Mistakes happen. It’s part of life. One of the best ways to prevent mistakes? Get ahead of them before they happen.
Today, we’re going to be talking about text marketing mistakes and how to avoid them. Here’s eight common ones to get ahead of.
You don’t have their permission. This is one of the most crucial mistakes you’ll want to avoid. Unsolicited messages are a big no-no. If you’re enrolling a customer into your text marketing program, you need to make sure that an opt-in has occurred. Asking your customers to opt in isn’t a big deal. As long as an opt-in has taken place, three out of four customers are okay with receiving text messages from brands (TechJury). Oh, and make sure you let them know how to opt-out as well.
You’re not providing enough value. If you want customers to sign up for your text program in the first place (and stay signed up), you need to focus on providing value. If your customers don’t think they’re getting enough value out of the arrangement, they won’t hesitate to unsubscribe. Think about what your target market expects out of your brand.
You don’t have a CTA. Without a call-to-action, what exactly are you expecting your customers to do? Every message has a purpose. Establish that purpose, and define it in clear, concise language that begs to be acted upon.
Your messages look too much like spam. Typing a message in ALL CAPS might seem like it’s a good way to grab someone’s attention. But honestly, it just makes it seem like you’re yelling, and it sorta looks like spam. If your message is providing value and has an effective CTA, don’t worry so much about making it pop just a little bit more.
You’re overdoing it. There is such a thing as too many messages. At a certain point, it can start to get annoying. Sending a text every single day is definitely not going to work out well for your subscriber counts in the long term. Try to space things out. Plan your text campaigns ahead of time to create a consistent schedule.
You’re repeating yourself. So you’ve worked really hard planning your business’s next fundraiser, and you want to make sure everyone knows when it’s happening. That’s great. But one text message is enough. Not only do text messages have a 98% read rate, 90% of them are read within 3 minutes (TechJury). Trust me, they got the message.
Your timing is off. As I just mentioned, texts are almost always read immediately. You need to take this into account every time you schedule a message for your text campaigns. There are two essential points to consider here. First, consider what your target customer will be actively doing at the time. Are they at work? At home? Is it the weekend? Secondly, consider what your CTA is. What do you want the customer to do once they’ve read the message? If they’re in the middle of a busy day at work, it might not be the best time depending on your CTA.
You’re not proofreading your messages. Texting may seem less formal than other forms of communication so it can be easy to overlook some of the finer details. Don’t make that mistake. Not only are these messages still a representation of your business, you want to ensure that they make sense. Before your texts go out, try to look over them. Avoid spelling mistakes and make sure that the message is coherent. You’ll be glad you did.
Text Marketing With CoGoBuzz
Ready to empower your business’s text marketing? Do it with CoGoBuzz, our state-of-the-art digital marketing service. We’ll set you up with a fully digital, mobile-based loyalty program, letting you intuitively run contests, polls, automated messages, and more. Leveraging powerful WiFi, SMS, and Email solutions, CoGoBuzz redefines your entire digital presence. With our advanced in-store WiFi platform, we enroll customers to your marketing lists automatically, making it easy to engage wherever and whenever.
Click here to learn more about CoGoBuzz!
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Has your business given text marketing a shot? How’d it go? Sound off in the comments!