Multichannel SMS and Email Marketing
SMS stands for “short message service.” The strategy is often thought of as text messaging marketing. In reality it’s so much more than that. Messages are limited to 160 characters and contain no images. Messages are quick, clever and concise, perfect for a client on the go.
It’s a very powerful strategy. What makes SMS marketing so important to modern businesses are high open rates, timeliness, and delivery to generally-receptive audiences. According to Grandview Research, SMS is expected to grow into a multi-billion dollar industry by the year 2025.
Email marketing
Email marketing refers to sending messages directly to your customers through email. Direct marketing mostly includes information about sales or events. Newsletters, customer re-engagement emails, and abandoned cart summaries offer common convenience messages for customers.
Email marketing shows some serious marketing benefits. Building credibility, brand recognition and increased traffic to your website, to name just a few.
SMS Marketing vs. Email Marketing?
What’s common between SMS and email marketing?
SMS marketing and email marketing are both permissions-based. Permission from the recipient is legally required to use either of these strategies.
This may sound difficult, but it is an opt-in marketing situation with advantages. The recipient has already shown an interest in your brand or product, so most of the work is already done. As a result they are more likely to be receptive to the content. This means a further increase in the return on your investment because that contact is likely to be more receptive.
What are some differences between SMS marketing and
email marketing?
The biggest differences between SMS marketing and email marketing is the size of the messages. SMS marketing is good for short-form content which drives rapid engagement. This may include appointment reminders, information about flash sales, purchase updates, and event reminders.
Email marketing is great for long-form content geared to more complex messages. Announcements about new products, newsletters, product reviews and invitations to events are best for email.
Benefits of Combining Email and Text Marketing
In a word – simplicity. By combining SMS and email marketing you have a simple yet
robust marketing strategy. SMS and email marketing combined is easily scalable, timely, and powerful. The timely delivery of concise messages to your customers leads to improved engagement.
Improved engagement creates a huge return on your investment.
Combining Channel Data Sets
By combining SMS and email marketing you can use customer data from one channel to bolster the success of another channel. For example, a customer’s interest in baby-related text messages can be used to update their profile on your email list to include a baby-related list segmentation.
More Effective Outreach and Segmentation
More customers can be reached using multiple marketing channels to promote the same message. When you use both channels, open rates and engagement can easily be tracked. Having that data allows you to segment your users so that they receive personalized marketing messages via their preferred channel. This improves customer satisfaction with your brand, while reducing the likely chances you’ll get marked as spam or put on a do-not-call list.
Better Engagement
Last but not least, SMS and email marketing combined helps you improve multi-channel customer engagement. The two channels can work together to boost engagement with your brand. As an example: information about an event sent via email can also have a text reminder sent the day of the event.
Getting Started With SMS and Email Marketing
It may feel intimidating if you’ve never used email marketing with SMS. Luckily the marketing strategies are relatively easy to get off the ground. Start by finding an SMS and email platform which allows you to schedule both channels from the same convenient location. Ideally your platform will include two things. Easy-to-adjust templates for email marketing campaigns, and a database to store email and SMS contact information.
Getting Started With SMS Marketing
Whenever you send an SMS message, there are certain best practices worth knowing. Customers today tend to have access to their phones 24 hours a day. Yet they likely don’t want texts at all hours of day and night. Limiting SMS marketing messages to normal office hours. Your customers will be happier when family time or sleep are not interrupted.
It’s important that your SMS messages always include an opt-out option. This cuts out the likelihood a highly receptive customer will see the message as spam.
Getting Started With Email Marketing
Starting out with email marketing you’ll want to focus on the email template. The template should reflect your business style, look professional, and be able to repeat over and over again. Your customers should be able to see your brand’s email at a glance.
Next, set up your automated drip campaigns.
● A welcome email sequences when customers first sign up to be on your email list
● An abandoned cart sequences for customers who placed items in their shopping carts
but never made a purchase
● A re-engagement sequences to remind customers when they haven’t engaged with your
brand in a while
Just like with SMS marketing, your emails should always include information on how customers can opt out. This will give the option to customers who don’t wish to receive your brand’s emails. By decreasing the bounce rate, customer engagement will increase from brand loyalty. Quora includes information on getting added to the user’s inbox along with unsubscribe information. This combination can really improve bounce rates. Notice that they link to where users unsubscribe to make it easy.
Lastly, don’t neglect keeping a tidy email list, designing mobile-friendly emails, and personalizing your content. These little things will go long ways in how customers relate to you as well as your brand.
How to Combine SMS and Email Marketing to Boost Your Campaigns
When running a new marketing campaign, think of ways to use email marketing and SMS marketing together. Content and how the content is used can help you drive customer engagement.
The idea isn’t to send text messages and emails at the same time. Instead, stagger your messages to allow the strengths of each channel to bolster your overall message.
For example: a business wants to have a marketing campaign to get more customers to come to a charity rodeo. This is how they could use SMS and email marketing together:
1. Start with an email drip campaign: In the email campaign, they might explain what the charity they’re supporting is and why it matters to their brand. Then, they might have another email informing the customer about the rodeo company and its, when the event will occur, how to contribute, and how to purchase tickets.
2. Supplementing the drip campaign with SMS marketing: SMS marketing can then supplement the email drip campaign in the days leading up to the event. This not only reminds customers about the event and builds hype.
3. Maintaining engagement with well-timed SMS and email outreach: the SMS messages could then be supplemented with follow-up emails which outline parking options, maps to the rodeo and handicap assistance. Finally, on the day of the event a “Can’t wait to see you there!” text to remind customers that the big day has arrived.
Going back and forth between email marketing and SMS marketing allows each channel to do what it does best. All the while communicating an overall message which benefits your customers.
Combined SMS and Email Marketing to Improve Engagement
SMS and email marketing are two growing engagement strategies. Companies can benefit greatly by understanding the strengths of these two different strategies. Brand’s can benefit from increased hype with a simple, personalized approach. Customers can be informed of products and events at their convenience Companies gain maximum benefits from their investments in campaign organization, time, advertising and content creation.
Get started today by finding an SMS and email marketing platform that’s right for you. There are numerous tutorials which will aid in designing the templates and texts you need. In the end you’ll have a professional and high quality message that represents your brand.
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-Written for NoContractVoIP by Karl Loveland