SMS marketing - What you need to know in 2022

Personalised text messaging lets you connect with customers through real-time, one-on-one conversation. It is no wonder then that brands are doubling down on SMS to engage their customers—and some even say it’s their top channel.

What is it?

SMS, which stands for short message service, refers to messages of up to 160 characters, including plain text, numbers, and emojis. MMS, or multimedia messaging service, is a type of text message that contains multimedia like video, images, audio, and GIFs. Like email, SMS has evolved into a direct marketing channel that lets brands connect with consumers in a personalized and measurable way.

Why do we need it?

Over the last few years, text messaging has become a valuable differentiator for brands of all sizes who’ve leveraged it to drive revenue and build loyalty and engagement with their customers. This performance marketing channel personalizes the interactions we have with brands. For marketers, text messaging stands out as a channel that’s uniquely data-informed and measurable. Its immediacy lets you tailor your strategy in real-time to drive action. 

With analytics, channel orchestration, and reporting tools, you can better engage your audiences so they’re receiving content and offers they’re interested in.

When it’s done well, SMS can power much more than the acquisition stage of your marketing efforts. It can become a central part of your CRM. Use it to have back-and-forth conversations with your shoppers—whether recommending new products they might be interested in or answering their customer service questions.

Why now?

It’s getting harder to reach consumers as their preferences change. They’re trading traditional acquisition and retention channels for more modern and convenient brand interactions on their own time.

• Email click-through rates have decreased in the last eight years
• More time on our phones

• Consumers see personalized text messaging as a way to have more direct access to brands— whether it’s to get support, access sneak peeks, or stay informed about their order status. They’re interested in receiving texts throughout the customer lifecycle—to source discounts before making a purchase and to stay in touch after they’ve clicked “buy.”

• 91% of consumers are interested in signing up for texts, but not all brands offer it yet— meaning they’re leaving money (and consumer goodwill) on the table.

How do you build your list of subscribers?

• Engage your website, visitors, with a sign-up unit that’s displayed across your mobile and desktop websites, and encourage them to opt-in to get text message marketing updates from your brand

• Drive offline sign-ups with Text-to-Join

• Use incentives like VIP perks, New Product Launches, Invites, 

Good Examples

FragranceNet.com builds authentic relationships with their SMS subscribers using Attentive Concierge. When a subscriber browses the website without purchasing, the brand automatically reaches out through conversational messaging to help guide their shopping experience. In this 1:1 conversation, the brand shared a hyper-personalized recommendation based on the subscriber’s preferences.

Raven & Lily gave their SMS subscribers the gift of saving time (and money!) on holiday shopping with a free gift card with purchase. The timely deal encouraged larger orders around the busy sales period. Since gift cards are guaranteed to please even the pickiest shopper, subscribers were excited to cross off their holiday list—or save it for some self-gifting.

Go to our Knowledge Centre on SMS marketing for more tips.