Step by step guide for an SMS campaign
SMS is good for:
o Short delivery times and immediacy
o Cost effective personalized communication
o Continuous relationships 1 to 1
o Automated data capture and compliance
o Direct income and improvement opportunities
Basic rules for SMS
In addition to permission, there are five key elements that differentiate SMS marketing from traditional marketing. These are also the key success factors for its use. A minimum of 2 factors is necessary for a successful campaign.
You need more permission:
1: relief
2: Rent
3 time
4: Add value
5: interactive
Step 1: Campaign Planning
Goals:
o Why do you communicate via mobile?
o What do you want to achieve?
Offer plan:
o What is the definition of your offer?
o How are you going to say it?
o When should it be sent?
o Who is it addressed to?
o Is viral marketing a possibility?
Restrictions:
o Do you need to limit responses?
o Reception of messages: do you have systems to manage the volume?
Step 2: Create the campaign
Some SMS service providers allow you to create, test and track your basic campaign yourself through your web browser. This can be very useful for simple push campaigns like; event notifications, requested information (i.e. results, account information), “show this message for free” style campaigns, staff memos, etc. However, the more complex the campaign, the more likely you will need professional help in both planning and delivering the campaign.
Step 3: Drafting
o It is only 160 characters long, use wisely
o Be aware of the limitations of the different screens
o Be personal (can be an intrusive medium)
or be objective
o Speak in the same language as your customers
o Lrn txt spk, especially for youth markets
o Use an SMS composer
Step 4: Test, test, and test again.
o Test the campaign on different screens
o Try different networks (ie Vodaphone, Orange)
o Check if the appropriate responses are sent, etc.
o If it is a competition, plan for unusual/incorrect responses and have the appropriate responses instead.
o Proof of language, typos and technical errors (not all symbols will come out as you expect).
Step 5: Measurement and monitoring
Some indicators that you can use to measure the success of the campaign are:
o Open rates
o Foot traffic (to website, etc.)
o Acceptance of the offer
old
o Reimbursement rate
or brand awareness…
Do
o Use it as an automated data capture
o Consider the time
o Try different approaches
o Take advantage of “land grab” opportunities by using SMS before your competitors.
o Use only the opt-in route (the more automated the better)
or sign in
Common mistakes:
o Poor targeting and relevance
o Do not identify the sender
or poor wording
o Targeting the wrong audience with the wrong offer/message
o Messages sent at the wrong time
o Do not allow the recipient to unsubscribe
or typographical errors
or no customization
o Inability of customer service/systems to handle responses
conclusion
o It is an important marketing medium and it is here to stay
o It’s about experience, not technology.
o Plan ahead to get it right
o Get creative with your campaign
o Keep IT Simple Stupid (KISS) applies