Short Message Service (SMS), otherwise known as text messaging, is an undeniably effective way to connect with your audience, but it requires a little finesse to pull off. Between consumer protection regulations and customer expectations, you have to be careful about what you send and how you send it.
Fortunately, the majority of consumers support SMS marketing and are happy to opt in to receive your texts.
If you’re looking for a way to fold SMS opt-ins into your omnichannel strategy, this article will take you through what it is, how it works, and why it matters.
What are SMS opt-ins?
SMS opt-ins refer to a customer’s legal consent to receive SMS texts from a brand or company. In the U.S., you’re required to have your customer’s written agreement before you can send information (e.g., announcements, promotions, etc.) of any kind.
Opt-ins are not always a one-and-done process, and your customers shouldn’t feel tricked into receiving unwanted solicitation. To avoid this, you may need multiple customer confirmations, also known as double-opt-ins, to ensure you’re neither spamming nor violating the customer’s privacy.
For example, let’s say you run a contest and require a customer’s phone number to enter. This would be considered a single opt-in. However, it is not a blanket permission to send endless SMS messages.
To comply with all SMS regulations, as dictated by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), you would then have to send an SMS opt-in message that requires the customer to reply and agree to receive additional promotional messages.
Opt-in messages should also include opt-out instructions, giving the customer an easy way to unsubscribe and avoid additional communication.
Benefits of SMS opt-ins for sales
While the average customer experiences endless email marketing, they’re rarely subjected to the same text message flood. This translates to a few key benefits for brands, especially for marketers who want to explore SMS marketing for the slow season or use it to boost their customer base.
High engagement rates
SMS has a staggering open rate of 98% and an impressive click-through rate of 21–35%.
SMS serves as an immediate notification, giving customers a heads-up about your brand’s latest offers and promotions. When you reserve SMS for your most exciting or exclusive initiatives, you can foster more engagement on a deeper level.
Instant delivery and response
SMS messaging is real-time communication. You can send and receive text messages of up to 160 characters across multiple devices and networks. With text messaging, you can engage customers wherever they are and garner more excitement for your brand.
Instant delivery and near-instant open rates also allow for faster response times, so they’re typically more effective than email or social media for time-sensitive promotions. Through clear and concise messaging and flexible timing strategies, SMS campaigns can work wonders on your click-through and conversion rates.
Personal connection with customers
SMS creates a personal touchpoint with customers on a device they use every day. When you consider who else texts them—family, friends, colleagues—it’s easy to see why customers’ SMS inboxes feel more intimate than other communication platforms like email and social media.
What’s more, because customers must actively opt into SMS messaging, you’re often sending texts to your most loyal demographics. So, whether you’re text message marketing to young professionals or retirees, the promotion is more likely to resonate and improve the customer experience.
Measurable impact on sales
On Black Friday 2022, there were 68% more SMS promotions than in 2021, leading to a 57% increase in sales. It’s clear that text message campaigns work, but as an added bonus, it’s also easy to measure how well they work.
SMS campaigns often rely on digital assets, such as trackable mobile links, QR Codes, and promotional codes—all of which measure conversions and relay engagement results.
When you have the right analytic tools to track your efforts, it’s easier to design A/B tests that pinpoint customers’ needs. You can also fine-tune your segmented lists, so you can speak directly to customers who are ready to buy.
How to create an effective SMS opt-in campaign to drive sales
SMS may be the most read form of communication, but it’s also the most touch-and-go. When customers only have so much time in their days, your brand has to put in the work to gain their attention. So let’s look at how to be more compelling, how to track results, and how to avoid compliance violations.
Design compelling opt-in incentives
As discussed earlier, ideally the first SMS communication should invite the customer to opt into receiving additional promotions and messages. To encourage opt-ins, you can offer discounts, exclusive info, or event invites.
For example, you might offer the customer early access to a new product line if they subscribe to SMS texts. Under GDPR and TCPA, you are allowed to offer customer incentives as long as you communicate the terms and conditions.
Write clear, concise text messages
You typically have 160 characters to convey your offer. And while you can send multiples, you risk losing the audience’s attention with every new text.
Clarity and brevity are pivotal to your SMS campaigns. If you’re having trouble getting started, check out these sample promotional text messages.
Your text is more likely to hit home if it’s clear, personalized, and paired with a strong call to action (CTA). For example, if you were running a flash sale, you might begin your text with the sale hours, provide product or service categories, and end with the sales landing page. To reduce your character count, use Bitly’s URL shortener for SMS.
Check for legal compliance
To remain compliant with both GDPR and TCPA regulations, you must obtain unambiguous written consent from customers to send text marketing messages. If not, the fines can run up to $1,500 for every incident.
Customers can provide consent in a variety of ways, including online and physical forms, as long as it’s clear that they will be placed on your SMS subscriber list. If you rely on checkboxes for legal compliance, you need to be careful about how you present them to the customer.
For example, let’s say your opt-in form features a checkbox where customers can sign up for SMS messages. If that checkbox is pre-checked, meaning the customer has to both read the terms and uncheck it to opt out, this would likely be legal under GDPR but illegal under TCPA.
If the checkbox is blank and the customer expressly opts in, this would be compliant under both acts. It’s best to obtain explicit, written consent so there’s no legal or ethical ambiguity.
Integrate with other marketing efforts
SMS campaigns are more effective if they’re tied into your larger marketing strategies.
For example, if you represent an environmentally-friendly brand, you might send a newsletter to your email subscribers detailing your sustainability efforts and SMS texts announcing your latest eco products. Both marketing messages connect to your brand ethos, and they complement and reinforce its values.
If you’re looking for ways to integrate your SMS tools with existing marketing channels and platforms, including email, social media, and pop-up ads, check out Bitly’s integrations marketplace. There, you can connect to apps like HootSuite, Google Analytics, Salesforce, and WordPress.
This way, if you use unique branded short links to promote the same offer across multiple platforms, you can quickly assess the impact before conducting a deeper analysis of channel preference.
Consider the frequency of messages
There’s a fine line when it comes to text message frequency. Too many texts and customers might reply STOP to unsubscribe—especially if data rates apply. Too few, and customers might forget your brand entirely.
The standard advice is to send messages once a week, either around noon or after business hours. Keep in mind this is not an exact science, but it’s a good place to start.
To improve the odds of explicit consent, send opt-in SMS messages after pivotal interactions, such as:
- Checkout: Post-purchase engagement SMS marketing is highly recommended after conversion, and you can easily blend this tactic with your opt-in efforts. You might thank the customer for their purchase before asking if they’d like to receive future discounts and deals by text.
- Coupons: Sending SMS coupons can generate brand buzz and encourage customers to opt in for access to exclusive deals that they might not find on other channels.
- Subscriber lists: When you offer opt-ins to different subscriber lists, it’s easier to adjust your SMS messaging. This also gives customers a choice, so they’re not bombarded with irrelevant offers or announcements.
Monitor analytics and adapt
You’ll need to constantly monitor and adjust your SMS campaigns to improve customer engagement and meet your customers’ needs. Tools like Bitly and Google Analytics provide useful metrics that reveal not just the total number of clicks but also the relevant metrics that lead to conversions.
For example, let’s say you offer 50% off your most popular product, eliciting a 60% click-through rate. With Bitly’s monitoring tools, you can instantly analyze which audience segments drove the traffic and what devices they used to access the link.
Then you can use tools like Google Analytics to further break down response rates. Maybe you notice iOS customers have a 45% conversion rate vs. 10% for Android, prompting you to rethink your mobile optimization. Regardless of what you glean from the data, it’s important to identify opportunities to improve.
Tips to integrate SMS opt-ins into your marketing strategy
If you want to master omnichannel marketing, your larger strategies should be flexible enough to add and subtract where needed. Here are some simple ways to integrate SMS into your campaigns so they flow naturally with the rest of your marketing efforts.
Segmenting your audience
Segmented SMS lists allow for more targeted messaging. Instead of sending generic SMS blasts to every customer on your list, you split your audience based on buyer preference, demographic, location, budget, etc.
Let’s say that you represent a small chain of coffee shops across the state. You might segment your list by geographic data, allowing you to send location-specific SMS offers or event tie-ins. You could even send different texts based on local weather patterns.
Personalizing SMS messages
All customer data represents an opportunity to personalize your messages. When customers make a purchase, opt into SMS messaging, or enter a contest, they often provide additional information, such as their address, birthday, or their preferred aspects of the brand.
You can use your chosen SMS platform’s dynamic content features to auto-fill information in a text and send out more personalized offers. For example, you could merge birthday information and buying history to encourage the customer to treat themselves on their special day with their favorite product.
Using automated triggers
Automated SMS texts can remind, confirm, or announce, depending on the promotion or touchpoint, and they’re typically based on specific customer actions or milestones.
For example, if a customer chooses a product from your e-commerce store and then abandons their virtual cart, you might send an SMS to prompt them to return. You can even offer a small discount as an incentive.
Or, if the customer makes a purchase, you might send a confirmation text that reviews the details of the order and shipment. The more helpful the automated information is, the less likely the customer will opt out of your messaging.
Implementing A/B testing campaigns
With A/B tests, you set up side-by-side campaigns with minor variations and compare results. For SMS marketing campaigns, you’re measuring not just the wording and offer impact but also when, how, and where people engaged with the text.
To conduct better tests, use tools like Bitly to help you implement and measure results.
Say your average click-through rates are higher if you send a text at noon, but your conversion rates are higher if you send the same text at 7 p.m. This suggests that your ideal target demographic is more available at night, which can help you segment your lists.
Unlock new successes in SMS marketing with Bitly
SMS campaigns can unlock new audience segments and complement your existing marketing strategies. The flip side is more compliance regulations and higher customer expectations.
When every character counts, strategy is everything. Tools like Bitly provide real-time data, so you can adjust campaigns before they alienate your audiences. Plus, you can integrate Bitly with other analytic and scheduling tools, so you’ll have everything you need at your fingertips.
If you’re ready to leverage 98% open rates, kickstart your SMS marketing with Bitly!