3 Do’s of SMS Marketing that People Aren't Talking About in 2024

TL;DR:

Three "do's" of SMS marketing that people don't seem to be talking about are:

(1) Limit communication

(2) Understand human psychology

(3) Pull from "Voice of Customer" data

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Today SMS is a different landscape than even 5 years ago.

Just ask Luke, a (fictional) Gen Z-er who checks his phone 20 times an hour and has 6 texting conversations going at once.

And compare that to Jenn, a (fictional) Millennial who only checks her phone about once per hour and only has a few threads she’s focused on for any given day.

Even 5 years ago, SMS was no longer something novel—it was, and is still, an integral part of people’s everyday lives.

But people receive a lot more texts these days and therefore, the texting climate is different.

This change is reflected in the read rates (which are now 55% rather than the 98% that they used to be, although the view rate for SMS is 100%).

So what are some current do’s and don’t’s that you should pay attention to?

How can you use SMS to its fullest potential to connect with your audience—so that you can best serve them? (And in the process, bring the most benefit to your business.)

Here are some current do’s to keep in mind… some tips that perhaps aren’t talked about as much.

(Stay tuned for some don’t’s in a future article.)

1. Limit Your Texting Communication

As an SMS platform, we certainly advocate using SMS for your business—and using it to its fullest.

But there are limits.

For example, I’m subscribed to a brand whose products highly appeal to me.

But I just checked, and last week they sent me 5 text messages.

Yep, 5…

I’ll just put it out there: unless it’s a very specific situation, nobody wants to receive 5 text messages from your brand in 1 week.

This particular brand is so frequent in their text messages that long ago I snoozed their notifications, and I mostly ignore the messages when they come in.

(And many other recipients might have unsubscribed long ago.)

2. Understand Human Psychology

Some believe that texting is related to a dopamine loop which drives people to want to keep checking their messages.

And there’s no doubt that texting triggers curiosity—when you see that new message come in, it’s difficult to resist the urge to see who it’s from and what they said.

Understanding all of that can help give you a better idea of the impact of your text messages, and how to make sure you’re leveraging that impact but not abusing it.

Understanding basic marketing psychology also helps inform your SMS efforts.

This would include concepts such as…

• Making sure you’re communicating value upfront
• Not including high-friction copy that creates unnecessary questions in people’s minds
• Focusing on a single idea

3. Pull from Voice of Customer Data

Don’t just craft your SMS marketing copy out of thin air.

Just like with any marketing channel, make sure your copy is informed by your “voice of customer” data.

This would include any and all data you’ve collected from real, open-ended messages you’ve received from customers, whether that’s through…

• Survey results
• Customer interviews
• Product demos
• Testimonials
• Case studies
• Review mining
• Any other avenue through which you can analyze the voice of your real or ideal customers

In many cases you can pull exactly what your customers have said and make that the copy of your marketing message.

Are You Taking Full Advantage of SMS Marketing?

So are you taking full advantage of SMS marketing?

I don’t know you personally but I’d venture to say—you’re probably not.

So what’s one thing you can do this month to help expand your SMS marketing efforts?

Go ahead and implement your idea.

And then see what happens.

Try out an SMS platform for free here.