, you could provide a scannable coupon or code that customers can simply show in the store. They don't need to print or remember anything, and you've just made their lives a little easier - and less expensive.

Remind your customers to come in for annual appointments or to complete essential paperwork.

4. If There's a Process, Should You Automate It? 

Is your sales process a lengthy one? Perhaps you rely on your customers to sign up and then come back to sign additional forms or to renew a product every year. If you're an insurance agency, bank, or another business that must have customers return to complete a single transaction, you can use text messages to simplify ongoig communications. Focus your attention on providing your customers with a smooth process, valuable information and offers rather than trying to remember to make phone calls, send emails, or remind them with texts.

5. Celebrate Your Customers 

Is it your customer's birthday? Are you celebrating a year of your vendor-customer relationship? Use text messages to celebrate your customers and draw them into your store for a discount that's designed just for them. 

At EZ Texting, we're here to support your text marketing efforts. Talk with your customers and draw them into your business again and again. Learn more about the ways in which text marketing can invigorate your business and consistently renew your relationships with customers. Want to learn more? Sign up for free today.

It's a simple reminder, but it can feel awkward. What happens when a customer has not paid off their balance owed? When you need to collect money from customers, text messaging can be a pain-free way to connect with and remind them. If you get stressed by the idea of collections, you can simplify your collections process with text messaging.

Automate Your Collections 

Are you using the phone to call customers who are late with their payments? Are you trying to track down people whose credit cards have expired, only to leave message after message? Calling people takes staff time, and you want to put that time into improving your business. By sending out automatic and automated text messages, you save the time that you'd otherwise spend creating individual emails or making multiple phone calls. You can set up a payment reminder to occur at specific intervals instead.

Use the Appropriate Technology 

The times are changing. Millennials find phone calls disruptive, and they prefer to ignore the phone when at all possible. However, texting is very prevalent, allowing you to reach a large audience. It's personal, but it's not overly intrusive. SMS marketing allows you to reach your customers successfully through the communication method that they use the most.

Get Noticed 

If your customers are behind on payments, they are even more likely to ignore the phone and delete your emails. However, they don't tend to ignore their text messages. Eighty-two percent of text messages are opened, while only about 20% of emails are opened. Combine your payment reminders with other valuable text message content, such as coupons and targeted sales reminders, and you'll encourage your customers to continue opening your texts and engaging with your business.

Connect more personally with your customers rather than using automated phone calls.

Text Messaging Builds a Customer Relationship 

Millennials, in particular, value customized service, but all of your customers will appreciate a personal touch, even at collections time. Build a stronger customer relationship with text messages that are friendly, personal, and less intrusive.

Get a High Return on Investment

Sending out a text message or starting an SMS marketing campaign has a low overhead. It's less expensive than having an employee spend hours on the phone making collections calls. While it may not get everyone to come in and pay their overdue bills, neither will phone calls or emails. Text messaging is very convenient for businesses to use, and that campaign will pay for itself easily. 

Are you curious to learn how text message marketing can improve your customer relationships and make your business life easier? Try EZTexting and see how it transforms your business: sign up for free today.

Regardless of your experience in business, you need a social media presence. Social media allows you to connect with potential customers, establish your authority in the industry, and improve customer retention all at the same time.

If you're not a social media maven, use these tips to start putting your business on the digital map.

Start Small

You don't have to join every social network in the world to help your business succeed. In fact, if you're active on too many social platforms, you risk splitting your focus and giving each one halfhearted attention.

Start with one or two of the larger social networks, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. From there, branch out into a couple niche social platforms. These sites aggregate users based on their interests, which could make them more valuable. You'll gain fewer followers, but every person with whom you connect will have a built-in interest in your business.

Follow the 80/20 Rule

The 80/20 rule exists to prevent spam on social media and to help brands create positive messaging. Though it's not set in stone, it can solidify your reputation on social media and prevent you from alienating your followers.

About 80 percent of your content should focus on educating, inspiring, or entertaining your audience. In other words, it should contain no self-promotion. You could publish how-to tips, give advice, point readers to other people's content, or make an astute observation about the industry.

The other 20 percent can involve marketing your business. Use this content to announce product launches, link to your content outside of the social platform, encourage people to buy your products or services, and let your readers know about upcoming or current promotions.

Publish Valuable Content

You don't have to Tweet every 15 minutes or update your Facebook status twice an hour. In fact, if you only publish when you have something important to say, your audience will trust you to fill their feeds with useful content.

Plus, you can spend more time crafting your social media posts. The content that goes viral typically takes time to create, so don't rush the process. You might discover that thoughtful content spreads much farther and far faster than posts you rattle off in a hurry.

Use Images

Did you know that three-quarters of Facebook posts contain images? There's a reason for that. Social media posts that contain images get shared more often and call attention to themselves.

That's why billboards work so well. We're automatically drawn to works of art, whether they're photographs, illustrations, or unique typography. You can use this tendency to your advantage.

Join a stock photography website or ask your in-house graphic designer to focus on creating imagery just for social media. 

You might not get the hang of social media right away, but soon you'll grow to love it. The more active you become on your chosen social media outlets, the more visible your brand becomes.

You can also use social media to promote your EZ Texting campaign. Whether you're sending out special coupons or letting customers know about recent promotions, sign up for free and start connecting with your audience on a more intimate level.

SMS marketing provides numerous benefits for small businesses, including a high open rate and a high conversion rate. You can achieve such good results with text marketing thanks to two major factors: 

• Over 90 percent of American adults own an SMS-enabled cell phone
• Most people carry their phones with them at all times 

We live in a society where people check their phones hundreds of times a day. The average smartphone user touches their phone 2,617 times per day! A significant portion of the population even wakes up in the middle of the night to check for messages. The always-on society offers benefits for business owners, including the ability to reach out to customers with last-minute deals and receive a positive response. 

Mobile users have a close relationship with their phones.

However, it also makes it tempting to respond to this always-on society with constant communication. It is important as a business that you avoid this temptation. Succumbing to the pitfalls, including texting at inconvenient times and oversaturating subscribers with messages, can quickly take a promising campaign and turn it into a bust. Following are some ways to navigate through this always-on society for a stronger SMS marketing campaign.

Set parameters

The number one way to communicate effectively in an always-on society is to set clear boundaries. You and your team need to determine parameters for your campaign that include: 

• Appropriate frequency of messages
• Times that are out of bounds
• Types of approved messages 

Each company will have its own set of parameters that make sense for their clientele and business. During your initial meetings, discuss parameters with your team and determine what's best. Survey your clients and customers as well, and then monitor your text marketing program analytics. This will help you determine when your parameters work -- and when they might need to be further adjusted. How do you establish boundaries? Start with the following guidelines.

Respect the customer's time

The most important element of any successful texting campaign is respecting the customer's time.  Subscribers may wake up in the middle of the night to check messages, but that doesn't mean you should send them messages at this time. Text messaging is a disruptive medium. Most people have an alert for messages received, so they stop what they are doing to check their phone. This alert might also wake people up. Therefore, send your messages during business hours. It is also beneficial to avoid rush hour and other times that might be inconvenient for your subscribers. 

It is not just the time of day to consider; you also need to be aware of the day of the week. Some businesses will receive a better response by limiting their messages to weekdays, while other businesses may receive a good response from weekend messages. Determine whether or not your customers interact with your business on the weekend. For example, companies with business clients will probably not see much text message communication on the weekends, since customers are not at work. However, businesses that work directly with customers might see a greater response if they send weekend text messages. 

Another important element of respecting customer's time is sending messages that matter. Your messages need to be relevant and offer value to your customers; for example, offers and deals, exclusive information or reminders. Customers should feel like it is worth it to take the minute out of their day to read your text message. 

Limit the number of texts you send

Another way to respect your subscribers is to limit the number of texts that you send out. The ideal number will vary depending on your clientele, but two and four texts per month is the average. Avoid bombarding your subscribers with too many messages, as this could cause them to opt our of your campaign. 

Although you want to limit the number of texts you send, you also do not want to send out too few messages. Otherwise, people will forget about your campaign -- and possibly your company. Ask your customers how many messages they would like to receive from your business. If you are texting too often, you might start to see an increase in your opt-out rate. 

Once you've determined your ideal number of messages, stick with it. Additionally, discuss message volume and frequency in your terms and conditions so that your customers know what to expect.

Adhere to your customer's preferences 

Listen to what your customers have to say for a more effective campaign.

When you create a text marketing program to connect with an always-on audience, you want to be sure you follow their preferences. The best way to know what they want is to ask. Find out how many texts they wish to receive, as well as the ideal days of the week and time of day to receive them. Create a survey for subscribers or talk with them one-on-one, depending on the set up at your business.

You might find that you have a wide range of customer preferences. Luckily, it is possible to cater to them all. Simply segment your subscriber list by customer preferences. You can have a group who wants to receive a high volume of texts and another who wish to receive only one or two per month. You can also have a group who wants alerts on the weekend, and another who only wants to hear from you during business hours. The more you adhere to subscriber preferences, the stronger your campaign. 

Respect your customer's time through providing high-quality text messages sent at an appropriate time and frequency. You might have to put in some work to find the right numbers for your business, but it will be worth it in the end. Ready to take the next step? Sign up for free and get started with your campaign today.

As someone involved in the marketing process for your small business, you probably hear a lot about how content is king. While this typically relates to longer form content, such as blog posts and whitepapers, shorter form content like text messages is also important to your business. Think of it this way: because you only have 160 characters to work with in a text, every single character that you use matters that much more. 

Word Choice Is Essential 

Take the time to cultivate strong content when you craft your text messages.

Across all marketing channels, word choice plays a key role in your success. The words you choose can change the tone and message of your content. For your texting campaign, the right words have the potential to affect the outcome of your efforts. After all, you do not have a lot of room to impart your message, so you have to choose the right words from the get-go. 

Take for example the following two texts: 

• Show this text for a free muffin with coffee purchase. 
• Need a pick me up in the morning? Get a free muffin when you purchase a coffee and show this text. Act fast, this deal ends on [date].

They say the same thing. However, the second example has more character to it, so it may garner a better response from your subscribers.

To craft strong text message content, choose active verbs that motivate people to act. Include additional words to create a sense of urgency and make people feel like they are going to miss out on something important. Your message should also adhere to your overall brand tone and voice. 

Find Ways to Motivate and Engage 

An effective texting campaign drives your customers to take action. It also provides an opportunity to engage with customers. Often, the customer experience matters more than price and other factors when shoppers choose where to do business. Therefore, you want to find ways that enhance the customer experience as well. 

How can you achieve this with your texting campaign? By providing the right content. Ultimately, you want to send out content that is: 

• Valuable
• Relevant 
• Customer-centric

If you focus on these elements when you develop the content of your text messages, then you will create a stronger campaign that helps you to reach your goals. What are some messages to which customers respond well?

• Appointment reminders
• Coupons and deals
• Event invites
• VIP access 
• Customer service inquiries 
• Polls and services 

Although these types of messages inherently provide value and service to customers, you still want to be careful about what words you use. The right message will go above and beyond to engage with customers and give them what they want and need. However, the wrong word choice and message could lead to a lackluster response, or even worse. 

An Important Piece of Your Brand Identity 

The content you choose to send in your texting campaign needs to adhere to your brand voice and tone. This is another reason why it is important to focus on what information you provide, words you use, and message you send. Even something as simple as offering a deal or discount can either be dry or infused with your personality. For example: 

• Shop our two-for-one sale. Hurry, offer ends on [date]. Click here or show this text in store.
• Time to refresh your wardrobe! Take advantage of our BYGO Free sale for a new style without breaking the bank. Click here or show this text. Ends on [date].

This is another example of how the same underlying meaning can be conveyed in different ways. Infusing your messages with personality helps to cultivate a relationship with your customers and adds another dimension to your brand identity. The content you send matters. 

Texting and Content Marketing 

Integrate your texting campaign with your other marketing channels for extra benefit.

Although texting in itself may not be considered content marketing, it can be easily integrated with your content marketing efforts. Marketing across channels helps you to cross-promote other content. For example, you can send a text message with a link to your online content. Online content might include a blog post, a whitepaper, a video, a social media post, or some other component of your digital property. 

Although cross-promotion can help to increase the engagement with your potential customers, it's important to show some caution as to how often you share your other content via your text messages. Each channel should have its own unique identity. This gives people a reason to follow your business on multiple channels without getting bored. 

Therefore, save cross-promotion for the most important digital content that you feel everyone needs to see. You can do the same with your other marketing channels in regards to your texting campaign. Occasionally, let followers of your digital channels know about your texting program through a blog post, a social media post, or some other type of content. 

Even though you are only working with 160 characters, do not dismiss the importance of the actual content within your texting campaign messages. It provides additional ways to engage with customers and motivate them to purchase your goods or services. Additionally, your texting content helps you to develop relationships and enhance your brand identity. The words you choose ultimately have a lot of power in your program. So, even in such a short-form medium, content remains king.

Sign up for free and start developing strong texting content that will help you achieve your business goals.

U.S. small businesses are thriving!

In fact, 2016 saw an all-time high of over 7.8 million small and medium-sized businesses in the United States. And while each of those businesses may be small, their collective voice -- and the contributions they make -- are enormous. During Small Business Week, we recognize and celebrate those contributions and the passions that drive them.

Small businesses and the communities they serve support each other. Communities clearly benefit from having local businesses that are invested in their wellbeing. And 95% of small businesses generate sales locally, with 60% confirming that selling directly to their communities is a key element to their success. It's win-win.

But no one said it's easy.

There's a lot that keeps small business owners up at night. Amid changing business regulations and rising costs, small businesses -- just like their larger counterparts -- need to consistently:

• Attract new customers,
• Maintain and grow their existing customers, and
• Find and keep strong employees,

...and over half of small business owners indicated that these priorities are major sources of concern. And sleepless nights.

A robust communications strategy is key to conquering each of these.

Prospective customers need to understand the value of a business's products and services; existing customers need to know they're recognized and valued; and employees need to be kept in the loop with clear and transparent messaging.

All of these groups are inundated with daily messaging -- drowning in emails, distracted by phone calls. So how do the best performing small businesses cut through all that noise to really connect with their contacts?

Text messaging.

When is the last time you ignored or missed a text message? Exactly. Fully 99% of text messages are opened, compared to 22% of emails. If you're relying on email, you're missing out.

We've got you covered.

While we can't rein in the rising costs of doing business, we can set you up for success with the most cost-effective communications solution available. Want some help getting started? Our team of Client Success Managers can get you on the right path.

Less worry. More sleep.

So join us in celebrating Small Business Week from April 30 to May 6. Share your story! Inspire others! And be sure to check out the U.S. Small Business Administration's free small business-related webinars for helpful insights and tips.

Thank you for all that you do.

Source:  The Business Journals' "2017 SMB Insights"

Text message marketing adds value to your business and can enhance the overall client experience. A better client experience often leads to an increase in positive word-of-mouth marketing, which can help you connect with new customers. To get the most out of this channel, it's important to be aware of the many different types of messages you can send to your clients.

Appointment Reminders

Reduce no-shows by implementing text message appointment reminders. 

If your business offers services to clients, it is likely that you have some type of appointment setup. Although appointments help you structure your schedule so that each client has sufficient time with your staff members, appointments also mean that you are left without business when clients don't show up. Appointment reminders reduce the number of no-shows, especially if you use the right communication channels. 

Text messages have a high open rate and are often opened within a few seconds of receipt. This makes them perfect for sharing appointment reminders. You can send your reminders within 24 hours of client appointments, reducing the chance that someone's schedule will change or they will forget. You can also feel confident that your client will see your message. Text message appointment reminders can help you reduce your number of no-shows.

Helpful Tips

A good customer experience is a key component of your service business. Every interaction your business has with customers should help them in some way. Consider using your texting campaign to send out helpful tips that ultimately improve your customer service capabilities. 

The content you share will differ depending on your type of business, but it might include information about your sales, service hours, appointment availability, and other aspects of your business. You can also simply send out helpful hints or tips. For example, salons may share beauty tips and mechanics may share auto maintenance tips.

Offers and deals

Offers and deals are often the first message type that businesses consider when developing a texting campaign. You definitely want to include them in your cache of message types, since 9 out of 10 mobile coupon users redeem their offers. Plus, offers are always a great way to boost business, since people are always looking for a deal. 

Just be careful not to send out too many offers and deals. This may reduce the impact of your offers, since people will simply wait to use the next one, or the one after that. Find a balance between too many offers and not enough offers.

Event Information

Your texting campaign can be used as a way to send basic information to your clients, especially about any events you might be hosting or changes to your business. These might include: 

• Sales
• Exclusive access
• New staff members
• Change in hours
• Opening a new location 
• A fundraiser for a charity
• A community event in which you are participating 
• Customer appreciation party
• A holiday party or other event
   

Contests

You can also consider developing a text-to-win contest for your clients. Simply choose a short code or long code and some contest keywords. Your clients can then send a keyword to your short code or long code to sign up to win something. At the end of the run, you randomly select a winner. For added impact, give everyone some reward for signing up, such as a discount on services or a small free gift.

Polls and Surveys

Text messages are a two-way communication channel, and it is important that you take advantage of that with your texting campaign. This is where polls and surveys come into play. It is easy to run a texting poll. You simply need to send out a question and a list of potential answers. These are keywords that your clients text back to submit their vote. Then, you see which word had the greatest response. 

You can use polls as a guide to make changes in your business, or you can simply engage with customers with a fun poll. For times where you need more in-depth answers, it is possible to send out a link to an online survey for your customers to fill out. Just make sure it is mobile friendly.

Customer Service 

Let your customers text you with problems or questions to improve your customer service. 

Another way to take advantage of the two-way communication component of texting is to use it as a way to handle customer service inquiries. Often, customers prefer to ask questions via text message because it's convenient. Providing this communication option is a proactive way of creating a more positive experience for your customers. This increases the chance of a successful resolution of any issues. 

Use these message types to create value for your clients. By doing this, you will create a program that improves the customer experience. Ready to get started? Sign up for free and try out one or more of these type of messages for your texting campaign.

Communication is key for any business. For those in the service industry, it is essential to develop a strong communication program for your clients. They expect the best from you -- and they will make their decision on whether or not to patronize your business based on their experience with you. Therefore, you want to make the entire experience, from initial contact to follow up, as seamless and client-centric as possible. One way to do this is through SMS marketing and communication. 

Why Service Businesses Should Use Texting

Spas, salons, auto repair shops and other businesses in the service industry benefit from texting campaigns.

Several service businesses may benefit from running a texting campaign, including health care practices, auto repair shops, spas, salons and more. Text messages provide an avenue for easy two-way communication between you and your current, future and past clientele that also helps to drive business.

There are a few main reasons why you should implement a texting program: 

• Customers want it 
• High open rates
• Immediate response
• Inclusive
• Versatile
• Simple, yet impactful
• Cost-effective 

Some businesses have resisted using SMS marketing and communications out of fear that potential clients do not want to be contacted by businesses via text message. This is not true. A majority of consumers feel text messages are a great way to communicate with businesses. 

SMS marketing statistics do not lie. Texting is a powerful medium with potential for a high impact. Text messages have a 98 percent open rate and are typically opened within just a few minutes of receipt. This allows for an almost immediate reaction from your recipients. 

What's more, you do not have to worry about whether or not your clients have access to a text. More people have mobile phones than computers. Even though not everyone has a smartphone, the majority of mobile phones are SMS-enabled. Therefore, you will have a communication channel that includes everyone, with no worry about subscribers missing your messages because they do not have access to email or social media. 

Text message marketing is a cost-effective solution that can be used in many different ways. You can use texting to share promotional materials, as a customer service tool, and more. With all of the capabilities of this medium, your service business may be at a loss without it. Service professionals can also use texting to do the following:  

• Simplify the customer experience 
• Enhance customer service 
• Streamline communication 

In the service industry, it is essential to create a stellar customer experience that stands out from the competition. Adding SMS marketing to your communications arsenal is a small change with major effects. There are many different ways that you can use it to enhance your service to your customers. 

Types of Messages to Send

Now that you know it is a good idea to get started with an SMS marketing program for your service business, it is time to learn more about the types of messages to send. There are a few key categories of messages: 

• Offers and deals
• Customer service
• Transactional alerts
• Appointment reminders
• Event reminders
• Information 
• Polls and surveys
• Contests and games

Offer your customers more than just coupons and deals with your text marketing campaign.

Companies often focus on using texts to share offers and deals with customers. This is because customers respond well to these types of messages. However, you do not want to solely focus your efforts on sending offers and deals; instead, this should be one component of your overall strategy. 

In addition to offers and deals, it is beneficial to use text messages as a customer service tool. Customers often prefer contacting businesses through text in order to handle customer service issues. By providing a convenient way for them to get in touch, you simplify the customer experience and lay the groundwork for a more positive encounter. You can also send your customers receipts and other transactional messages through text messages. 

Additionally, your texting campaign can be used to send your clients information about your business, such as changes to your office hours. You can also have fun with your messages, sharing polls and surveys to learn more about your customers and their expectations and wants. The only limitation on what type of messages you send out is your creativity. A good rule of thumb to remember: only send things that resonate with your clients so that they remain part of your program. 

In addition to the messages you send out to your subscribers, you also can use texting as a marketing tool. Simply add a keyword, your short code and short instructions to your existing advertisements. People carry their phone with them at all times, so no matter where they see your ad, they can send you a text to find out more information about your company.

Benefits of Appointment Reminders

Appointment reminders are one of the more popular text message options for businesses in the service industry. This type of message helps businesses in a few different ways: 

• Reduce no-shows
• Improve customer service
• Increase profit potential

When a client misses an appointment, you lose money. This is because you retain your operating cost but will have no source of income for that period of time. Therefore, it is essential to reduce your number of no-shows. One of the biggest reasons that people miss appointments? They forget about them. That is why appointment reminders are so important. 

So why should you use an SMS marketing program rather than email or voice calls? Because of the high open rates, and the potential for immediate response. People do not always check their email or listen to voicemail messages. However, they do tend to read their texts, which increases the likelihood that they'll remember their appointment with you.  

Consider asking your clients via text message to respond YES to confirm their appointment, or NO to reschedule. This allows you to be more efficient while increasing your profit potential. Your clients will be more likely to keep their appointments, and you won't miss out on business due to no-shows. 

Compliance 

When you implement an SMS marketing program, ensure that you remain compliant with communication regulations. As a service professional, it is even more important to adhere to guidelines to maintain a positive client experience. 

One of the most important guidelines states that you must obtain written permission to text every person on your subscriber list. You can get this permission through: 

• Opt-in texts
• Online forms
• In-person forms

When new clients fill out their paperwork, you have the chance to inquire whether they would like to receive text messages from your business. You can also add a text message CTA to your marketing materials encouraging people to opt-in to find out more about your company. However, you always want to send a confirmation text with program details to ensure that those who've opted-in actually want to sign up. They will need to confirm their opt-in before they can be added to your subscriber list. 

Other aspects of compliance include:

• Retaining records for at least four years
• Providing opt-out instructions on a regular basis
• Not sending texts between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. in the client's time zone

Some service professionals might have to follow certain guidelines specific to their industry. For example, healthcare professionals also must consider certain patient privacy issues and other regulations. Be sure that you are aware of any communication issues that affect your industry.

Best Practices

Keep your customers happy by creating an SMS marketing strategy that follows established best practices.

In addition to specific regulations, there are also some basic best practices that you should follow with your SMS marketing program so that it remains client-focused: 

• Limit the number of texts
• Text within appropriate times of day 
• Focus on providing value 
• Keep your content relevant
• Provide personalized and targeted content 

The ideal number of texts you send out will depend on your program and the interest of your clients, but two to four messages per month is typical. Customers like to receive texts from businesses, but they do not like to receive them every day, and definitely not multiple times per day. Review your subscriber lists regularly to see if you are sending too many texts. How will you know? You will see an increase in your opt-outs. 

You also want to send messages at appropriate times of the day. Avoid the early morning, rush hour and late at night. Focus on being respectful, and you will find a time that works well. This is another place that your subscriber lists will inform you of any problems. 

Text message content also should remain relevant to your audience and provide something of value to them. You might only have 160 characters to convey your message, but that is sufficient to send information that they care about, such as a coupon or appointment reminder. You can also segment your subscriber list into groups based on different demographics and behavior patterns to create personalized messages that are even more relevant to your subscribers. 

A good approach is to always put service first and then promote your business. Remember, you are in the business of providing excellent service to your clients, and your text message communications should reflect that. If you take a service first approach, then you will enhance your customer experience and reap the benefits of this lucrative marketing channel.

Sign up for free and start taking advantage of the many benefits of texting for your business.

When social media first hit its stride, marketers became excited about the potential to interact with customers on a more personal level. Plus, they could increase organic traffic through utilizing the social network of customers. The social component of social media remains one of the main selling points of this marketing channel for businesses. Are there ways to gain a similar social benefit from other marketing channels?

With the right strategy, you can create social engagement with your SMS marketing program.

It is possible to run a texting campaign that creates social engagement for your company. However, this is only done if you do more with your message than simply inform companies or provide offers and deals. These types of messages have value; however, they will rarely lead to the same type of social engagement you can get from social media marketing. If you are looking to add some social engagement to your texting campaign, then focus on the following elements. 

Polls and Surveys 

One way to engage with customers is to run polls and surveys. This increases interaction with customers and makes them feel like you care about what they have to say. The right poll also gives them a level of connection with the company. For example, send out a poll to name a new menu item or product line based on the one with most votes. When customers see the item they chose implemented, they will feel as though they had a role in making it happen. 

Polls and surveys do not need to simply help you to better serve your customers, although that is a significant component of their capabilities. They also can help you to facilitate more social interaction with customers. Occasionally, send out a poll to see what people like and dislike. For example, ask for people's favorite superhero or movie. When big events happen, such as the Oscars or the Super Bowl, get people to vote on who they think will win. 

This brings the interaction with your company into a more social arena, something that they might talk about with their friends and family. The interaction is not directly tied to your company, but you ultimately benefit from the engagement and customer experience.

Games and Contests 

Create games that get people excited so that they tell their friends.

Another way to implement social interaction with your customers is to run games or contests. This works similarly to polls. It is a way to get people to interact with your company that goes beyond simply shopping at your business or using your services. You can even create a game that ultimately provides them with more information about your goods or services.

For example, ask a multiple-choice question about your business or products. People can text in their answer. Then, you respond with the correct answer and some additional information about the product. 

Instead of making the game specifically for your company, you can have an on-going trivia game with customers. You can raise the stakes by offering prizes for those who play. People love playing games, and the positive feelings they get from doing well in your quizzes will ultimately be associated with your brand, helping to increase customer loyalty down the line.

The right games or contests also have the potential to be shared with friends and family members, helping you to gain that organic reach that is so promising with social media marketing. 

Two-Way Texting 

A texting campaign should never be considered as a one-way communication method. Texting is a two-way channel, and you need to be sure that you utilize it as such. Set up some keywords with automatic responses so that people can easily interact with you for additional information. Additionally, have someone monitor the platform and answer any inquiries. People like to use texting as a way to handle customer service issues. 

When you implement two-way texting, be sure to: 

• Respond quickly
• Be polite
• Remain professional

Depending on your industry, there might be ways to set up a two-way messaging system that answers customers' question about a wide range of topics not directly associated with your business. For example, if you sell computer goods and electronics, then you could operate a troubleshooting texting campaign that helps customers know when they need to get their computers fixed. If you work in the healthcare industry, then customers can text you about certain complaints to know whether or not they need to visit a doctor.

These additional services might not be as fun as a game or contest, but it does provide interactions with your customers that go a long way to building a relationship based on trust and respect. This, in turn, improves their overall experience with your company, which they will tell to their friends and family members. This raises your word of mouth referrals, the ultimate form of marketing.

Texting a Friend 

Speaking of word of mouth referrals, another way that a texting campaign can create social engagement for your company is through texting a friend campaigns. One of the benefits of social media marketing is that customers can easily share with their friends and even tag them in a post. This introduces friends to your company, helping to spread the reach of your company. 

A texting campaign has the potential to do a similar action through someone forwarding the text to a friend. Most smartphones have the capability to forward texts from one person to the next. This makes it easy for people to share deals, offers, information, contests and other information with their friends. Provide incentives for doing so, and see your texting campaign grow through social networking. 

Add some MMS 

Media in text messages is another way to increase engagement and shares. 

Another way to interact with customers as a way to engage socially is to send them information that is simply fun for them to receive. This would be the equivalent of memes or pictures on social media. You have the capacity to do something similar with MMS messages. MMS stands for multimedia messaging service. With this, you have the capacity to send things like: 

• Photos
• Short videos
• Gifs
• Memes
• Audio bits 

With the right multimedia message, you have the capacity to create a viral text that goes from person to person. It also provides another way to interact with your customers in a more social way, rather than simply always sending them offers and deals about your business. There is one main downside, however: not every phone can handle MMS messaging, so you might lose some of your customers with these type of messages.

There are many ways to create a social engagement with your texting campaign. However, you want to be sure not to oversaturate customers with text messages just because you want to facilitate a relationship. Ultimately, you want to stick to a frequency that keeps with the engagement but also adheres to their preference. This is on top of the deals, offers, event reminders and other information you might text out.