Ah, the challenge of getting people to act on a text message! It’s sure to give any marketer pause. After all, you’ve only got a few characters to make your point. You can’t get too creative or elaborate. How do you make a text message that will stick and get people to take the action you want them to take?
Well, fortunately there are some tried and true tips that can help you make an effective and persuasive message – without running the risk of coming across as too stuffy or sales-y. In this post, we’ll be taking a look at 10 essential tips for writing effective SMS messages that get results fast. So let’s dive in and learn how you can create powerful SMS messages that you can use to reach, engage, and convert your audience.
Quick Definition
When writing an effective SMS message, consider the length of the message and how to keep it concise. Also, focus on creating a compelling call-to-action to prompt people to act on the message.
Audience Targeting and Relevance
Considering the audience when writing an effective SMS message is key to ensuring its success. Audience targeting and relevance is therefore essential to craft a message that resonates with the people you are trying to reach. Knowing who you are targeting your message to, and what they need from it, will deliver better results and ensure you achieve the desired outcome.
One way to ensure your message is successfully targeted and relevant is to get into the mindset of your intended audience. Focus on who are they, where do they come from, what their needs are, how urgent the issue may be and how much time and effort they have for it. This will help determine which channel should be used (e.g. SMS or email) as well as the content of the message itself, such as its language or tone of voice. Additionally, understanding your audience’s existing knowledge level can help shape the message’s length and readability.
Another important factor when targeting effective SMS messages is timing – when recipients receive it and how often they should receive similar messages in the future. Timing and frequency will both have an impact on open rates for messages as well as response rates. It is important to establish a balance between not frustrating consumers by sending too little information or overwhelming them with too many messages that have no context or relevancy at all.
Nevertheless, devising targeted SMS messages begins with knowing exactly who you are talking to. From there, you can build content that meets their needs and encourages readership while also staying true to your mission and objectives. Once these two elements are fulfilled then you can begin constructing a message that delivers meaningful insights into the consumer’s preferences that will ultimately increase engagement with your brand or organisation moving forward.
Now that we have discussed how targeting & relevancy are essential components for crafting effective SMS messages, let’s shift our focus to understanding those who we’re messaging – knowing our message’s audience inside out.
Know Your Message’s Audience
Once you’ve identified your target audience, it’s important to know who they are and what resonates with them. Knowing the audience well is essential for crafting an effective SMS message that will get results. Ultimately, understanding the needs, interests, values and behaviours of your target audience will help you create messages that are more engaging and personalizable.
Take time to research your target audience. Look into their lifestyles, preferences and daily habits. Gain insights from customer feedback surveys, interviews with customers or industry experts, analytics data and social media activities. All of these valuable pieces of information will help you customise your messages to meet their exact needs. Doing so increases chances of success for each SMS campaign because as many people as possible can relate to what’s being said in the messages.
On the other hand, some believe being too specific when writing a message for a targeted group of people could lead to alienating potential customers if certain wordings are used that some recipients may disagree with politically or otherwise. For example, using strong language when writing a message about how important voting is during an upcoming election might have negative reactions from audiences who don’t support a particular side that the message conveys.
It’s important to be aware of this potential predicament when thinking about the right words to use in an SMS message and carefully consider the effect it can have on your target audience. Despite this risk existing, having a good understanding of who the intended recipients are is still necessary if you want to successfully get results from your messages.
Striking the right balance between going into detail yet not alienating any customer type is key when trying to reach out via SMS messaging. With clarity and conciseness in mind, inject relevant words into your SMS campaigns that bring attention to your central message while making sure you maintain sensitivity when speaking directly to those within its scope.
Key Points to Remember
It is essential to know your target audience in order to craft an effective SMS message that will get results. Take the time to research information about them such as their lifestyle, preferences and daily habits. Even if being too specific when writing a message for this targeted group of people can lead to alienating potential customers, understanding who the intended recipients are is still necessary in order to achieve success. Keeping clarity and conciseness in mind, inject relevant words into your SMS campaigns that bring attention to your central message while ensuring sensitivity towards those within its scope.
Clarity & Conciseness
Once you have identified your target audience, it is important to ensure that your message remains clear and concise. Effective messages, by their very definition, are purposeful in their communication. Say exactly what needs to be said in as few words as possible – avoid using excessive words or flowery language. Your aim is for people to understand the main point of what you are trying to communicate without having to read over your message or re-read it a few times. Use action words such as “act now” or “don’t miss out” to make it immediately clear what your message is intended to do. Additionally, if there are multiple calls to action, be sure to prioritise them; ordering them from most important to least important will help readers focus on the most critical task first.
Also keep in mind that SMS messaging has its limits: although the 160 character limit has been relaxed for certain services, a lengthy message generally inspires boredom and will rarely get the reader to act on your call-to-action. Brevity isn’t just a polite way to communicate – when it comes down to it, long-winded messages can cause genuine confusion and lead users away from taking action on your offer. Be aware of how dense your message appears on the screen and use visuals or graphics whenever appropriate – simple pictures and symbols can often go a long way towards better conveying a message.
Being concise and clear with each message should remain paramount for any successful SMS campaign. Take the time to review messages before sending them out into the world – aiming for clarity may seem like an obvious goal but mistakes happen more often than most would expect; always check for typos and grammatical errors which could disrupt the flow of text. With these practises in mind we can now move onto an equally important aspect of SMS marketing: getting directly to the point with little room for misinterpretation.
- According to data from Statista, the number of global SMS users is expected to reach 4.7 billion in 2020.
- A study published in 2018 found that 90% of text messages sent via SMS are opened and read within 5 minutes of being sent.
- Results from a 2019 survey showed that 87% of businesses said that SMS messaging had improved their customer engagement levels.
Making Your Message Straight To The Point
Clarity and conciseness are essential for crafting effective SMS messages, but it’s also vital to ensure the message is straight to the point. If the point of the message isn’t promptly made obvious, the reader may quickly lose interest and not continue through to the conclusion. It is thus important that the recipient of an SMS immediately grasps the main point you wish to make.
One way to do this is to begin with a clear statement that summarises your message’s purpose. This can be done within the subject line or the first sentence, so as to instantly draw attention to the key point. Furthermore, it is equally important to avoid including unnecessary details and filler content such as jokes or irrelevant facts. Doing so could dissuade from your core message. However, if there is information which is not absolutely essential but provides helpful context then by all means include it – as long as there are no excessively flowery descriptions.
In conclusion, when writing an SMS it is important that readers can understand your intended message at a glance and without having to navigate further insearch of meaning. By keeping your message balanced between brevity and clarity, recipients should be able to grasp what you’re saying without any delay or confusion.
Now that we have discussed how best to craft meaningful messages, we can move on and learn about techniques for creating impact with tone and style in SMS.
Creating Impact with Tone & Style
Making your message straight to the point is obviously important, but so is creating impact with your SMS message’s tone and style. It’s all in the delivery of the message. Ideas are communicated best when they are crafted in an appropriate manner for the intended audience. To effectively convey a message to a wide range of audiences, you should think about what words, symbols, or images can make a big impact.
For instance, using positive language may help motivate customers to act, while emphasising negative situations can easily cause readers to become disengaged and uninterested. Some studies suggest that it is best utilise an active voice when communicating with your customers as this creates a more direct connexion between the writer and reader. Additionally, as long as its in good taste, adding humour can give your message an extra edge and lead to better customer engagement with your text messages.
Ultimately, you want to be sure that you’re sending out the right tone and appropriate writing style for your SMS messages. With the right message composition, you can create powerfully engaging messages that offer a direct honest dialogue between you and your customers.
Now that we have covered how to make your messages straight to the point and create impact through tone and style; next let’s discuss how to use emotional content in your texts while keeping it subtle and attention grabbing.
Utilising Emotional Content and Attention Grabbing
The emotional content and attention-grabbing elements of an effective SMS message can be the lynchpin that turns a “ho-hum” message into one that really grabs people’s attention. Creating an impactful tone and style is essential and combining it with the right words can make all the difference.
There is a bit of a debate between how much emotion to inject into your messages. Some professionals suggest you should pull in just the right amount of emotion without going overboard, as it could seem fake or over the top. On the other hand, there are strong arguments that tapping into emotions such as excitement, inspiration or humour can be powerful and build an instant connexion with people.
Ultimately, you have to know your audience and choose wisely when using emotional content. Something that may work for one audience might not necessarily work for another – so consider who you are reaching out to and whether your message will resonate with them positively. You could also test out different approaches with small samples of users to gauge success rates.
As for attention grabbing elements, they should always be used sparingly. For example, using exclamation marks or any symbols always runs the risk of getting labelled as spam, so use them only conveying positive emotion where completely necessary. Additionally, using emojis judiciously to pique interest can be effective in certain contexts – just make sure they don’t overtake your message or come off as too kitschy!
By taking the time to carefully craft effective SMS messages that convey both positive emotion and interesting information, you should have no problem capturing readers’ attention. Now that we have discussed how best to navigate tone & style when writing powerful SMS messages as well as how to utilise emotional content and attention grabbing elements – let’s turn towards providing relevant information and benefits while being subtle about it….
Providing Relevant Information and Benefits
Following up on utilising emotional content and attention grabbing, it is important to ensure that your message contains relevant information and benefits. Without this, people won’t understand the value of responding or taking action and messages will be poorly received.
Therefore, you must provide readers with information about why they should take action. One way to do this could include reminding them how much time and money it will save, or citing statistics that indicate there are benefits to doing so. This is key to achieving success with your text messages before even considering delivering emotionally charged messages.
It is also possible for SMS messages to increase customer engagement and loyalty. For example, a company can use the medium to reward loyal customers or announce discounts and promotions. Doing this will make customers return sooner than expected and continue to consume their services or products in the future.
On one hand, there are many advantages of providing relevant information and benefits in SMS messages such as improved customer loyalty and demonstrated value. On the other hand, it can be difficult to craft a well-crafted and effective message begins with doing extensive research into what motivates your target audience. It’s also important to consider the length difference between traditional emails and SMS messages when compressing an idea into a few words without sacrificing relevance or clarity.
Now that we have discussed providing relevant information and benefits in SMS messages, let’s move onto summarising effective tips for using text messaging so you can truly get results!.
Summary of Effective Text Message Tips
The previous section discussed how providing relevant information and benefits can lead to more effective text messages. It is also important, however, to consider the other tips for writing effective SMS messages that were outlined in this article. Here, we will summarise these key tips and explain why they are essential for ensuring successful results.
First, it is important to keep messages short and concise. Long-winded text messages do not generally lead to successful outcomes as they are often difficult to read or understand. Emojis, abbreviations, and symbols should be used sparingly if at all; the goal of the message should be clear and unambiguous.
Second, it is essential to be respectful of recipients’ time and attention when sending out texts. This means that extra steps such as segmenting lists should be taken so that only those who truly need to receive the message can do so. Simple techniques such as avoiding exclamation points and limiting the number of times you text someone are also important for providing a respectful experience.
Third, timing is crucial for successful text messaging campaigns. Generally speaking, text messages have higher rates of engagement when sent on weekdays between 8am-4pm EST when people are likely to check their phones more frequently. Additionally, careful thought must go into how often a person is texted; too many messages can impede success.
Fourth, personalising messages with names or specific customer details can further increase success rates when it comes to text messaging campaigns. Personalization lets customers know that the brands they do business with care about them and makes them feel like a part of something bigger than themselves.
Finally, tailoring content based on geolocation data or behaviour history can help ensure relevancy of texts being sent out. People appreciate being recognised and catered to according their circumstances; this helps increase open rates and response rates over time.
By understanding how to craft an effective text message, businesses have even more tools in their toolkit to reach potential customers as well as existing ones. Taking into account all of the above tips will help increase the likelihood of successful campaigns and better relationships with customers overall.
Common Questions and Responses
How can I make sure my SMS message is effective and engaging?
The key to creating an effective and engaging SMS message is to use clear, concise language when conveying your message. Keep the message short and to the point, making sure that your readers understand what action you would like them to take or how you want them to respond. Additionally, it’s important to be as conversational as possible in order to encourage people to read the message and interact with it. Use humour, storytelling techniques and thoughtful questions to activate a response from your readers. Asking for reader’s opinions or providing choices of actions can also help open up a dialogue which will create engagement and potentially lead to better results.
What types of messages are best suited for SMS?
When sending a message via SMS, it is important to focus on concise messages that quickly convey the necessary information. The goal should be to capture readers’ attention and encourage them to engage and take action.
Messages regarding urgent and immediate matters are best suited for SMS communication. These types of messages come with a sense of urgency, as they require the reader to take action in a relatively short time frame. This could include critical reminders or notifications about an impending deadline, changes in instructions, or incoming orders.
In business contexts, SMS can also be used to send marketing promotions targeted at individual customers, since the format allows brands to personalise their messages. Additionally, businesses can use SMS to send appointment reminders or notifications about upcoming events which can help ensure customer engagements and better service experiences.
Ultimately, any text message that is succinct and tailored to users’ preferences will be most effective when sent via SMS.
What are some best practise tips when it comes to writing SMS messages?
1. Keep your message to 160 characters or less. Longer messages will be broken up into multiple texts, which can be confusing for the recipient and lessen the effectiveness of your message.
2. Make sure to utilise spelling and grammar checks when crafting SMS messages. Poor writing gives off a lack of professionalism, and could make potential customers less likely to take you seriously.
3. Utilise the power of personalization, such as addressing the recipient by name or sending location-specific offers and discounts. This will give your messages a more personalised feel, making it more likely that customers will respond positively to them.
4. Deliver an effective call to action in each message so that customers have something specific to do next. Whether it’s a “click here” link or simply a response indicating whether they would like to opt-in for your programme, make sure each text encourages interaction from the recipient.
5. Avoid including too many details or mention of multiple services/products in one SMS message – this can create confusion and may encourage potential customers to disregard your message altogether. Keep one clear action in mind when delivering each SMS message and stick with it throughout the conversation.
6. Craft your messages using short words and simple phrases that are easy to understand across all age groups and demographic backgrounds to ensure maximum outreach results.
7. Proofread all messages for typos before sending them out, as these small errors can also make recipients disregard the content of your messages entirely due to their frankly unprofessional appearance.
8. If you’re announcing a limited time offer via SMS, make sure to set a specific expiration date on the offer or provide an incentive for responding quickly (e.g., “For the first 10 people who respond within 24 hours, we’ll add 20% off XYZ product!”). This will encourage customers to act quickly rather than wait until the offer is over before responding at all.
9. Reply promptly when customers respond positively to an SMS message, since timely responses encourage repeat interactions while slow ones can ward them away instead.
10. Always include contact information with every SMS message so if potential customers have any further questions or inquiries about what was mentioned in that particular message, they are able to reach out easily anytime with confidencethat their questions will be answered directly by you rather than someone unfamiliar with your business operations and products/services..
