The Second Most Important Rule of SMS Marketing
I was at a petrol station the other day, and on my way out I saw a sign advertising a contest. You text the keyword “Circle” followed by some seemingly random letters to the short code and have a chance at winning some gift cards from the petrol station. The top prize would mean I wouldn’t have to buy petrol for about six months. Of course I decided to enter!
So while I walked back to my car I repeated the shortcode and keyword in my head so I wouldn’t forget. My kids got mad at me because I told them to stop talking while I furiously typed it all into my iPhone before I forgot.
Just after I clicked “Send”, I noticed my friendly Apple auto-correct function had turned my keyword of “Circle” plus random letters into “Circles”. I sent the wrong code after all!
Quickly I typed in the correct keyword, then clicked the “x” on the iPhone auto-correct suggestion I hadn’t noticed in my frenzy and sent it on its way. I was putting my iPhone away when I heard the familiar sound letting me know I received a text. I read it and saw something I didn’t expect:
“Sorry, this postcode is not eligible.”
Hmm. That stumped me as I hadn’t entered a postcode at all. But I was in danger of being late for my son’s appointment so I put my iPhone away and drove off.
Later when I had time, I went back and looked at the text message to see what happened. After I had sent the correct keyword, the first reply I received was “Thanks for the text, please reply with your postcode.”
That was immediately followed by the text letting me know my postcode wasn’t eligible. A couple of things went wrong here:
- Their system didn’t recognize an invalid keyword, or they accept any keyword on that short code and assume it is for the same promotion. I thought about testing the theory and texting a random word, but I didn’t want to endanger my chances of winning the prize.
- When I sent my correct keyword, it assumed it was a reply to their request for a postcode and followed that with a reply it wasn’t eligible. Of course it wasn’t because it was a word, not a postcode. But it was a valid keyword.
That wasn’t the end of my adventure trying to enter this contest using a text message. Once I had sent the proper keyword (again) and the correct postal code, I received another reply asking me to send my email address. Ugh. The whole process was starting to feel too much like work.
Still, I did enter my email address. Finally, after sending the email, I received a text with confirmation I was entered into the contest. In that final message was a URL I could visit for the full rules.
If you’ve stuck with me this long, you may have some hint at what the second most important rule of SMS marketing is. Have you guessed?
It’s keep it simple.
Text message marketing works because it is short, quick, personal, and immediate. You don’t want to annoy the people you’re reaching out to. If you’re running an opt-in campaign, or a contest, keep the process to as few steps as possible. And also make sure the logic behind the campaign is working perfectly so you don’t end up confusing people, or looking like you don’t know what you’re doing. They may rethink what they are doing and decide not to participate.
If you’re dying to find out what rule number one is, check out this blog post to learn all about it.
Related Articles
Do Your SMS Marketing Messages Sound Spammy?
If you aren’t seeing a positive response from your SMS marketing then your list may be thinking of it as spam and just ignoring it like they do much of their email. So take your latest marketing messages and examine them again with these four questions in mind.
The Truth About SMS Opt Out Rates
You’ve read all about getting subscribers, the legal and recommended guidelines, and put great offers out to your list. But people still unsubscribe. Should you be worried? Are you doing something wrong? That depends. As the saying goes, you can’t make 100% of the people happy 100% of the time. You will have opt-outs, but whether you have too many is the question you should be asking.
An A-Z of SMS Marketing: D is for Distribution List [Infographic]
How a Text Marketer can Learn Valuable Lessons from Long-Form Copywriters
In terms of storytelling, SMS text messaging is probably as far removed from long-form, direct-action copywriting as you could be. However, the SMS marketing writer can still learn a lot of lessons here with regard to overall approach, content and composition.
How Social Media and SMS Messaging Work Together
Social media platforms pop up so frequently it's hard to keep track. And if you're doing any mobile marketing, it can really create some confusion about what to do and which platform to do it on. This blog isn't about choosing a social platform, but it does address how focusing on social and SMS marketing together - but differently – can lead to greater success in your mobile marketing.
Getting a Reply: Should You Choose a VMN or Shortcode? Part 2
Part two of a two part article explaining the differences between SMS Shortcodes and Virtual Mobile Numbers. Here we explain in detail the costs and characteristics of Dedicated Shortcodes and Shared Shortcodes. You can also get advice on how to choose between shortcodes and VMNs.
SMS Marketing – Should You Buy a List?
Starting an SMS marketing campaign can be a daunting task. Gathering explicit opt ins can take time, as you need to make an investment in advertising. So why not just get a jumpstart and buy a list of mobile numbers from an organisation that already has the opt ins? You could do that, but it’s probably harder than just getting people to opt in on their own. Here’s why.
5 Tips For Super-Powerful SMS Marketing Campaigns
Mobile messaging is the most effective means of direct marketing for a lot of industries. If you really want to capitalise on your SMS marketing campaigns and achieve the best possible results, there are a few things you can do. Here are our top five tips for running super powerful SMS marketing campaigns.
6 Ways to Get Results, and Not Annoy People, with SMS Marketing
Using SMS marketing is one highly effective way to maintain relationships with mobile users, but there's an incredibly fine line between engaging with someone and annoying them to such an extent that they swiftly delete your marketing messages and never want to hear from you again. Here's 6 things to keep in mind to make sure you don't annoy your subscribers.