Well, guys, we’re about to enter a fresh new year, which means that many marketers will be adjusting their marketing plans, assessing what worked and what didn’t, and considering what new marketing channels may be incorporated to help speed their company’s development in 2024.
Online SMS does not seem to be on most marketing teams’ radar. I’ve been in on several meetings with marketing teams, and not a single one has mentioned the notion of utilising online SMS to boost sales, engagement, or awareness.
If you’re a marketer reading these lines, you’re probably in the same situation as me.
I’ve actually questioned their perspectives on online SMS as a marketing tool at a number of these meetings, and the most typical responses I’ve received are:
“It’s too costly; email is free,” yet email isn’t free. In fact, depending on how many subscribers you have and how frequently you clean your list, it might be more costly.
“SMS is spammy” – but so is email. Just because a few bad apples abuse online SMS doesn’t imply it can’t be a useful tool for others who use it responsibly.
“Customers don’t want to be texted” – this is not true; in fact, millennials prefer text messages over phone calls or emails.
“As a marketer, your objective isn’t to choose marketing channels that are ‘cool’ or even fashionable; your goal is to select marketing channels based on their potential to accomplish your company’s goals,” says Angus Barret of SMSPapa.com.au.
I’ll explain why I believe online SMS marketing should be a cornerstone of any business’ marketing mix in 2024 and beyond in this essay.
Online SMS cuts through the clutter of marketing messages.
Have you ever wondered why your advertising costs increase each year? The reason for this is that when more firms advertise, there are fewer impressions to go around, resulting in higher ad prices.More companies are experimenting with internet advertising, and more businesses are experimenting with email marketing, which means there is a Ton of marketing clutter out there disrupting the typical consumer’s minds and attention span.
Online SMS, on the other hand, is always seen, which is why a text message’s average open rate is a whopping 97 percent.Imagine putting out an advertising campaign and having practically everyone read it. Do you believe this will have a beneficial impact on your sales? Do you believe it’s worth it to pay a few cents for each SMS?
It’s something to consider.
Furthermore, outside of relatives and friends, the SMS inbox has very little competition, so there’s a strong possibility you won’t have any direct rivalry to worry about.Read your inbox. Check out how many emails the typical individual receives on a daily basis — it’s about 122. Yes, a lot of material, including your emails, ends up in the spam bin.Fortunately, there is no spam bin for online SMS. There is no algorithm checking each incoming SMS message for specific spam keywords at the time of writing this article.
Online SMS is cost-effective.
Online SMS costs just a few cents per receiver. Most marketers would scoff at this, but this indicates that they don’t realise the importance of persuading someone to open a marketing message.If you send out an email campaign, at least 80% of them will go unread; others will bounce, wind up in SPAM, or be ignored in the inbox, among other things.
If you have a large number of subscribers, you’re probably spending a few of hundred dollars a month to have 80% of your emails ignored.Let me ask you a question: getting more sales from your email marketing campaigns is primarily dependent on how many people actually read it – if no one opens your email, there are no sales.
It’s basic math: the higher your open rate, the greater your sales potential.
How much would you pay for someone to read your marketing message?
People are prepared to spend anything from $2 to $40 per click on Google AdWords, which means they are willing to pay $40 to have someone read their marketing message.That’s expensive.
Would you be happier paying 4 cents?
A text message costs anywhere from 1 to 4 cents, and with that 4 cents, you can convince someone to open and read your offer.
To me, this seems to be a fantastic price!
Online SMS is not “online marketing”.
One of the most frustrating aspects of conventional digital marketing is that as an online marketer, you must first identify the barriers that are put in place to block the success of your campaign, these are, of course,:
- Updates to algorithms
- Quality scores (Facebook, AdWords, etc.)
- Anti-spam software
- Email reputation scores
- Ad policies, for example.
Every online marketing channel has a gatekeeper, which is clearly in place to keep fraudsters and spammers out, but also makes it more difficult for genuine marketers to make their ads successful.Did you know that you can’t use before and after photographs on Facebook, for example? The reason for this is that it may insult its consumers; nonetheless, before and after photographs are quite effective and excellent for raising conversions.
Your marketing effectiveness suffers with each new regulation change, so not only are your expenses rising, but your message is getting watered down, diminishing your potential to achieve a high ROI.
Each marketing channel has comparable issues; for example, email marketing has a spam algorithm – did you know that there are over 400 spam keywords that, if utilised, may result in your marketing message being discarded? These are terms like “purchase” or “click here,” and if you’re running an email campaign, you’ll almost certainly use them.Online SMS, on the other hand, is not an internet marketing channel, thus it has a near-perfect delivery rate.
How much would you be willing to spend to ensure that your message reaches the inbox?
Conclusion
We live in a mobile marketing environment, and it astounds me that company owners and marketers aren’t taking use of what is possibly the most successful marketing channel available today.
Why not give it a try if you’re a marketing expert who isn’t already utilising it? There are SMS providers that provide prepaid packages, no obligations, and other benefits. I bet you’ll see a significant change in engagement and sales conversions if you give it a try.
