160 Characters – is it Really Enough?

The beauty of SMS is that it’s short and sweet. This can be perceived as a nightmare for marketers who often have a lot to say, but it doesn’t have to be. When done properly a text marketing campaign can generate leads (i.e. money!) and more importantly lots of happy customers.

We like SMS because we can send and receive them instantly, on-the-go without too much thought or effort. It is often considered the preferred method of communication between friends as we juggle busier lives (and technology increases our fear of talking on the phone) but make sure when sending from business to consumer you don’t fall victim to the dreaded ‘txt spk’; which is only socially acceptable if you’re 13.

However, this doesn’t mean you have to send out your own version of War and Peace with every campaign. Here are a few tips to enable you to get a successful message out in 160 characters.

Personalise your message

I know, I know, it’s going to take up a whole 10 characters; but it’s important to keep the recipient interested from the start so start with a simple ‘Hello John’

Keep it simple

Don’t confuse things by trying to get every little detail about your business in one message. Be clear on what you aim to achieve before you put together your campaign and stick to it.

Include a call to action

You could send the most exciting message to 100 million people, but if there’s no clear call to action you’re not going to see a return.

Make the most of short links

With over 30 million smartphone users now in the UK it’s easy to link your SMS straight to your website. Not only can we shorten the link for you so it doesn’t eat up your precious characters, but we can also tell you who, what, where and when the links were clicked on! How’s that for response?

Double and triple check

It’s surprising how much waffle you can cut out when you read a text back, whilst still being able to get the message across clearly and effectively. Go over the message and ask yourself if you really need to include every word.

So it is possible with a little bit of thought, hurrah!

 

FireText provide SMS Marketing for your business.
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