Due to the highly competitive nature of the market, growing a business in today’s environment can be quite challenging. By tracking your business processes appropriately and using the right marketing strategies, you can overcome this challenge.
Your business will grow, both in terms of connecting with your target audience and in terms of growing as a result of the best marketing strategy.
You cannot succeed in business without marketing because your business won’t be seen. There are a number of complex marketing strategies that, despite being quite effective, may not be the best tool for your business because of budget constraints. This is because your target audience might not be interested in these channels.
The use of bulk SMS services by businesses is just as crucial. Businesses need to communicate with their customers effectively today. So the need for bulk SMS marketing features in a business phone system has been more important than ever.
SMS marketing, for example, has emerged as a crucial marketing instrument for generating leads and boosting ROI. Through SMS, businesses can communicate interactively with their customers in order to increase sales and growth.
Sending SMS to customers is simple. It is also, by far, the simplest method for conveying important information. No matter how big or small a business is, bulk SMS allows it to reach its target customers.
Since mobile phone penetration is high these days, bulk SMS has become a core marketing tactic for companies.
According to research, SMSes are also more likely to be opened than emails. There is no substitute for text messages in delivering precise information at a low cost to the targeted audience.
Why is bulk SMS so effective?
It has been possible to send bulk SMS since the mid-nineties. Even though it is clunky and basic, a text message is still dangerously effective at getting us to wake up and pay attention.
In comparison with modern apps like WhatsApp and iMessage, SMS seems long overdue for retirement. In light of this, why do people still use bulk SMS, and why is it so effective?
1. SMS is universal
Every phone on the market is capable of sending and receiving SMS messages. There is no need to install an application or software, and you don’t have to decide which messaging app to use with your contacts.
Since text messaging is a standard feature on all mobile phones, it truly is a universal method of textual mobile communication. Business SMS messages continue to increase despite the rise of other messaging apps.
2. Conversion
There are more promotional updates flowing into our inboxes than ever before – every day, hundreds of them compete for our attention. Social media and email noise make it difficult for companies to stand out.
They have to compete with over-the-top content. Bulk SMS stands out for the conversion of customers in comparison to other marketing channels.
3. Greater audience reach
SMS marketing is a goldmine with the rise in mobile phone usage. By reaching consumers right at their fingertips, businesses can expand their reach by attracting a wider group of people.
In addition, SMS marketing is a convenient way of reaching even those audiences who do not use smartphones since it does not require internet access.
4. Integration capability
The SMS gateway API enables marketers to manage their SMS marketing campaigns independently, allowing them to easily send text messages to mobile phones from their own platform.
Bulk SMS Marketing tips
1. Have a call to action? Make it obvious
While SMS doesn’t have the same design capability as email, you can make a text message call to action more noticeable by giving it a prominent position in your text, enclosing it in emojis, and shortening long URLs that have CTAs to make them less of a pain to click.
2. Use emojis to grab attention
Emojis can help emphasize more than just CTAs. Increase engagement with SMS campaigns by using emojis. After all, text-based campaigns can only be enhanced by using emojis. Be careful not to overuse them, though.
3. Personalization to increase engagement
In order to increase engagement, consider personalizing your SMS message if you have gathered useful information about your contacts.
A practical way to do this is to address recipients by their first names. Adding personalization to a transactional SMS may add value for your client. For example, you might include the member number or the next membership renewal date.
4. Keep it as short as possible
You need to keep your SMS content short when it comes to bulk SMS marketing tips for content. Mobile devices don’t lend themselves well to long-form reading.
Let your audience know what your SMS campaign offers and how to take action in as few words as possible. Grammatical errors, spelling errors, and improper formality can be overlooked in SMS. Let’s just get the SMS campaign straight to the point.
Bulk SMS Marketing Trends
Despite being over a decade old, bulk SMS services are still popular. Businesses are able to reach out to as many people as they wish using bulk SMS services. Here are bulk SMS marketing trends to look forward to in 2022:
1. Automated bulk SMS
Customer journeys are going to become even more automated, thanks to automated text messages. The bulk SMS automation process works similarly to drip email campaigns in nurturing your customers.
Choosing the right SMS automation strategy can allow you to automatically send customized, timely, and relevant text messages to consumers to deal with everything from notification of appointments to reminders of upcoming payments, abandoned cart alerts, and renewal reminders.
2. 2-way bulk SMS
2-Way bulk SMS makes it possible to send and receive messages to and from hundreds of recipients at the same time through an API-based web-based platform.
Shortcodes and long codes allow your customers to send simple keywords to you. Your computer or other phone application uses the system to let you reply to these messages.
If you want to use bulk SMS for your business, you’ll find that it’s a really efficient way of reaching out to clients or potential clients, especially if you have limited resources or manpower.
You are more likely to make sales, increase conversions, and get repeat business if you get responses directly (and instantly) from your recipients.
3. SMS and applications
Mobile users have access to hundreds of mobile applications that enable sending messages, including Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp, but bulk SMS messages are still not popular.
Consumers use these apps to keep entertained, communicate with friends, and receive customer service. As a result, Bulk SMS continues to dominate the market.
4. Real-time
Using SMS marketing, you can communicate in real-time. It takes a long time for other marketing channels to broadcast campaigns that cannot guarantee their reach to all their target audiences.
Nevertheless, SMS marketing can be sent to all customers at once and received by all at the same time. SMS traffic has increased every year, and this trend is expected to continue.
5. Dedicated numbers
Long codes are 10-digit toll-free numbers that can be used for both bulk messaging and one-to-one communication, unlike shortcodes. Additionally, long codes are more cost-effective than shortcodes.
Sending bulk SMS to millions of recipients at once is now possible with one 10-digit toll-free number. Your business has access to the number so that you can send bulk SMS to millions of recipients at once.
Also, there are several SMS marketing software out there, which can help you send SMS in bulk to a large group of people.
6. SMS based Influencer Marketing
Celebrities and influencers often share their phone numbers and tell their followers to text them, as it is perceived as more personal than messaging them via email or direct message. Thus, text marketing has allowed many influencers to grow their followings.
Influencer marketing is becoming increasingly popular for businesses, increasing competition in this niche. Businesses should be able to see tangible results in the form of clicks, engagement, or sales from influencers.
One way to track results is via SMS marketing, which you can do by using targeted keywords for discount links that can be acquired via SMS opt-ins.
7. Integration of AI and automation
Chatbots are already part of bulk SMS services. It’s also proving to be an effective way to have conversations that are like human conversations via SMS.
When the text of incoming SMS includes a specific keyword, the enterprise can use automation to send the client a preliminary written message. In addition, you can schedule recurring campaigns that include the text engine and message schedule.
8. The use of emoji will continue to grow
Millennials are very fond of emoticons, also called smileys. Many applications and social networks use emoticons.
It needs to be noted that Emoji usage in email marketing has grown by 775 percent between 2017 and 2021.
Today, businesses constantly look for and use creative ways to add a sense of friendliness and humor to their content in order to add humor or express emotions. You can create a personal yet professional atmosphere by smiling at and interacting with your customers.
Conclusion
Marketing in the era before SMS involved a lot of word of mouth. Then came email, which provided businesses with a gigantic loophole. Bulk SMS is a new way to send messages that has been in development for a long time.
Bulk SMS is a growing business because customers can receive messages instantly, so they never miss any important messages.
