In this part, we'll explore the crucial aspects of SMS marketing that will help you create personalized, impactful, and effective campaigns for your audience.
We'll cover SMS character limits, segmenting your audience, and provide real-world use cases for inspiration.
Let's dive in!
Understanding SMS Character Limits
When crafting SMS messages, it's essential to be concise yet impactful due to character limitations. Traditional SMS messages have a limit of 160 characters. This limitation requires concise yet compelling communication. If your message exceeds this limit, it may be split into multiple messages, which could lead to confusion.
To ensure you are not using too many characters for your links, we can replace them with unique short links.
You shouldn't use any other link-shorteners except the Omnisend default link-shortening feature, or your SMS campaigns might be blocked on the mobile provider's end.
Here are some tips from us on how to keep your messages short while still conveying your message effectively:
Get to the Point: Start with the most essential information. If your message is time-sensitive or requires immediate action, ensure that information is at the beginning.
Use Abbreviations Wisely: While it's essential to ensure your message is clear, using common abbreviations can save characters. For example, "u" for "you," "2" for "to," "4" for "for," etc. Avoid obscure abbreviations that could confuse the recipient.
Trim Unnecessary Words: Review your message for any extra words that can be removed without changing the meaning. Avoid redundancy and be as direct as possible.
Avoid Extra Punctuation: You don't need to overuse exclamation points or other punctuation marks. One or two can convey emphasis without using up extra characters.
Be Mindful of Special Characters: Some special characters or emojis can take up more than one character. Use them sparingly and ensure they add value to your message.
Include a Clear Call-to-Action (CTA): Make it clear what you want the recipient to do next. Whether clicking a link, replying with a specific keyword, or taking advantage of a limited-time offer, the CTA should be concise and actionable.
Be Clear and Honest: Transparency builds trust. Clearly state who the message is from and avoid misleading or ambiguous language.
Keep It Relevant: Ensure that your message is relevant to your recipients. Sending irrelevant messages can lead to opt-outs and a negative perception of your brand.
Practice: With practice, you'll become better at crafting concise messages. Over time, you'll develop a sense of how to communicate effectively within the constraints of SMS.
Customizing SMS for Different Customer Segments
Personalization is the key to successful SMS campaigns. Omnisend allows you to segment your audience based on various criteria.
Let's explore some key segment filters you can use:
Opened Message: Target those who have previously engaged with your messages.
Tags: Target specific customer groups based on their interests or behaviors.
Customer Lifecycle Stage: Address customers at different journey stages, such as new customers or loyal patrons.
Engagement: Send messages based on actions like clicks, orders, or page views.
Contact Properties: Utilize contact information like birthdate, city, and more to personalize your messages.
Finally, let's draw inspiration from real-world SMS marketing campaigns:
Flash Sales: Send time-limited discount codes via SMS to engage customers and drive sales.
Birthday Specials: Use birthdate information to send personalized birthday offers, making customers feel valued.
Abandoned Cart Reminders: Send reminders to customers who abandoned their carts, prompting them to complete the purchase.
Event Reminders: To increase attendance, alert customers about upcoming events, webinars, or promotions.
Product Launches: Announce new products to interested customers, creating excitement and driving initial sales.
Re-Engagement Campaigns: Reach out to inactive subscribers with exclusive offers to win them back.
Segmentation allows you to tailor your SMS campaigns to specific customer groups, enhancing the relevance of your messages.
💡Segmentation helps you group contacts manually for targeted campaigns💡
With automations, the system does this automatically based on triggers, like customer actions or characteristics. It saves time, ensures accuracy, and keeps your campaigns relevant, allowing you to focus on strategy instead of manual segmentation.
Personalizing Messages with Omnisend
Omnisend offers a special feature to help you create personalized messages for your readers. You can incorporate recipient data like first and last names, gender, and addresses and insights from their orders, such as billing and shipping information.
These personalized variables can be seamlessly added to emails and SMS messages using special tags. Once you've selected the personalization category and value, Omnisend places the information into your chosen message. Just ensure the data is available in the Omnisend system.
Real-Life Use Cases
Birthday Discounts in Automation
Scenario: It's a customer's birthday soon, and you want to make it special.
Automation Preset: Birthday
SMS Example: Happy Birthday [[contact.first_name]]!
Enjoy a 20% discount on your birthday gift from us. Use code BDAY20 at checkout.
💡 Birthday Automation will show the best results if you use both Email and SMS as your marketing channels💡
Re-engagement Campaign
Scenario: You want to re-engage customers who haven't purchased in the last 3threemonths.
Segment: Subscription status is subscribed to SMS + have not placed an order at least 1onetime in the last 3threemonths.
SMS Example: Hey [[contact.first_name]], we miss you! Enjoy 15% off your next order as a special welcome-back offer. Visit us today.[[account.website]]
Location-Based Promotions
Scenario: If you have physical stores in different cities, target customers in a specific city with a location-based offer
Segment: Subscription status is subscribed to SMS + City is [Name of the City]
SMS Example: Hey there! Visit our [[account.city]] store today and get a gift with any purchase over $50. We can't wait to see you!
Flash Sale Alert Campaign
Scenario: Your online store is having a 24-hour flash sale on selected items.
Segment: Subscription status is subscribed to SMS
SMS Example: Hurry! 24-Hour Flash Sale at [[account.name]]
Get 30% off on select items. Shop now at [[account.website]] Don't miss out!
Abandoned Cart Recovery
Scenario: Target customers who abandoned their carts and send them a reminder SMS with a discount code.
Automation Preset: Abandoned Cart or Abandoned Checkout
SMS Example: Hi there, we see you left something in your cart! Finish your purchase now and get free shipping. [[event.raw.abandoned_checkout_url]]
💡 Abandoned Cart Automation will show the best results if you use both Email and SMS as your marketing channels💡
Remember, the success of your SMS campaigns depends on understanding your audience and creating messages that resonate with them.
Now you know how to create tailored SMS campaigns that captivate your audience and drive meaningful results. Good luck!
