7 Rules of Etiquette for SMS Marketing
Text or “SMS” marketing is a tricky business endeavor. With it you can either boost your company’s sales or ruin your reputation. It also requires that you be innovative. If you don’t have any new ideas or campaigns in your SMS marketing plan, you should take a break; you've got to keep it fresh.
In addition to keeping things alive, there are a few rules of text marketing etiquette that every business needs to follow when running an SMS campaign:
Don't Abuse Informal Abbreviations
Do you use “np” for “no problem” or “u” for “you” in your text marketing campaigns? That's probably not the best idea. Using abbreviations and casual language could damage your professional reputation. Although casual language is used in the business world, you have to be careful that your use of language aligns with your customers. Your SMS marketing strategy should only include abbreviations which are widely popular and, most importantly, not offensive to people.
Maintain a Professional Tone
Always use a professional tone with your consumers. SMS marketing is fast and brief, and you only have a few seconds to deliver your message and convince your customers to buy your business's products or services.
When you’re trying to convey your message faster than usual, it is quite possible that you may seem harsh in your message. For this reason, you should follow a rule of thumb of always using positive and professional words in your messages. For instance, using "please" and "thanks" is always professional and appropriate.
Keep it Short and Sweet
Nobody wants to get a message that is split into several messages, so be sure to keep your messages under 160 characters. Think about it: getting multiple texts in a row and trying to figure out which order they came in is the last thing you want your customers to do; it's annoying and inconvenient. Texts should brief and simple.
Proofread
Nothing turns a customer off more than a spelling or grammar mistake, especially if it's a simple mistake that should have been caught. Proofread your message at least once. If you don't find any mistakes in your message, have another colleague check it for any errors you may have missed.
Gain Permission
Some people are picky about who they receive texts from; many people reserve texting for personal interactions with friends and family members. Also, not everyone has unlimited texts; in fact, some people have to pay for any sent or received messages after their limit has been met.
It's important, therefore, to only send messages to customers who have given their permission. Allow customers to choose the option of being contacted by text or not. Permission-based marketing elicits trust, and that's an invaluable asset you have with your end customers.
Check Links
Be sure to check links to make sure they are active before sending them to customers. It's simple, but can avoid a lot of frustration on your customers' end.
There's a Right Time for Everything
You should avoid sending texts to customers early in the morning or late at night. Of course, people can disable alerts during sleeping hours, but some people don't and there's nothing that angers people more than being awakened at an inconvenient hour. When sending messages to customers, keep to normal business hours. Not only will your customers be well rested and happy when they read your message, but they will actually be awake too.
According to Gene Sigalov, CEO of SimpleTexting, “Text messaging isn’t just another distribution channel in your content marketing arsenal — though it is one, and a powerful one, at that.” When interacting with your customers via SMS, always remember its power and use the tool wisely by adhering to these simple rules of etiquette.
