9 Actionable Marketing Message Tips (+ Text Message Marketing Tips)

Marketing is tricky, no?

It’s difficult to determine the best way to go about it. It’s also difficult to measure success, and sometimes it seems like it’s doing nothing.

Yet it also feels like a necessary thing.

Throw in the difference between various marketing methods - such as text message marketing - and you’ve got a recipe for mass confusion.

How do you nail down your “marketing message”? And while we’re at it, how do you apply marketing principles to text message marketing specifically?

Never fear - the answers are near.

First, let’s go over some general tips on determining your overall marketing message.

How to Determine Your Marketing Message

The tips below can be credited to the team at Copyhackers who specialize in “conversion copywriting.”

But these various tips are applicable not only to copywriting, but to all areas of marketing. Some of the tips are more conceptual, and some are more specific - but all will help you determine your marketing message.

How can you apply them to your marketing?

1. Research to Know Your “Customer’s Voice”

You’ve got to know your target audience inside and out.

In order to know them, you’ve got to research them.

Listen to your customers or your target audience and look for things like…

• Common repeated language
• Questions and uncertainties they have
• Problems they’re trying to solve
• Jobs they want to accomplish
• Pivotal decision points in their purchasing journey
• Deeper-rooted why’s
  • For example, we sell text message marketing services, but we want to know the why’s behind people’s decisions to use texting - beyond just “I want to text my customers”

There are a variety of methods to collect this information so that you can figure out the “voice” of your customer. These include but are not limited to:

• Surveys
• Customer support interactions
• Sales demos
• Sales inquiries
• Interviews

Note that you won’t do only one of the above methods of collecting “voice of customer” data - you’ll do a combination, if not all, of them.

2. Use That “Customer Voice” in Your Messaging

When you have a good feel for your customer’s voice based on your research (see point 1), use that “voice” in your marketing messaging.

For example, if your customers don’t use jargon, avoid using jargon.

If your customers’ language is highly professional, try that same professional tone in your own messaging.

On the other hand, if your customers’ language is relaxed and laid-back, take that approach instead.

Use phrases, terms, and style that would be familiar to your customers and speak to their situation.

But also opt for language that stands out (more on that a little later). For example, communication is a common word we find in our customer research, but it’s not necessarily the most effective word to use in marketing because it’s a bit too basic.

3. Know Your Audience’s Stage of Awareness in Their Conversion Journey

You can’t have the same marketing message in every context.

You have to consider where people are in their conversion journey.

In case you need a refresher, the 5 stages of awareness are:

• Unaware
• Problem aware
• Solution aware
• Product aware
• Most aware

Is your audience totally “unaware”? How much do they know about the problem that your product solves and/or the solution? Or are they almost ready to move forward with a purchase?

For example, you generally don’t want to tell an unaware audience to “buy now.” That will turn them off because they aren’t ready for that step.

Similarly, you don’t want to talk to a piping-hot lead as if they know nothing about the problem your product solves. Instead, you want to take advantage of their stage of awareness to put them over the edge and convert them.

4. Use “You” Language

Your marketing messaging isn’t actually about you.

Well, it is about you. (You are trying to sell your product after all.)

But it shouldn’t sound like it’s about you.

Your customer/lead should be the leading character in your messaging.

You should use “you” language–talking about the reader. Only talk about yourself if absolutely necessary.

For example, instead of saying, “We offer [xyz feature],” it’s better to say, “You get [xyz feature].”

Keep the focus on your audience.

5. Be Specific

You can’t appeal to everyone. You just can’t.

You can try, but you’ll end up saying nothing and connecting with no one.

Trying to appeal to too many people in your marketing messaging is what leads to “blah” language that’s just there.

It’s not bad. It might even sound somewhat decent.

But it’s not convincing people like it could.

Instead of speaking in generalities with words like “increase sales” or “boost productivity,” be specific about what those benefits actually mean for the main person you’re trying to reach.

So use specific examples, data points, and other tangible elements to truly connect with your audience.

6. Don’t Be “Blah”

Are you guilty of coming up with marketing messaging similar to the following?

“Our product is the best way to help you save money/time/hassle. It’s the easiest [fill in the blank] on the market...”

And depending on your audience, language like that may work from time to time.

But do you know what most people will hear?

“Blah, blah, blah…”

Because they’ve heard it all before, and by this point it’s just white noise. They’ll forget it as soon as they’ve heard or read it.

So how do you stand out?

Some of the above advice will help with that (speaking with “customer voice,” using “you” language, being specific, etc.).

One other tip that can help with making your marketing message pop is to use “color, texture, pattern, shine” as Copyhackers founder Joanna Wiebe emphasizes. Wiebe says, “You can dress [your marketing copy] up with visual color, or by adding pattern through sentence and paragraph lengths — or add a little shine through interesting language choices.”

So communicate your message in an interesting, and even visual, way. Appeal to people’s senses.

Also, communicate a unique message whenever possible. Try to go a different angle from your competitors. That way, your audience isn’t hearing the same ol’ same ol’ over and over again.

7. Recognize There Are Different Types of Audiences

You’ve probably been advised that when it comes to marketing, shorter messaging is better.

That may be true for many. Many people quickly scan elements of your marketing that particularly stand out and then move on.

But for others, they read every word you say.

In other words, some are scanners, and some are absorbers - and some are in between.

We often write marketing content for scanners only. But don’t neglect the “absorbers” and those in the middle of the spectrum!

Create content under the assumption that every aspect of it is going to be absorbed - all the while keeping an awareness of the prominence of scanners.

A good rule of thumb is to create quality content for the “absorbers” and include elements along the way that “scanners” will be drawn to as well.

8. Showcase the “So What”

Your marketing messaging should clearly state the “so what” of your offer and your product or service.

Don’t just state what you offer. Show why it makes your audience’s life better.

For example, here at Mobile Text Alerts we could say, “Our text alert platform allows you to send hundreds of text messages at once.”

So what?

While that clearly states what the product can do, it doesn’t communicate why your audience should care.

(And it’s also not as focused on “you,” the reader, as it could be.)

A better way would be to say something along the lines of: “Get 20% more sales by sending text promotions to hundreds of customers at once, using the online text platform.”

This approach…

• Leads with the “so what”
• Emphasizes what the reader can “get” out of using the platform
• Is specific

9. Appeal to Emotions and Logic

Hubspot made this point and it bears repeating.

It’s often taught that most people make purchase decisions primarily based on emotion. And that’s probably true.

However, there are some people that make their purchases from a highly logical standpoint.

And even the emotionally-driven purchases often need logic to validate them.

Here’s an example...

Let’s say a 35-year-old businessman named Steve is looking at an ad for one of the latest phones.

Steve is someone who loves new devices, and finds himself wanting this new phone - without any real logical reason, if he’s honest.

Since he doesn’t have a fully logical reason for wanting the phone, he’s hesitant to spring for it. But then he sees stats like, “Increase productivity by 25% with [xyz feature]!”

The stats convince him that the new phone is not only something he wants on a personal level, but would also be useful for his business. Therefore, he can justify the decision in his mind to make the purchase.

So in Steve’s case, it was emotion that drew him in. But it was logic that sealed the deal.

The point isn’t whether it was good or wise of Steve to make that decision - the point is that you need to keep both emotions and logic in mind when considering your marketing message.

How to Apply These Ideas to Text Message Marketing

All of the above ideas can be applied to any form of marketing - emails, web pages, videos, social media ads, or anything else.

But how can you apply these ideas to text message marketing specifically?

We are a texting company, after all. So let’s go through some practical strategies.

1. Be Concise

Though earlier we discussed how longer content is sometimes warranted, when it comes to text message marketing, this isn’t the case.

Texts should incorporate some of the elements mentioned above, but should be short and to-the-point. If possible, you should try to keep your marketing texts at 160 characters or fewer.

2. Understand the Personal Nature of Texting

A text is not an email.

It’s not a social media post either.

It’s much more personal, and thus should be approached with care. Make sure your messaging has real value for the recipient, so they don’t feel like you’re invading their space.

That means that, in general…

• Don’t text your customers multiple times a week
• Don’t text your customers regarding anything that isn’t relevant to them
• Don’t spam your customers with texts they didn’t want nor ask for

Otherwise, your customers will unsubscribe faster than you can say “whoops.”

3. Include CTA Links

While incorporating the marketing messaging tips above, it’s particularly important in the text message marketing medium to include call-to-action links.

Using a trackable link (a feature which you can use for free with your texting platform) is one of the easiest ways to determine whether people are actually engaging with the copy within your texts.

You’ll be able to see how many people clicked on your link, as well as specifics about who actually clicked.

If you’re getting a low response, you can try tweaking your messaging and/or incorporating more of the tips above.

4. Know the Occasion for the Message

What triggered the text you’re sending?

Was it an abandoned cart? A declined card on a subscription renewal? Did the customer sign up to receive regular promotions?

All of these situations will require a different tone and approach in your text message marketing.

You have to know what’s the trigger that led to the message you’re sending, as well as the stage of awareness your audience is in.

For example, it’s often best not to send the same promotion out to all of your contact list. Try to target your subscribers as much as you can according to status/stage and purchase preferences.

Then you’ll be able to send targeted texts that really speak to your audience and get them to click the link for your CTA.

Text Message Marketing: The Right Message

To summarize, the right marketing message will do the following:

• It will understand its audience - their voice, their pain points, their needs, their desires, and their stage of awareness
• It will understand how your product or service gets the audience to the point at which they’d like to be
• It communicates the above 2 points with “you”-centric, specific, engaging, “so what”-showcasing, emotional/logical language

And all of these concepts can and should be applied to one of the most effective methods of communication: text message marketing.

Want to try text message marketing for yourself? You can get 50 messages free to try it out today.

Dial (531) 739-8280 or click below to chat with a text marketing expert and get all your questions answered.

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