15 Text Marketing Ideas for a Successful SMS Marketing Strategy

Did you know that 95% of text messages are read within the first three minutes? As a marketer, you can’t ignore the statistics illustrating how SMS is one of the most powerful marketing tools in the industry. However, simply sending advertisements to your customers via SMS isn’t enough—you need to get creative if you want to engage with your audience and generate conversions and sales.

Here are 15 creative text marketing ideas you can incorporate into a successful SMS marketing strategy.

Text Marketing Ideas That Yield Results

Your current and future customers want to communicate with you via text—consumers overwhelmingly prefer SMS communications with businesses over email or phone calls. Text messages provide a personal and direct channel for engaging with your audience and increasing customer loyalty. Here are some ideas for how to take advantage of SMS marketing.

1. Welcome Campaign

When a new customer creates an account on your website, enrolls in your service, or otherwise engages with your company for the first time, how do you send them their welcome message? You can use SMS welcome campaigns to complement or replace your welcome emails which increases the likelihood of customers opening and reading the message. 

Welcome texts are short and to the point, which your busy customers will appreciate, and they tend to feel more personal than emails which will help you establish a rapport with new clients.

2. New Product Announcements

Give your SMS subscribers the inside scoop on any new products or services you’ll be offering. You can even offer an exclusive pre-sale to your text subscribers so they can get new items before they sell out. If your customers know they can get insider news and exclusive offers from your SMS lists, they’ll be more likely to sign up, which further expands your reach and audience.

3. Text-to-Win and Contests

You can use text-to-win and SMS keywords to create contests that customers can enter just by texting your business and subscribing to your SMS campaign. For example, tell your customers to text the keyword “WIN” to your phone number to enter to win a gift card, a free trial of your service, or another exclusive offer. Then, after following the necessary opt-in process, you’ll have a new batch of SMS subscribers to market to.   

4. In-Store Coupons

If you run a brick-and-mortar business, you can offer SMS subscribers exclusive coupons they can redeem in your store. This will not only entice customers to join your SMS campaign but will drive more traffic to your storefront.

5. Flash Sales

You can use your SMS subscriber list to advertise flash sales—limited discounts or offerings that are hosted with little to no advanced notice. Customers love flash sales because they feel a part of something exclusive.

6. Event Promotion

SMS marketing is perfect for event promotion. You can use your SMS strategy to invite subscribers to an event, receive and track RSVPs, and distribute digital tickets.

7. Surveys

Surveys provide businesses with valuable feedback from their customers and supporters. You can ask your customers to rate your business, provide feedback on the customer service experience, or offer suggestions for improvements. There are other creative uses for polls and surveys too such as asking subscribers to choose their favorite version of your product or vote on a new logo color.

8. Exclusive SMS Offers

Customers love to feel like they’re part of an exclusive club. Your SMS list can provide that experience if you offer exclusive discounts to your text subscribers. Not only will this encourage customers to join your text campaigns, but it can also help generate more sales.

9. Shopping Cart Reminders

If you have an e-commerce site, you can track which items your SMS subscribers are abandoning in their shopping carts and send them text reminders to complete the sale. These SMS reminders are more effective than email reminders because your customers are more likely to open texts than emails. 

Bonus tip: You can also use shopping cart tracking to determine what types of products your SMS customers are most interested in further helping you target your future text marketing campaigns.

10. Newsletters and Press Releases

Your SMS subscriber list is a great place to share news about your company. Write brief press releases about big company news and embed links to your website, Twitter feed, or newsletter for those who want to read more.

11. Holiday and Seasonal Messaging

Holidays are a great opportunity to reach out to your customers, whether it’s to promote a new item, invite them to a seasonal event, or just wish them well. You could even look for unique and off-beat holidays that are relevant to your business, for example, your pizza shop could invite SMS subscribers to come in on National Pizza Day to get a discounted slice at lunchtime.

12. Order Confirmations

One great way to encourage your customers to opt-in to your SMS list is by offering to send order confirmations via text. Due to spam filters and overcrowded inboxes, email order confirmations are more likely to fall between the cracks. SMS order confirmations are easier for customers to find and often arrive faster than emails.

13. Recommend Relevant Products

Once a customer has made a purchase and subscribed to your SMS list, you can send them text recommendations for similar items they might like. You can also suggest products that are frequently purchased with that item—for example, a customer who purchases a new winter coat may also be interested in a new scarf.

14. Appointment Reminders

If your business provides a service that requires a reservation or appointment (e.g., restaurants, doctor’s offices, or nail salons) you can use SMS to send reminders to your clients about their upcoming appointment. This will cut down on no-shows, improve your customer service, and provide another avenue for encouraging new SMS marketing subscribers.

15. Weekly Tips

Another way to keep up customer engagement is by texting weekly tips related to your business. For example, a pest control company could provide advice on avoiding insect infestations or a plant nursery could share weekly gardening tips. This will help build your company’s reputation as an expert in the field and improve your relationship with your customers.

Using an SMS Marketing Platform for Your Text Marketing Strategy

To create the most effective text marketing campaigns, you’ll require an SMS marketing platform that gives you the features and support you need to opt-in new subscribers, segment your audience, and create and track SMS keywords. Your platform should provide detailed audits and analytics so you can track customer engagement and improve and develop new text marketing strategies. 

You should also make sure your SMS marketing service will grow with you by offering tiered plans and volume discounts, rather than penalizing you with overages or hidden upcharges.

NorthText provides the industry’s most innovative text marketing platform with affordable pricing plans for any budget. Our live, U.S.-based support team of SMS marketing experts will provide you with quality setup assistance and developer support whenever you need it.

Jeff Winaker

Jeff Winaker is the CEO of NorthText. He’s passionate about helping clients reach their customers faster with SMS marketing. He resides in the Bay Area with his family.