Text Message Marketing: Here’s What You Need to Know [2025]

It seems to be getting harder and harder for businesses to capture their audience's attention.

But with around 97% of Americans owning a mobile phone and around 5.4 billion people worldwide having a mobile subscription, text message marketing offers a unique opportunity for businesses to reach their customers directly and in real-time.

But how do you get started with text message marketing? What service or app should you use?

In this guide, we'll walk you through everything you need to know to choose an SMS service and get started.

Best text message marketing app for 2025

So which SMS marketing solution is the best for you?

Let’s explore.

Best for small businesses: Mobile Text Alerts

Mobile Text Alerts is a simple, straightforward yet robust platform (plus an API) that would be suited for any use case, but especially for small businesses.

It has a user-friendly interface, but if you do need any help with using it, live chat support is often readily available within minutes.

As mentioned, there’s an API that you can use to create any integrations you need—or if you don’t have developer resources, you can also integrate with thousands of services via Zapier.

You can also get complimentary live 1-on-1 coaching to not only walk you through how you could make best use of the platform but also to help give you advice on best strategies and use cases of your particular industry. That way, you can make sure you’re really reaching the people you want to reach.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface
• Quick live chat support
• API availability and Zapier integration
• Complimentary 1-on-1 coaching
• Unique features such as iMessage for business
• Small business focus

Cons:

• Potentially limited advanced features
• Dependency on Zapier for non-API integrations

Features:

• Automated messaging campaign options so you don’t have to micro-manage the process
• Opt-in methods so you can have flexible ways to allow people to sign up for your text list
• API and Zapier support so you can create any integration you need
• Mass iMessage so you can reach even more people
• AI solutions such as SmartSuggest and AI SMS Chatbots so you can speed up your processes via the power of AI

Pricing:

Pricing with Mobile Text Alerts is based on the amount of messages you’d like to send on a monthly basis.

Prices range from $20 per month (for 500 messages per month) to custom contracts for enterprise-level messaging.

Before choosing your plan, you can get a free trial that gives you 50 messaging credits to test out for 14 days.

Reviews:

Mobile Text Alerts has a 4.6 out of 5 rating.

Here are some of the reviews users have left:

• “Easy to use service for your business … This service is very user friendly and an asset to communication and advertising for small businesses.” – Kari W., business manager
• “I like how easy it is to add subscribers, it is very intuitive. Also the reporting tools are great because you can see whose carrier rejected the message, etc. Easy to implement and integrate as well. Customer support is nearly immediate with the chat bar on the right. I use it frequently.” – Ben K., small business owner
• “It goes down all the time. We use this as our alert for hospital staff to come into work. It often goes down on the weekends and we have to call another manager to put it the message.” – Anonymous
• “User friendly system that was easy to implement within our company. Just like sending text messages from your phone!” – Donna F., mid-level business owner

Best for ecommerce businesses: Attentive

Attentive is a well-known name in the SMS sphere. Its primary focus is ecommerce. It offers both SMS and email.

Pros:

• Specializes in ecommerce
• Offers both SMS and email
• Individualization for recipients of SMS journeys

Cons:

• Not built for non-ecommerce
• Possibly more costly

Features:

• AI tools, including an AI “concierge”
• Email capabilities in addition to SMS
• Audience manager for targeting and segmentation
• Customizable reports

Pricing:

Unlike many SMS marketing solutions, Attentive does not have regular subscription plans, so any SMS marketing pricing must be worked out individually.

Reviews:

Attentive has a 4.7 out of 5 rating.

Here are some of the reviews users have left:

• “Onboarding was generally painless and the pricing seems very reasonable. The interfacing for sending SMS messages is very easy to use, especially compared to the email-sending tools I am used to (albeit text messages are a much simpler format to to work with). There is good analytics available in the platform and I am able to see nearly everything I would want to see (messages, costs, conversion rates). Other notables is their robust sign up system and link tracking functions (every text gets unique trackable links). One of the reasons I went with Attentive is that they have done a lot of work to make sure everything is on the legal up-and-up which is important as text messaging regulations can be messy.” – Caleb S., small business owner
• “Communication can sometimes be spotty and the platform is still being actively developed so you may run across instances of ‘we are working on that,’ ‘we hope we will have a solution for that soon,’ or ‘that use case isn't supported yet.’ I do genuinely believe they are working on getting all the functionality implemented, but if you plan to do advanced integrations and custom code just be aware.” – Caleb S., small business owner
• “The customer support team at Attentive is truly best in class. They are always available to help us work through strategies to maximize the tool and have also helped us with techniques to make sure we stay within our project budget.” – Annica C., chief brand officer of enterprise business
• “I do feel like some of the capabilities are lacking, especially with pop ups. I feel like other platforms have stronger capabilities with triggering in cart or repeat site visitor targeted modals that don't require custom built cookies.” – Elena W., CRM marketing manager

Best for sporadic campaigns: Textmagic

TextMagic is a simple SMS platform that offers pay-per-text plans. This pricing model is unusual in an industry that usually operates on a subscription basis.

Pros:

• Pay-per-text plan option means you don’t have to pay for texts you won’t use
• Email and voice options
• Easy to implement

Cons:

• Potentially limited for enterprise users
• Some reported issues with customer support

Features:

• Omnichannel chat widget
• Email capabilities
• Voice options
• WhatsApp integration

Pricing:

Textmagic is somewhat unique in that it offers a prominent pay-as-you-go option, starting at $24.50 for 500 text messages ($.049 per message).

It also offers monthly subscription plans for a discounted rate: $80 per month for 2,000 SMS per month (at a rate of $.04 per message) and $100 per month for 1,000 SMS per month (at a rate of $.01 per message).

Reviews:

Textmagic has a 4.4 out of 5 rating.

Here are some of the reviews users have left:

• “Textmagic makes sending texts easy. We use it for alerting both for infrastructure issues as well as any potential building emergencies.” – Kevin N., director of IT
• “Sending a message is incredibly simple. Just input the number (which autoformats), type your message and hit send. Programming messages and scheduling them to be sent at a later date/time, is also very easy. What is most useful, is the ability to upload pre-written messages that are saved in a library. These messages are then easily sent to new contacts or those in our Saved Contacts. Finally, its very inexpensive and doesn't require any contracts!” – Ray M., research assistant
• “Can be cumbersome in changing things, setting up groups, etc.” – Anonymous
• “Simple, swift, reliable, good value” – Anonymous

Best for programmable messaging: Twilio

Twilio’s brand is practically synonymous with programmable SMS. They have no easy-to-use platform for sending texts but instead rely on their APIs as their primary offering. They also offer a variety of other communication options.

Pros:

• Robust APIs
• Built for businesses to be able to scale
• Extensive communication options

Cons:

• No out-of-the-box platform option
• Not feasible without developer resources
• Some reports of bad customer service

Features:

• Programmable APIs
• Voice, email, and video options
• IVR setup option
• Fraud prevention measures

Pricing:

Twilio pricing is essentially on a per-message basis, but is a bit complicated.

You can see a breakdown of the pricing on their website, but it starts at $0.0079 per message, plus carrier fees and costs for incoming messages.

Reviews:

Twilio has a 4.2 out of 5 rating.

Here are some of the reviews users have left:

• “What I like about Twilio is its user-friendly system—the API alone is straightforward, and integration with communication systems is super easy. Reliable it is.” – Nikko R., sales manager
• “Easy to use online admin interface. Easy to integrate with your setup. Great customer support. Use this tool everyday to boost our business efforts. Lots of features to choose from.” – Anonymous
• “The customer support is somewhere between awful and non existant.” – Christopher A., graphic designer
• “Very easy to setup and it works flawlessly. Excellent developer documentation to implement emails and SMS integration. Supports national and international SMS in lighting fast speed” – Sukumar M., IT consultant

Best for 1-on-1 conversations: Heymarket

Heymarket is an SMS platform with more of an emphasis on the conversational approach to texting. They particularly emphasize AI as a way to save time.

Unlike most SMS platforms, Heymarket charges per user, per message, and also has varying levels of plans that have different features.

Pros:

• Specializes in 1-on-1 business SMS
• Reviewers report positive experiences with customer support
• Reviewers report that the platform is easy to use

Cons:

• Pricing is more complicated than other services
• A 1-on-1 focus may mean that sending in large volumes isn’t ideal

Features:

• 1-on-1 SMS
• AI solutions
• Shared inbox
• Integrations with HubSpot and (as an add-on) Salesforce

Pricing:

Heymarket pricing is based on 4 factors:

• Plan tier
• Number of users
• Whether you pay monthly or annually
• Amount of messages you send

The different plan tiers have varying levels of features they offer. The basic plan is $19 per user per month billed annually or $23 monthly—and a minimum of two users is required. So the minimum amount you will pay is $38 per month.

Additional users are $19 per month (billed annually) each or $23 (billed monthly).

Messages are billed at a starting rate of $.03 per message, which scales down to $.015 per message if you send higher volumes of messages.

Reviews:

Heymarket has a 4.6 out of 5.

Here are some of the reviews users have left:

• “I love how easy it is to use HeyMarket and the texts look like they are coming for legit numbers. It is something that I use every single day for my day-to-day assignments. Our HeyMarket is linked to our Hubspot platform as well.” – Britt S., consultant
• “Heymarket gives us the capability to answer our clients questions via SMS messaging vs the actual landline point of contact. It is really handy for us as they clients are better serviced vs playing telephone tag and leaving numerous voice mails.” – Daphne W., director of operations
• “While we have not had issues recently, when we did have an ongoing issue where HeyMarket would break, the Support Team did not know the actual app and features. They would tell us that a feature we had been using was not an actual feature or tell us that HeyMarket was not supposed to behave that way. We were sold on the product due to those features and the app broke multiple times. Sometimes it took a very long time to get a response and it was very frustrating. For a platform designed to improve communication efficiency, better customer service with actual knowledge of the program should be a higher priority.” – Anonymous
• “Heymarket can be very intuitive and helpful when we need to contact clients we have previously touched base with. Creating campaigns and templates helps get things done efficiently and correctly.” – April D., small business owner

Best for multi-channel: Klaviyo

While most of the other services on this list are SMS-first services, Klaviyo seems to be more of an email-first platform that also offers SMS and push notifications. It has historically been popular as an ecommerce solution, but it doesn’t limit to ecommerce only.

Pros:

• Multi-channel options (email, SMS, and push)
• Also offers review collection service
• Enterprise-level platform with particular emphasis in ecommerce

Cons:

• No SMS-only plan options
• Historically served ecommerce primarily so may not be geared toward other industries

Features

• Email, SMS, and push notifications
• Review collection
• Segmentation
• Messaging flows

Pricing:

Klaviyo’s pricing is first based on whether you want email alone, or whether you’d like email alongside SMS.

Secondly, pricing will vary depending on how may active recipient profiles you have loaded into your account.

And thirdly, pricing will vary depending on how many SMS you’d like to send.

The minimum is a free plan for very low-volume senders and pricing increases as your recipient profiles and messaging volume increases.

Reviews:

Klaviyo has a 4.6 out of 5 rating.

Here are some of the reviews users have left:

• “Best is integrations with Shopify Platform. Marketing automation from product to abandoned cart, with multi channel targeting from emails to sms and whatsapp. Easy to use and implement. “ – Nazeeb A., small business co-founder
• “I am now using Klaviyo from Past 6 Years now. Now as a Certified Klaviyo Partner I can say that Klaviyo is the best tool which can be used for you ecommerce business be it small or big. Just integrate it with you Ecommerce Platform be it Shopify or WooCommerce and you are good to go. Making of Flows are easy, the customer support team provide best solutions in the matter of time. I have worked with almost 40+ Clients. We make campaigns very frequently and almost every day. Love all the features like SMS, Push and now there are reviews too.” – Nishant A., email marketing associate
• “The learning curve of the platform is really steep. Before using the platform seamlessly and getting effective data outputs for analysis, I had spent good enough time understanding the platform by going through different videos and document files related to it.” – Jasmine M., product manager
• “Its user-friendly interface, coupled with powerful features, makes it a must-have tool for any website based business.” – Sakshi A., small business owner

Best for omnichannel (except email): Podium

While Klaviyo above focuses on several channels (primarily email, SMS, and push), Podim seeks to be more of an omnichannel solution.

Podium tries to incorporate SMS, chat, social messaging, and voice all together in one place, but it does not emphasize an email solution. It has a major focus on being an AI solution to help users convert leads.

Pros:

• “Almost” omnichannel
• Also offers review collection services
• Higher end communication service

Cons:

• Although leaning toward omnichannel, not offering email could be considered a major gap
• More cost-prohibitive than other SMS solutions

Features:

• SMS, chat, social messaging, and voice
• Review collection
• AI solutions
• Mobile surveys

Pricing:

As more of an omnichannel messaging solution, the costs for Podium are higher than other SMS services.

Plans start at $399 per month, with a $599 per month plan offering more features.

Reviews:

Podium has a 4.6 out of 5 rating.

Here are some of the reviews users have left:

• “Our teams use Podium everyday in many facets of our business. We have found over the last 5-6 years that Podium has been instrumental in both finding and retaining customers. We utilize the webchat feature that assists with potential online customers with questions ranging from product purchases, availability, specs or other. We use Podium Reviews to send automated review invites after customer purchases. Bulk Messages to retarget and retain previous shoppers and customers engagements. Podium Payments send and accept payment requests seamlessly as well using the SMS option to communicate to current or previous customer inquiries or conversations in the platform that they wish to communicate from. Implementation team worked well with our IT team too for ease of integration, our customer support team has always been amazing.” – John S., president of mid-market business
• “Step by step assistance in preparation, set-up, training and customer focused support for a product that produced immediate results.” – Bill T., board representative
• “I think there is a higher learning curve than people may think unless you really are thorough with everything and bring it up during onboarding. It is very limited in the way you can't move the chat widget, change the appearance of landing page designs (not fields), and other issues like you're set with only x amount of sms texts. There are many other services out there that are cheaper than what you pay for Podium” – William P., small business
• “The easy way to get customer feedback! The SMS makes is a great feature to stay in touch with your customers.” – Anonymous

Best for integrating with HubSpot: SalesMsg

SalesMsg is a standard SMS platform, but it also has calling functionality. It furthermore integrates with HubSpot and other popular services such as ActiveCampaign.

SalesMsg also offers a ringless voicemail feature that is somewhat unique in the realm of text message marketing.

Pros:

• Integrates with HubSpot
• Offers ringless voicemail
• Has calling capabilities

Cons:

• Not much to stand out if not interested in HubSpot or calling
• No listed large-volume plans

Features:

• HubSpot integration
• Ringless voicemail
• Calling
• Calendar integrations

Pricing:

SalesMsg’s pricing is standard for SMS platforms. Plans are based on how many messages you’d like to send per month and start at $25 per month for 500 messages, up to 7,500 messages for $249 per month.

10,000 messages per month or more are offered on a custom rate basis.

Reviews:

• “The ability to handle texting on both a team and individual level is great. We can be assigned to multiple mailboxes and have our own so the team can stay up on the communication with our clients. Love that we can set-up auto response and have templates saved for fast communication. We are diving into the ability to tag messages when they come in. The integration into Hubspot is fantastic. We no longer need to worry about logging texts to clients files as salesmsg puts them directly into Hubspot so anyone in the office can see the communication between the client and our company.” – Justin P., COO
• “We have integrated texts into our Hubspot workflow to send out SMS messages to customers who have requested further follow-up. We also use this as a tool for long-term follow-up. Though most of our sales staff prefers to use their cell phones for communication once they have gotten to a more familiar level with the customer, the BDC and other sales managers use it as a way to contact customers. We allow staff to personalize their text messages if they prefer, but we also have text templates saved within sales message for reference.” – Autum G., legal assistant
• “the broadcast feature lacked features for recurring messaging and editing of previously created broadcasts.” – Corbin S., small business
• “The Free tier provides real value and you don't feel like you have a half-baked product that it meant to only serve to push people to premium tiers. UI is easy to use, works well with my CRM (Hubspot), and I haven't had any issues so far with the service.” – Dan G., business development manager

Text message marketing app evaluation checklist

Easy-to-Use, Out-of-the-Box Platform

You want a text marketing tool that can help you get off the ground running. Something that’s easy to set up and easy to use, but also scalable.

Mobile Text Alerts allows you to get started quickly, without needing to go through a lot of setup hassle. Plus the interface is intuitive enough that you can figure out how it works in no time.

Live Support a Click Away

You ever experienced it where, try as you might, you just can’t get a hold of a real support person? You might just have a simple question but all you get are bots.

In the Mobile Text Alerts dashboard, you have access to live support people directly on whatever page you’re viewing—no need to chat with a bot or wait for days for someone to get back to you.

Automation Nation

Automation helps free up time and hassle so you can be more productive.

Mobile Text Alerts has built-in automation tools like message scheduling, drip campaigns, and smart replies—or you can set up your own automations via Zapier.com or API.

Texting Is a 2-Way Street

In order to manage individual conversations, you need some way to view and respond to replies that people send into your text blasts. Or maybe you want to use your texting platform for customer service interactions.

The Mobile Text Alerts 2-way inbox allows you to manage all of this directly within the interface. (You can even assign certain conversations to particular users.)

The Morning Report

As mentioned previously, you want to be able to see analytics in regards to your message blasts, so that you can make more informed decisions about your marketing campaigns.

Mobile Text Alerts gives you reporting options so you can see what messages you sent, who they were sent to, how many people clicked links, and more.

1-on-1 Time

Sometimes it’s good to get advice from people who have a lot of experience. People who can tell you the in’s and out’s of how to use a product—and of best practices and strategies to try. People who can answer your questions and help give you a better understanding of how to move forward.

With Mobile Text Alerts, you can get a free 1-on-1 consultation with an SMS expert. They’ll walk you through the platform, give you advice individualized to your situation, and can help you find the answers you’re looking for.

How does text message marketing work?

Text message marketing typically works in one of two ways:

• You set up and send out campaigns from an online platform that functions in an “out-of-the-box” capacity.
• You get access to SMS API that you can use to program your own text message marketing campaign processes.

In either of the options listed above, you need access to a service that offers one or both of those methods.

These services also give you options to collect consent for sending your SMS campaigns: such as text-to-join keywords or web sign-up pages.

How to send marketing text messages

You can send marketing text messages by first getting an account with an SMS platform or API service.

You’re then able to build your campaigns within the platform or using the API—you can set up your campaign to trigger automatically under specific conditions, or you can create one-off campaigns as needed.

How compliance works in 2025

Remaining compliant with SMS carrier regulations will help you get the best delivery possible.

On the flipside, if you don’t abide by SMS carrier regulations, your messages may get filtered out as spam and not end up being delivered.

The main issue with compliance is to make sure to pre-register your brand—you can do this using easy forms provided for you by your SMS platform.

After that, make sure your recipients have a clear indication of the sender of your messages and that they have an easy way to opt-out. If your messages are pertaining to a sensitive topic (such as alcohol or firearms), there will be special considerations to take into account. You’ll need to get in touch with a representative who can help walk you through how to go about messaging for your use case.

How much is text message marketing?

Text message marketing fees will vary according to provider (see the “best text message marketing app for 2025” section above”).

On the low end, plans can be around $19–$25 per month for very low volumes. Higher volumes are priced on a custom basis.

How can companies use text message marketing in 2025?

Businesses and non-profits both small and large send text messages for a variety of reasons:

• Promos and discounts
• New products and inventory
• Lead follow-up
• Customer care interactions
• Loyalty programs
• Events
• Payment collection
• Follow-up for lost customers
• Internal company communication
• Emergency notices for employees or members
• Last-minute updates
• Simply staying connected with large groups of people

Below are some specific examples of ways different industries can use texting.

• Boutiques

“

From: Layna’s Lovelies - Today only! BOGO company-branded T’s. Shop now: [link]

• Churches

“

From: Calvary Baptist - Services are canceled tomorrow due to the snow. Stay safe!

• Coaches

“

From: Jackson Norse - Hope you enjoyed the investment webinar! Interested in a free consultation? Book here for a 30-minute 1-on-1 video session with me: [link]

• Construction

“

From: Del Rio Construction HR - Lightning possible near worksite area. Please stop work immediately and follow your foreman’s instructions.

• Direct Sales

“

From: Beautifully Blessed Boutique - Going live now! New pieces to showcase, you’re gonna love ‘em! Click here: [link]

• Education

“

From: Westridge Elementary - Hello kindergarten parents! Just a reminder that your student will be performing in the opening assembly today at 2pm and you are invited. Hope to see you there!

• Enterprise Businesses

“

From: Johnsco Enterprises - Reminder: Franchisees must attend the informational meeting today at 11am CST regarding implementing texting services for your franchise. Here’s the link to join: [link]

• Government

“

From: City of Redding - The city is under a boil water notice until Monday at 8am while the filtration system is under maintenance. Please refrain from using unfiltered water without first boiling it.

• Healthcare

“

From: Women’s Health Clinic of Lincoln - Hi Katie, just a reminder about your appointment with Dr. McGrady tomorrow at 2:10pm. Please arrive 10 minutes early to fill out paperwork.

• Manufacturing

“

From: ML Manufacturing - Announcement! Mandatory safety meeting today at 2pm. Please contact your supervisor if you can’t attend.

• Nonprofit

“

From: FA Nebraska - Don’t forget to return borrowed sports equipment by Friday at 5pm.

• Real Estate

“

From: Lori Nicholson - New listing just posted that meets all your criteria! 3 BR, 2 BA. Check it out here and reply back if you’d like to book a showing: [link]

• Retail

“

From: Clara’s Cupcakes - $30 off any purchase of $100 or more! Expires 10/31. Use promo code 30OFFNOW at checkout. Shop here: [link]

• Small Businesses

“

From: Clips & Tips - Happy Mother’s Day! Half-priced cuts for all moms this weekend only. Mention the promo when you come in. Appointments will fill up fast so book now: [link]

• Transportation

“

From: Ryker’s Transportation - Insurance reps are available today from 10am–12pm in the conference room if you want to stop in with any questions.

• Webinar

“

From: Jason the Finance Guru - It’s go time! The '3 Steps to Start Investing' webinar starts in T minus 5 minutes. See you there!

What are disadvantages of text message marketing (and what should you avoid)?

There are a few things to keep in mind when pursuing text message marketing.

Compliance

While the specific laws regarding text marketing compliance have been relaxed due to a fairly recent Supreme Court decision, SMS still has a few compliance regulations you should follow so that you get the best delivery possible.

These regulations have been set forth by the CTIA in partnership with the major mobile carriers. If the regulations aren’t followed, the mobile carriers may block your messages from being delivered to your recipients.

Some of these compliance regulations include:

• Make sure people are actually opting in to receive your texts. (Here are some ways people can opt in.)
• Make sure you honor opt-outs. (SMS platforms automatically handle opt-outs for you if people reply STOP to any of your messages.)
• Register your brand with the mobile carriers so that they can pre-vet your traffic to make sure it’s legitimate. (With Mobile Text Alerts, you can fill out an easy form in order to register your traffic.)
• Don’t send texts outside of normal daytime hours in the timezone of your recipient(s).
• Identify yourself and include opt-out instructions in all of your text messages.
• Avoid mentioning content related to SHAFT (sex, hate, alcohol, firearms, or tobacco/drugs). If you have a legitimate use case for this type of content (for example, if you're a marketer for a vineyard), chat with our SMS experts to get some advice on how you can go about texting for your business.
• Don’t use URL shortening services like bit.ly—instead, use the full link or company-branded link shorteners.

As long as you follow these guidelines, you’ll be just fine as you go about your text message marketing efforts.

Collecting Phone Numbers

Collecting phone numbers for text message marketing can admittedly be a bit trickier than collecting, say, emails. People are more hesitant to give out their phone numbers, precisely because they don’t want unwanted spam (as email inboxes are inevitably inundated with).

But this potential difficulty is mitigated once you realize that since more people actually read their texts, as opposed to emails, you don’t need as large of an audience in order to make an impact and see good ROI.

Furthermore, there are several tools Mobile Text Alerts offers in order to help make it easier for you to get more people to sign up:

• Text-to-join capabilities, so that people can simply send in a text message in order to be automatically added to your text list
• Automatically-generated QR codes, so that people can scan a QR code and be added
• Customizable web sign-up forms, so that people can enter their information into an easy web form in order to sign up
• Importing spreadsheets, so that you can pull in your existing lists
• Integrations, so that you can set up automations with your CRM or other services
• API, so that you can program things the way you need

Text message marketing best practices

Here are a few tips you can keep in mind when using an SMS system.

Concise Is Nice

In general, you want to keep your messages as brief and concise as possible. This is what people expect with text messages.

Keeping things brief will also save you money—SMS can technically only have 160 characters per message, so if you include more than that in your message, you’ll end up using up more messaging credits in the Mobile Text Alerts platform.

“True Value” Texts

As with email marketing, but even more important, you need to make sure to give your audience something of value in your text messages.

People aren’t as tolerant of what they consider to be spam in their SMS inboxes as they are in their email inboxes.

If they receive messages that aren’t valuable to them, they will start to ignore you—or will unsubscribe.

And… Action!

In many ways, SMS is no different than other marketing initiatives. Just like with other types of marketing, you’ll usually want to include a call-to-action so that recipients know what step to take next.

For your call-to-action, it’s often best to use a trackable link so that you can get a better feel for how successful your SMS campaigns are.

Give ‘Em Something to Look At

Using emojis, GIFs, and images can help your messages stand out a little more, and it’s generally accepted within marketing in general that using visual elements helps your marketing be more effective.

However, note that with SMS, using images can cost you more messaging credits, so that’s something to keep in mind as you plan out your marketing campaigns.

The Name of the Game

Include your recipients’ names in order to give your messages a more personalized feel. With Mobile Text Alerts, you can auto-fill recipient’s first names, just like you typically can with email service providers.

Just make sure you have accurate names before you do this! Although including the first name can be a nice touch, including the wrong name can have the opposite effect.

Groupies

With marketing, the more relevant your messages are, the more effective they are.

One way to help you make sure you send the most relevant messages possible is to separate out your subscriber list into segmented groups. So instead of mass blasting everyone in your list indiscriminately, tailor your messages to characteristics that are unique to each group.

Doing this has multiple benefits:

• It can help you save money (because you’re not wasting money on sending irrelevant messages)
• It can help you get fewer unsubscriptions (because people won’t be unsubscribing from receiving messages they don’t actually want)
• It can help you get more granular about evaluating which of your groups respond better to certain types of messaging or certain offers

Time to Get a Watch

While timing is important for other types of marketing too, it’s even more important for text message marketing.

For example, if someone gets an email at 2 in the morning, it won’t bother them. But if someone gets a text message at 2 in the morning, that could be a different story.

Keep your messages within normal daytime hours. You can experiment with what times of the day work best for your audience (mornings? lunchtime? after work?).

Another timing issue you want to keep in mind is frequency.

People may receive multiple emails per month from a company—it may annoy them slightly, but they probably won’t be too bothered.

They will be less understanding when it comes to text messages. Stick to just 1–4 texts per month at first. (You can experiment with ramping up later on if you think it will be effective with your audience.)

Analysis, Not Paralysis

Like all marketing, you’ll need to measure results so that you can determine what’s being successful and what’s not being successful.

You can use in-app reporting within Mobile Text Alerts to determine delivery rates, click rates, and unsubscribe rates to help you evaluate your marketing messages.

You can take what’s performing well and try to optimize it even further, or take what’s not performing well and revamp it to make it better.

FAQ

What is text message marketing?

Text message marketing involves using SMS or MMS to send out marketing messages to your leads or customers for the purpose of increasing sales.

While some email service providers (ESPs) offer SMS tools, text message marketing is typically accomplished through SMS-specific marketing platforms or API services.

What are the benefits of text message marketing?

Text message marketing is a powerful tool that offers numerous benefits to businesses. Here are some of the biggest advantages of using text message marketing.

High Open Rates

Text messages have high open rates, making SMS the perfect channel to ensure your message is seen by your audience.

Real-Time Communication

Since text messages are delivered instantly, it’s ideal for sending time-sensitive information.

While social media and email are delivered instantly, recipients may not see your message for hours and hours.

In contrast, with text messages, they’ll most likely read your message quickly.

Think about your own habits—how long do you go without checking your text messages? If you needed to ask your spouse to pick up milk on the way home, would you send them an email? In our day and age, you’d most likely send them a text.

Direct and Personalized

Text message marketing allows businesses to send personalized messages directly to their customers' mobile phones.

Your texts will show up in the same inbox that they use to communicate with their friends and family—unlike email, which people are using less and less for personal communication.

Positive ROI

Since texting is such an effective way to reach people, you can see significant positive ROI.

That potential ROI makes SMS an affordable way to reach your audience, and it can be significantly less expensive in the long run than other marketing channels such as TV, radio, and print media.

Plus, your ROI can be more instant. You send out a text and—boom!—in many cases you should see ROI within the next hour.

More Revenue

Most text message marketing campaigns have the goal of getting more revenue. Sending a text notifying people about a new product, discount, or promotion is an easy way to drive up some quick revenue.

What is the best text message marketing service?

Mobile Text Alerts offers a dependable, easy-to-use text message service at a cost that will fit whatever budget you have.

You can get a free trial for yourself to see how it works.

Does text message marketing work?

Yes, text message marketing works!

SMS marketing statistics show that up to 55% of text messages are read and 100% are “viewed.”

Unlike with emails and social media posts, people are constantly checking their text messages!

How to set up text message marketing

Text message marketing is a powerful tool that can help businesses connect with their customers in a direct and personal way.

By following the tips outlined in this guide, you can create a successful text message marketing campaign that engages your audience and drives results. With the right strategy and tools, text message marketing can help you take your business to the next level.

Intrigued about text marketing? Book a free call today so you can get the info you need.