During the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of people have been using their smartphones more frequently than ever to conduct their daily activities, such as getting their groceries, ordering their foods, buying things online as well as, obviously, working remotely. Generally speaking, smartphones have successfully penetrated the global market: Statista revealed that 4.78 billion people around the globe were currently using mobile phones -- 3.50 billion of them being smartphone users. 

As people have become more attached to their smartphones than ever as they strive to reduce direct physical contact amid the pandemic, SMS marketing can be a great way of maintaining your relationship with your customer base. It is not surprising when big brands like Facebook, IKEA, Reebok, Petco, Tommy Hilfiger and CNN have started innovating with text marketing strategies as well. Advances in copywriting and engagement strategies have also revived SMS marketing, which already started in the 2000s but has not been used to its full potentials yet. 

The efficacy of SMS marketing

Now, why text marketing? First of all, as has been widely discussed in various technology articles, texts have 98 percent open rates. Furthermore, 85 percent of leads prefer texts to phone calls from marketers and want to be able to reply. Obviously, SMS marketing will not disrupt people’s ongoing activities the way phone calls do. Yet, SMS marketing can also feel more intimate and immediate than e-mail updates, allowing customers to get quick updates on the brands they depend on most. Simply put, SMS marketing can balance a fine line between phone calls and emails.

Copywriting strategy matters

You can power your text marketing activities with the right copywriting strategy. As we all know, copywriting requires a fine balance between science and art. Under this notion, for starters you can use a Customer Relationship Management application to gauge the different demographics of your customer base along with their specific characteristics and needs, especially paying attention to purchasing history and interests for you to serve their needs. Then, you can personalize to make your text marketing activities more efficient. You know you will just waste your time sending a text about a hamburger promo to a vegetarian customer, or a new cafe latte with extra milk on top to a vegan one.

Armed with such scientific data, then you will be free to improvise on the types of text you wish to send your customers to engage them, whether using the simpler, more straightforward information about a promotional offer, under the 5w and 1h (what, when, why, where, who and how) formula. If you want to be more playful and engaging, you can also send your customers a trivia quiz which they can use to unlock several perks. Also, keep them short and sweet: do not succumb to the temptation of revealing too much technical detail; try your best to simply include the gist of your core message.

Send your text professionally

In the end, editing and proofreading skills to make sure your content contains no errors are also essential. Take that extra time to ensure that your message contains no typos and/or grammatical errors to treat the text message as a business correspondence item. Also be mindful of the spam law in the country you are operating in.

The implementation of SMS A2P Indonesia application can help you conduct text marketing much more easily. Having served different sectors from retailers, e-commerce platforms, healthcare industries, government institutions, etc., the application has both international and domestic (Indonesian) ecosystems. Using the application can help your business make the most out of your text marketing activities.