01Overhaul Your SMS Marketing With These 4 Genius Tips
Text campaigns can pay huge dividends in the new decade.
January 23, 2020 6 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
This year marks the start of a fresh decade, meaning it's a blank slate, so why not jazz up your marketing mix? What you’ve been doing is getting results, sure, but don’t you want to go farther?
Let’s forget about social media likes and blog impressions. It’s time to get serious about engagement, because that’s what’s going to grow your business. Not all digital strategies, like paid ads or email, are made equally. In fact, one of the most effective digital-marketing strategies going forward is SMS marketing.
Why SMS?
It’s true: SMS marketing earns four times more revenue than email, and it costs much less. Plus, texts have a 98 percent open rate and get three-to-six times more engagement than other marketing campaigns. Still not convinced? Here are the three most important reasons your business needs to use SMS marketing starting now.
1. You'll stand out.
Instead of competing with other advertisers on Google or Facebook, SMS marketing allows you start a conversation directly with your customer in a distraction-free environment. To be clear, other marketing initiatives, like paid ads or email, aren’t wrong. They have a place in your strategy. The problem is that everyone else has the same idea as you, and businesses bombard customer inboxes multiple times a day. Translation: Performance drops a lot when you’re competing for space in customers’s clogged inboxes.
SMS marketing isn’t as saturated. You don’t have to compete for a customer’s attention. Only interested customers are going to opt-in to your SMS list anyway. They’re giving you a direct line to communicate with them in an exclusive environment that few brands can penetrate.
SMS also makes it easier to sign customers up for your list. Mobile-only popups on your website can auto-populate a customer's phone number, which means they tap to subscribe, visit their inbox immediately to double opt-in and they’re on your list. It removes a lot of the friction that decimates email-marketing ROI.
Related: Here's Why SMS Marketing Is the Best Idea Ever
2. You can match customer expectations.
Entrepreneurs often think they’ll bug their customers if they do SMS marketing, but as long as you follow a double opt-in approach (which is the law), you ensure that only interested customers are on your list. And since SMS marketing is consent-based, you’re reaching customers in the most convenient way possible. If they subscribed to get your updates, it means they want to communicate with you this way. Texting isn’t spammier than email. If anything, it gives customers an improved experience that encourages engagement.
3. It’s affordable.
Unless you’re buying a list, email marketing is pretty affordable. Because of that, many entrepreneurs shy away from SMS marketing because they think it’s expensive. But unlike email marketing, which can often have low ROI, text-message marketing trends positive. I have a friend who sees a $25 return for every $1 he spends on SMS.
SMS marketing costs depend on how many texts you want to send. You usually purchase credits to send SMS messages through a platform. That means you can spend as much or as little as you’re comfortable with.
Four Tips for Better SMS Marketing
We know that SMS marketing is worthwhile for brands, but that doesn’t mean you should dive in without a plan. You have to know how to wield it to get the best results for your business. So as promised, follow these for tips to max out your results.
1. Have decent site traffic.
SMS marketing works best when you have established web traffic. That’s because SMS messaging happens at the bottom of the funnel; it’s meant to pull users through to conversion with enticing offers or valuable content. You still need to bring in enough web users to bulk up your list if you want to see positive ROI.
Shoot to have at least 20,000 visitors a month on your site. This is what’s going to build your list quickly and move the needle for your business.
2. Minimize friction.
Once you have a healthy amount of traffic on your site, make it simple for these visitors to subscribe to your SMS list. At this point, you want to minimize friction at every turn. Don’t force customers to go through a four-step process just to subscribe; they don’t have the time or patience for that. Follow this frictionless process to gain more SMS subscribers from your website:
This process eliminates fake numbers from your list and makes the double opt-in process as painless and fast as possible, meaning more people will happily join your text list.
3. Content matters.
Content is still king, even for text messages. Remember that your content can’t be spammy. Instead of pushing customers to buy, buy, buy, you should deliver value. The goal is to start a conversation, not pressure your customers. Share interesting, helpful content like news, fun conversation-starters or information on freebies or discounts.
Don’t neglect visual content, either. SMS is a fun medium through which you can send videos, GIFs and custom images to your subscribers. Jazz up your copy with visuals that get people’s attention. Consider using tech like RCS to create an engaging experience for your customers within their native SMS application.
4. Nurture your relationships.
The final piece of the puzzle is to send SMS messages regularly to your subscribers. You won’t get results if you’re communicating with your list once a month; one or two times a week is best to get more engagement. In fact, this will actually minimize unsubscribes. If you text customers once in a blue moon, they’ll forget they subscribed and feel caught off-guard from your message. Regular communication is best for customer relationships.
But you don’t have to remember to send new messages every week. Any decent SMS marketing platform will let you set up automated SMS flows. For example, you can send a welcome sequence when someone joins your list. Or maybe you send over a how-to automation for a product someone just bought.
Related: 5 SMS Marketing Tips for Small Businesses
While other strategies should still have a place in your business, SMS marketing is the dark horse of digital marketing, allowing you to engage with customers and finally see a return on your budget dollars. The future is now, so get ready to hit “send.”
02
6 Tips for Thriving in a Saturated Amazon Marketplace
Amazon is the world’s most valuable brand and has an estimated 38% of ecommerce sales in the U.S., forcing business owners to acknowledge that a brand presence on the Amazon marketplace is essential for growing an online business.
Unfortunately, Amazon’s increasing popularity with consumers and sellers has its growing pains. The almost 3 million sellers flocking to Amazon makes capturing shoppers’ attention exceptionally challenging. Now, advertisers must spend more with a lower probability of conversion. In the last year, our data shows a 38% rise in the average cost-per-click for sponsored product ads and a 36% fall in the average conversion rate. To stand out from the crowd, more brands are utilizing sponsored ads.
Based on our whitepaper, The State of Amazon Marketing: Increased Marketplace Saturation Demands A Proactive Strategy, here are six takeaways for marketers charged with growing your company’s ecommerce business on the Amazon marketplace.
Marketing Use Marketplace SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the foundation of marketplace marketing. All organic and paid marketing efforts guide shoppers to your product detail pages, so it’s vital that your listings are primed for conversion.
This involves optimizing front-end and back-end keywords with highly-searched, low-competition keywords. Keyword density must be balanced with readability. A first-page listing is useless if shoppers bounce due to an unintelligible string of keywords in the listing. Write for the audience first, then insert keywords where they naturally fit. When done well, we’ve seen listing optimizations increase conversions by up to 50%.
Consider Search Marketing Optimization Software
While the average cost of sponsored ads on the Amazon marketplace is rising, they remain a key component in an overall marketplace strategy. Foregoing sponsored ads can reduce competitive impact as they remain a profitable marketing service. Just how profitable is dependent on your strategies and tools. Ensuring that sponsored ads generate maximum return requires around-the-clock strategic adjustments to bids and keywords.
An ad management software will automate this constant, time-intensive process for optimum results. There are a growing number of ad management solutions out there, so do your homework. Selecting right software will more than offset the investment.
Off-Marketplace Marketing to Increase Marketplace Traffic
Nearly half of online shoppers begin their search on Amazon. That’s an enormous percentage for one marketplace, but it’s still only half. How do you reach the other half? Social media.
Almost 70% of U.S. adults use Facebook, making social media an effective way to extend brand reach. Paid social ads, organic social media engagement, paid influencer marketing, and micro influencers are fantastic assets in your Amazon marketing campaign because they increase listing traffic, grow awareness, foster brand loyalty, and keep your brand top-of-mind.
The combination of the above three strategies drives off-site and on-site traffic to listings that are primed to convert, maximizing sales.
Brand Protection Take Steps to Protect Your IPR
One of the most effective strategies you can take for protecting your brand is filing trademarks, patents, and copyrights to protect your international property rights (IPR). Fighting counterfeits and copycat products is significantly more difficult when you don’t have legal footing. Take the time to file the paperwork and give your business a strong foundation, which will save you from future stress and financial risk.
Utilize Amazon’s programs for brand protection
Amazon offers several programs that help brands protect themselves on Amazon, including Brand Registry, Brand Gating, Transparency and Project Zero.
Brand Registry helps brands defend against IPR violations through Amazon’s infringement reporting tool. It also enables brands and their Registered Agents to accelerate listing updates, create A+ Content and Brand Stores, access Amazon Live, and access Amazon’s Attribution beta.
Brand Gating is an invite-only Amazon service that prevents sellers from listing specific Amazon Standard Identification Numbers (ASINs), unless they provide an authorization letter. To increase your likelihood of being invited into the program, you must first become Brand Registered. Once registered, always report violations through Amazon.com, and submit a formal list of ASINs you’d like gated.
The Transparency program labels products with unique QR codes provided by Amazon (for a fee). When an Amazon warehouse receives product enrolled in Transparency, they scan the QR codes to verify the product is from your approved manufacturer. If it is not, the product is counterfeit, and will be removed and destroyed.
Project Zero is Amazon’s effort to snuff out counterfeiters by enabling brands to remove counterfeit listings themselves. This method bypasses the Amazon case system, giving brands an enormous amount of power. Currently, the program is invite-only. Brands interested in Project Zero can join the waitlist to be notified when they are eligible to enroll.
Seller and Distributor Contracts
Contracts often give sellers and distributors full legal rights to resell or distribute to anybody they choose. Before signing agreements or even upon renegotiation, consider adding clauses that better align with your strategy. For example, look at protections regarding to whom goods can be sold, where goods can be sold online, if they can be sold internationally, etc.
Protecting your brand on on the Amazon marketplace requires proactive and reactive strategies. The less you do of one, the more you’ll have to do of the other.
Kunal Chopra is CEO of etailz, Inc.
03
Brands can achieve success through measuring every metric of their performance marketing campaigns, including clicks, conversion rates, bounces, and more, which offers a deeper understanding of consumers.
Performance marketing is an important component in this process, as it allows brands to gain further insight into the consumer journey.
Asian millennials account for nearly 15% of the world’s population, but marketers must understand their performance will be measured differently across this demographic, depending on which region they target.
Performance marketing allows brands to ensure they only pay for results, which creates greater cost efficiency and shares the potential risk between the brand and its agency.
Marketers that put their customers first, building brand loyalty and connecting with consumer bases, will ensure continued growth with their performance campaigns.
Performance marketing is key to brand success
30-second summary:
Asia-Pacific (APAC) is forecast to increase its share of global ad spend to 33% by 2023, continuing to grow as brands leverage digital platforms in their marketing mix.
Although not all APAC brands have reached digital maturity, data driven marketing is key to performance, leading the way to increased revenue and cost efficiencies.
Brands can achieve success through measuring every metric of their performance marketing campaigns, including clicks, conversion rates, bounces, and more, which offers a deeper understanding of consumers.
With this data, brands not only see how successful their current campaigns are, but can apply this knowledge to future planning.
Through informed decisions, marketers are better able to appeal to the APAC market, as their consumers demand an optimal brand experience.
By using a comprehensive view of the consumer journey to inform their strategies, brands will ultimately increase return on investment (ROI) and encourage further spending in APAC’s advertising sector.
The importance of performance marketing
When it comes to APAC consumers, marketers need to offer a seamless digital experience to promote online activity.
Whether through a mobile friendly website or a dedicated app, brands should look to optimize their customer experience on all platforms.
Performance marketing is an important component in this process, as it allows brands to gain further insight into the consumer journey.
Harnessing data across all touchpoints ensures that every customer interaction is meaningful.
Marketers are able to identify and resolve any pain points in the customer journey through a full understanding of user behaviors and patterns, enhancing the brand experience with data-led decisions.
Payment methods, for example, are a key factor when appealing to consumers online. Knowing which options resonate best with customers enables brands to offer greater choice and facilitate a smoother path to purchase.
The benefits of consumer data can be applied to all aspects of a digital campaign, with marketers feeding this intelligence into their on-going or upcoming strategies.
What can brands do to optimize the opportunities for performance marketing?
Above all, marketers need to establish key performance indicators (KPIs) before diving into performance marketing.
Performance is unique to each brand, but also to each campaign depending on marketers’ goals – boost in online sales, or app usage.
To do this effectively in APAC, brands need to recognize the regional differences across their consumer base.
Asian millennials account for nearly 15% of the world’s population, but marketers must understand their performance will be measured differently across this demographic, depending on which region they target.
India for example, is the fastest growing digital market in APAC, highlighting the need for brands to prioritize mobile optimization as they embrace performance marketing.
Singapore’s digital market, however, is more mature and technologies such as 5G will mean brands need to tailor their KPIs to reflect the developments in this region.
Additionally, marketers can harness direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales, as this is a more efficient way of measuring success.
If all of a brand’s conversions take place on its own website, or through its own ads, attribution is simpler and first-party data builds a clearer picture of consumer behaviors.
This strategy has worked for many homegrown brands, which used performance-based, DTC marketing to drive ROI.
How does this lead to campaign success?
Research demonstrates that APAC consumers prefer local brands over global, offering APAC marketers a great opportunity to optimize their digital campaigns for a receptive market.
By utilizing performance marketing as an effective tool, brands can capitalize on this to increase their appeal for consumers and generate better returns.
Performance marketing allows brands to ensure they only pay for results, which creates greater cost efficiency and shares the potential risk between the brand and its agency.
The most successful way to adopt the full potential of performance marketing is with data.
Marketers should keep data privacy differences front of mind when targeting local regions, but leveraging consumer data builds affiliations, more effective strategies, and stronger personal appeal to individuals within APAC’s diverse consumer base.
Through keeping a finger on the pulse of what can make an impact, and forecasting future trends or developments, brands can successfully enhance and future-proof their performance campaigns.
This applies particularly to the roll out of 5G, as marketers will need to make certain their strategies are compatible with increased mobile speeds.
When making media buying and business decisions, marketers should place customer experience at the top of their priorities.
Brands need to be able to maximize conversions by guiding users along the marketing funnel not once, but multiple times.
Marketers that put their customers first, building brand loyalty and connecting with consumer bases, will ensure continued growth with their performance campaigns.
By looking ahead – and preparing for developments in technology and potential data regulations – brands can continue to offer an optimized customer experience across all platforms.
Marketers that establish KPIs, understand regional differences in consumers, and leverage data in their strategies, will reap the rewards of informed, impactful performance marketing.
In eight years as Creative Director at MGID, Karina Klimenko has focused on creating ads that tell a story, working with MGID’s global teams to ensure ad creative is localized for audiences across the globe. She is passionate about learning and applying her global findings to campaigns across the advertising ecosystem, and monitors consumer trends closely to understand the ever-growing industry.
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