Cost-effective marketing solutions are always appreciated by smart business owners. In the current era of personal computing, the potential reach of promotional efforts and marketing campaigns has been greatly extended; however, not all brands or businesses are using one of the most reliable platforms in this regard. If you are not familiar with what text message marketing has to offer in terms of marketing potential, you could be missing out on a great tool for promotion.

Why Text Message Marketing Makes Perfect Sense Now

The Short Message Service (SMS) protocol became commercially viable in the United States following FTC approval of shortcodes for marketing purposes in 2003. This functionality had already been around for a little over a decade in Finland, a country where shortcodes were used to conduct municipal and banking transactions. Major American brands such as Nike and Pontiac were among the first to use text messaging as a marketing channel, and they enjoyed significant success with their initial campaigns thanks to the overall novelty factor. This marketing strategy was quite successful for more than a decade; it only began losing steam with the proliferation of social networks and mobile apps.

Since 2010 or so, the landscape of marketing has largely shifted toward search engine optimization (SEO) and social media. To this effect, mobile devices continue to be the preferred platform, but the SMS feature of all smartphones is being ignored by many brands. On the other hand, smart business owners and brand managers are taking advantage of this trend to increase their reach and get their promotional messages across. The advantage of using a text blast service now has a lot to do with the fact that target audiences are not being bombarded with marketing SMS campaigns like they used to be more than a decade ago. These days, Americans mostly expect to see mass-texting campaigns during state or federal elections; this is despite recent research studies that show that we are still attuned to text messaging.

The Current State of SMS Marketing

Market research into the modern effectiveness of marketing strategies that involve a text blast service shows that there is still a strong affinity for SMS campaigns. In 2019, a report published in the European Business Review journal included the following findings:

• SMS marketing has a high open rate: The average open rate for SMS marketing campaigns is greater than 90%. This is much higher than the open rate for email marketing campaigns, which is typically around 20%.
• SMS marketing is a cost-effective way to reach prospects: The cost of sending an SMS message is typically very low, making it a cost-effective way to reach a large number of individuals.
• SMS marketing can be used to target segments: SMS campaigns can be tailored to reach specific demographics, such as age, gender, and location. This allows campaigns to reach those prospects who are most likely to be interested in their products or services.
• SMS marketing is great for providing concrete information: When we look at how American political campaigns utilize text messaging, it is clear that they wish to educate voters about polling places and encourage them to become volunteers.
• SMS marketing creates a sense of urgency: Flash sales or time-sensitive offers can be augmented with text messaging campaigns. This is because people are more likely to open and read an SMS message if they think it is important.

With all the above in mind, it is safe to say that brand managers who do not include text messages in their marketing toolbox are missing out on a great opportunity for low-cost promotion with great conversion potential.

How Should You Use SMS Marketing Today?

You can use text messaging to generate leads by offering discounts or promotions to people who sign up for your SMS marketing list with their phone numbers. Other uses include increasing engagement, sending reminders, and confirming transactions. As for the return on investment potential, it is one of the best available now. With an average ROI for SMS marketing campaigns of around 500%, you have the potential of generating $5 for each $1 spent on text blasting services. To be successful, SMS marketing campaigns must be well-targeted and relevant to the recipients; while they are not silver bullets, they can certainly be part of a comprehensive marketing strategy.

In the end, SMS marketing is a cost-effective strategy to reach your target audience. It has a high open rate, can be fine-tuned for targeting, and can be used for various promotional messaging purposes.