With Bulk SMS marketing, you can reach your marketing goals rapidly and effectively. Before this technology existed, organizations would connect with consumers through less convenient and problematic channels such as email.
Despite its limitations, email is still a great marketing tool that enables you to cast your net far and wide, but SMS is more direct and reaches the user on the channel they use every day. Platforms such as Cloud Contact AI allow you to leverage the same great features that gave email its notoriety but adapted for text messaging. With these features, you can approach your audience from every angle. No more going back and forth between different platforms; connect with your customers on the channel that they engage with most with CCAI.
Text blasts stand out when comparing different marketing channels regarding effectiveness and response rates due to their high effectiveness and immediate response rates. Research indicates that text messaging is a powerful tool for reaching consumers due to the intimate nature of mobile communication. Statistics show that most individuals keep their mobile devices nearby throughout the day, resulting in quick responses to text messages. Studies reveal that text messages are opened and read within minutes of being received at a rate much higher than other marketing channels such as email, direct mail, and social media.
What is Bulk SMS Marketing?
Bulk SMS marketing is a method for communicating with a large audience via text. This immense message capacity is most commonly utilized for business-to-customer relationships, such as for promotional or informative objectives.
Businesses can measure the success of their text blast campaigns and engagement rates by checking various metrics such as delivery rates, open rates, spikes in engagement, and reading replies. They can easily access this data from any device at any time, allowing them to gauge the performance and effectiveness of their text blast campaigns. By analyzing these key indicators, businesses can track the overall success of their campaigns and make informed decisions to optimize their engagement strategies.
Why should I use bulk SMS marketing?
Compared to other communicative avenues, SMS boasts the greatest benefits. Look at how SMS can elevate your broadcasting capabilities and accomplish your goals faster.
When it comes to sending texts without using a bulk SMS service, there are no lower limits. Whether you send a single text to just one contact or multiple contacts, you can still enjoy the benefits of a text messaging service. While there may be upper limits at which using a bulk SMS service becomes necessary to avoid any potential issues, the ability to send texts for free without such a service remains unrestricted. Therefore, regardless of the number of texts you send, you can utilize a bulk SMS platform for business or organizational purposes and gain the advantages it offers.
While emails have an open rate of approximately 22% within three minutes of being received, text messages enjoy a significantly higher open rate of 94% within the same time frame. In comparison, social media posts and tweets have even lower open rates, with only 12% of Facebook posts and 29% of tweets ever being read by the intended audience. Additionally, in terms of creating brand awareness and increasing purchasing intent, SMS marketing outperforms online advertising, showing a response rate that is four to five times better.
To adapt to these changes and effectively engage with customers, businesses are finding value in utilizing bulk SMS messaging. It serves as a powerful tool for direct customer engagement, increasing brand awareness, and achieving high response rates. With the shift towards digital sales and the growing willingness of consumers to embrace new technology, bulk SMS messaging has emerged as a valuable channel for businesses to reach their target audience and drive sales.
Straight to the point
People use text messaging every day as their primary medium of communicating with friends, family, and colleagues – the things that are most important day to day. By leveraging a bulk messaging solution, you can tune into the most convenient channel for your user that is proven to generate the best results.
Permission-based
If you’ve ever used email marketing, you might have acquired a list of random people, whether you purchased it or got a hand-me-down list. Often, the people who are receiving the campaigns are less than pleased to find messages from an unknown sender in their inboxes.
One key approach is to refrain from purchasing lists of cell phone numbers and instead focus on building a contact list from scratch or using an existing database of customers who have given consent to be contacted. To facilitate this, businesses can employ tools such as keywords and short codes. Keywords are specific words that potential customers are encouraged to text to a designated short code number in order to access a promotion or offer.
Under the TCPA law, users must opt-in with SMS before you can include them in your text campaigns. This law helps reduce a lot of the frustration and negativity involved with cold-call style marketing.
Budget-friendly
SMS is a cost-efficient way to get your message in front of a mass audience. Most messaging services range from $.01-.03 per message and can vary depending on the capacity – think about the time and resources saved!
Expeditious
Sending messages is quick and easy – craft your message, upload your contacts, click send, and within seconds your message will arrive in your recipient’s inbox. There is no spam box for SMS so you can feel confident that you’re not blowing away money.
Ease of Use
Through the strategic use of QR codes and sign-up forms, you can very easily enhance subscription rates. Also consider using links to sign-up forms in outbound communications like emails and social media posts.
Pro tip: Message your users every so often and ensure that they still wish to be part of your campaign. Eliminate the ones that don’t and save money!
How can I use bulk SMS marketing?
You can use bulk SMS marketing to facilitate communication across your entire facility. Break your list down by customer or staff to keep everyone well-informed and operating synchronously.
General
Update your audience about routine company-wide announcements, such as closures, hours, upgrades, and much more. A well-informed community is more likely to engage and take action.
Advertising
Personalize your campaigns using custom fields, then send your customers promotional deals and product announcements at exactly the right time.
Sales
Studies show that people prefer text over email. Give your clients a way to get quick assistance right when they need it so that you can close deals faster.
Hiring
Expedite your hiring efforts with SMS and give job-seekers a heads up about new openings. When interview time comes, send them a quick reminder.
Bulk SMS marketing by industry
Industries of all varieties can use SMS to help get the word out about the daily matters. Here are a few industries that we think can greatly benefit:
Bulk SMS for healthcare providers
Healthcare providers can leverage SMS for appointments – from rescheduling to reminders and feedback.
Bulk SMS for schools
Turn your school into a smart school with SMS alerts sent directly to students regarding grades, closures, cafeteria menu, and so much more. Schools can greatly benefit from utilizing bulk SMS messaging as a powerful communication tool. With bulk SMS, schools can efficiently and promptly transmit important messages to students, parents, faculty, and employees. This method not only improves overall communication within the school community but also provides opportunities for enhanced learning experiences.
Bulk SMS for gyms
Bulk up your outreach with SMS alerts about classes, new training opportunities, and health tips. Fitness centers and gyms can effectively utilize text message marketing to enhance their communication and engagement with customers. By harnessing the power of SMS messaging, these establishments can provide personalized support and motivation to help individuals achieve their fitness goals.
Bulk SMS for real estate agents
Keep your buyers and sellers mindful of upcoming appointments, showings, and offers so that they’re alert throughout the entire buying process. Real estate agents can leverage text marketing in various ways to enhance their sales and engage potential home buyers. When a potential buyer sends a text with the designated tag, they can receive a reply SMS message that offers valuable information such as links to photos showcasing the specific house, details about nearby attractions, maps of the surrounding area, and any other pertinent information that may aid their decision-making process.
Bulk SMS for debt collectors
Inform delinquent customers about payment reminders and tips for on-time debt settlements.
Tips for mass text messaging
Before you jump into your mass messaging endeavors, consider our best practices that will give you a head-start on bulk SMS marketing.
Short and sweet
With SMS, you can only send up to 160 characters per message, so craft your message with simplicity in mind. Most readers will only scan the first sentence before deciding whether to go further or swipe away.
Get the go-ahead
Before you add people to your SMS campaign, you must ensure that you have their consent. The easiest way to get permission is by providing users with the ability to opt-in via a text keyword.
Additionally, you need to ensure that users are aware that they can opt-out. They can reply “STOP” to your texts to halt subsequent messages.
The carrier (AT&T, Sprint, etc.) will block the recipient’s number. However, it would be best if you still referenced the opt-out on your end to ensure no future campaigns from another sender are deployed.
Embedded links
While crafting your promotional message, drop in a link that drives people to your product or service.
Get your timing queued
Did you know that the average person opens up their texts within 3 minutes of receiving them? Catch customers at the exact right time to ensure the highest engagement – after lunch is always a good time!
Frequency is key
Don’t bombard your audience with incessant messages. Let your subscribers know how often you intend to alert them when they opt-in and try not to exceed the specified tempo.
Set your gauge at about 2-4 messages per month for the best results, while ensuring your customers don’t get oversaturated.
Other things to note
Do I pay for failed messages?
The account holder pays for messages that didn’t go through. Unsuccessful messages can occur from numbers that are invalid or blocked. To verify that you aren’t paying for those messages, make sure that the contacts were uploaded correctly or are removed from your list.
Is there a limit on the texts I can send?
There is no limit on the number of messages you can send. On CCAI, you can put out as many messages as you want, when you want!
Rules for bulk SMS marketing
You might be wondering about restrictions that govern sending messages in such large quantities. In fact, there are two rules that are extremely important to follow to avoid penalties and fines.
TCPA
Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is a telemarketing act that dates back to 1991 covering automated communication via phone calls, fax, voicemails, and SMS. Under TCPA, users must gain proper consent before sending out campaigns. Rules for bulk SMS marketing can be quite stringent to avoid penalties and fines. Under the TCPA, proper consent is required before sending out campaigns, and non-compliance can result in fines ranging from $500 to $1500 based on the severity of the offense.
CTIA
the CTIA, comprising major cellular carriers like AT&T and Verizon, enforces specific boundaries on the content promoted through SMS marketing. Messages containing content related to sex, hate, alcohol, guns, and tobacco are strictly prohibited under CTIA guidelines. Violating these terms may lead to the suspension or revocation of access to these carriers.
Mass SMS messaging platform
Cloud Contact AI is a multi-channel customer communication platform – a versatile tool that can enhance text campaigns by adding visual and audio elements. It allows for the transmission of messages containing different types of media, such as images, videos, audio files, and even longer text.
With these features, you can approach your audience from every angle. CCAI can be utilized to capture the attention of recipients and make messages more engaging and memorable. By incorporating images or videos, businesses can convey their message in a more compelling and visually appealing way. No more going back and forth between different platforms; connect with your customers on the channel that they engage with most with CCAI.
Here’s how you can get started:
1. Sign up on CCAI
Navigate to Cloudcontactai.com and click Sign Up in the header.
2. Upload Contacts
Select Contacts in the left-hand menu and upload contacts one-by-one or as a group in CSV format.
3. Create a campaign
Click SMS in the menu and begin your mass outreach.
4. Support
Need help getting set up? Please shoot us an email; we are happy to assist you!
Getting Started
Before you jump into your mass messaging endeavors, it’s crucial to consider the best practices that will give you a head-start on bulk SMS marketing. Reliability and security should be at the forefront of your decision-making process when choosing a bulk SMS provider. To ensure a reliable service and protect your data, you may want to ask specific questions like: Where is my data stored? How do you protect my data? Who owns my data? Is my list of contacts secure?
Business text messaging suppliers can support both large and small businesses in various ways. Firstly, they should offer a scalable system that can accommodate the operational capacity of any organization. This means that whether a business is small and starting out or large and expanding, the text messaging features should be able to grow and adapt accordingly.
Additionally, the right SMS and MMS provider can help small businesses grow into larger, multidimensional powerhouses. They can provide the necessary tools and resources to help businesses expand their reach, connect with customers, and increase overall efficiency.
For small businesses, these suppliers can offer affordable plans and packages tailored to their specific needs. This ensures that even businesses with limited budgets can still access the benefits of business text messaging, such as improved customer communication and increased sales.
When it comes to reliability, it’s important to be aware of the cost implications of failed messages. As the account holder, you are responsible for paying for messages that didn’t go through. Such failed messages can occur due to invalid or blocked numbers. To avoid unnecessary costs, it’s essential to verify that your contacts are uploaded correctly and that any invalid or blocked numbers are promptly removed from your list.
By considering these factors of reliability and security, you can make a well-informed decision when choosing a bulk SMS provider. At the same time, it’s essential to keep in mind the operational aspects of bulk SMS marketing, such as payment for failed messages and compliance with legal regulations. By balancing these considerations, you can embark on your bulk SMS marketing endeavors with confidence and peace of mind.
