SMS Best Practices

Avoid filler words and sentences and get straight to the point. Here’s what really matters: Who, What, When, and Where. 

• Who: Personalize your message (“Hi Bob!”) and indicate your org name
• What: Create an appealing call to action (“Book Your Glow-Up”)
• When: Build urgency with dates or expirations (“Save 15% Today Only!”)
• Where: Add a shortened URL with a map link where applicable

iZigg makes this possible through our Automated Workflow feature. By capturing data such as name, preferences, answer choices, and even frequency of responses, our software creates separate distribution lists so your business can send relevant, personalized messages to the right subscribers at the right time. 

High Quality Campaigns

With text messaging, you want to find the sweet spot. Don’t text too often, but also make sure that you are creating regular rhythms where customers are looking forward to content. We typically recommend one or two messages a week as a good starting point for promotional messages. Transactional messages (shipping, appointment reminders, invoice updates, etc) can be sent more frequently.

• Read the Room. Do your research. You don’t want to waste time sending messages to people who do not want them; that may be marked as SPAM, and tarnish your reputation. If your current messaging campaign is not generating leads and conversions, don’t hesitate to completely shift your strategy. Are you sending messages at an appropriate time for customers to act? A link to a video or long form sent at 10am on a weekday might be catching consumers at work. A coupon sent an hour before you close is unlikely to be used.

• Be Clear About Opt-Outs. Another way to reduce SPAM reports and dissatisfaction is to make it easy for customers to opt-in and opt-out. Customers can always text “STOP” to opt-out without visiting a specific page. And, when joining a list, companies can use Online Sign-Up Pages, QR codes, Contact Imports, or Mobile Keywords to match subscribers to their lead source and specific interests. Take advantage of lead source and data capture methods to keep messaging relevant and reduce SPAM reports.

• Incorporate Multimedia Messaging. Multimedia Messaging, or MMS, is a great way to keep messages from feeling like SPAM. Pictures and videos are make messages more fun and appealing to read and open. Furthermore, messages and pictures help confirm a company’s credibility to the customer, by proving that they are putting in effort and care into every message. 

Still Have Questions?

Follow the practices above to improve client engagement and watch satisfaction rates soar! And check out our other articles for more advice on specific industries and use cases.