Text or SMS marketing is a form of direct marketing. Other examples of direct marketing are direct mail, telemarketing, email marketing, letterbox drops and direct selling.
If you’re thinking of adding text/SMS marketing to your marketing toolkit, there’s a few things you’ll need to know before you get started.
So as not to breach the Spam Act 2003, every message you send out must meet these three conditions as outlined on Business Queensland’s website:
Consent
The recipient must have either expressly consented to receiving your messages, or must be an existing customer or individual who has some existing relationship with your business
Identify
The message must accurately identify your business
Unsubscribe
The message must contain a functional ‘unsubscribe’ facility to allow the recipient to opt out from receiving further messages. You must honour unsubscribe requests within 5 working days.
Now that we’ve covered the legalities, here’s some points to keep in mind before beginning your first campaign.
Create A Strong Call To action
You will only have 160 characters to convey your message and cover all your legal obligations (as above), so make sure the message is strong but concise.
Avoid Slang And Acronyms
Leave the ‘text speak’ behind. Yes, you’re writing copy that needs to be short and sweet but that doesn’t mean you need to sound like a 14 year old child. You’re a business, so write your copy appropriately. Leave the LOL and FML’s for family.
Think Carefully About The Timing
If you’ve done your homework properly, you will know who you’re trying to reach. You’ll have an understanding of your target market and the best times of day to contact them. If you’re targeting stay-at-home-parents, you’ll know not to contact them during drop-off, pick-ups, evening meal times and school holidays.
Put A Deadline On It
Utilise the channel effectively and don’t be afraid to put a short deadline on your offer. Drive people to your website or to contact you immediately to take advantage of the deal. Which leads me to my next point.
Be Available To Respond Quickly
There’s no point sending out a great offer and putting a deadline on it if you’ve booked dinner out with the girls and you can’t respond. Make yourself available and be there to respond to any enquiries or make the bookings.
I must admit that I haven’t used SMS marketing for my business as yet, but I do know a number of my clients use it quite effectively. If you’re looking for some suggestions of businesses who provide this service in Australia, a quick Google search brought up this page. If you know of any worthwhile competitors, I’d love to hear about them in the comments below, and in the meantime be present, stay engaged and have fun!
Hardcastle Social Media is an independent social media consultancy based in Inner Brisbane. We provide strategic social media marketing to organisations of all sizes. Specialising in Facebook business page management we provide services from setting up your Facebook business page through to total management of your current page. Contact us today on 0401 505 423 or info@hardcastlesocialmedia.com.au. We offer expert social media advice and look forward to discussing your business needs.