A 10-Step guide to streamline your SMS campaign process

With a 98% open rate and 9.97% click rate, SMS cuts through to your customers. But how can you maximise success with every SMS you send? One word: process.

There are many benefits to having a solid internal process in place for creating all SMS marketing campaigns.

It makes you work more efficiently, and your team can easily follow the steps, which helps to scale up your business. It also ensures you’re writing impactful copy by giving your customers real value every time.

To set up a great process, ask:

• Why are we sending this?
• Who are we speaking to?
• What value are we providing them?
• Are we following SPAM laws?
• When should we send this?
• And, how did our customers respond?

Here’s a step-by-step SMS campaign process, including the SMS writing format.

How to Create an impactful SMS Marketing Campaign

1. Identify the goal

You can’t hit a ‘bullseye’ if you aim at blurry lines, so think SMART. Whether your goal is to drive engagement or boost sales, make it Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound. Doing this work upfront will put you in a great position to reap the benefits later.

2. Determine your audience

You might’ve established your brand tone, but always remember who’s on the other side of your text messages. Especially if you’re a business with more than one customer persona.

Are they a professional in their 40s? A stay-at-home Dad? A 20-something fashion trendsetter? Pick just one. When you understand their nuanced traits and desires, you can better craft SMS copy that speaks to them.

3. Determine whether you’ll give an offer

Your SMS subscribers want to feel like they’re getting something others aren’t. When giving an offer, consider whether you’ll use a coupon code or keyword, and where your link will take them. Be sure to have the redeeming, purchasing or website browsing logistics set up before you hit ‘send.’

4. Write your SMS copy

Most of the time, a killer SMS writing format just needs 1-2 sentences and a call-to-action. Get creative! Experiment. Think about how to write SMS in plain English, so it’s more digestible with a quick screen glance. Say a lot in as little as possible. Learning how to write SMS for marketing only takes a bit of practice.

5. Follow SPAM rules

Be certain you have permission to reach out to your contacts, and always identify your business name as the sender. And remember to always include clear unsubscribe instructions. With Burst SMS, ‘Opt-out reply STOP’ is automatically added for you. Make sure you’re SPAM compliant and following best practices for Australian SMS.

6. Consider personalisation

Personalisation is, well – more personal. In your SMS message, you can mention first names and other custom variables. Custom variables are extra details about each of your contacts, which can be any data you like such as name, subscription type and purchased items. Prompt Burst SMS to input this information when scheduling your campaign (see next step).

7. Schedule your campaign

Log into your Burst SMS account and click ‘Send SMS’ on your dashboard. Then, all you have to do is fill in the details below.

• To: Select your Contact List
• From: Select your Sender ID (e.g. Your ‘Shared’ or ‘Dedicated’ Virtual Number)
• Personalisation: Select whether you’d like to mention their name or a custom variable
• Message: Paste your copy here
• Add link: Add a Tracked Link, which is a unique and shortened URL for each recipient to measure click-through rates
• Schedule: Select whether this will be sent immediately or at a later time
• Split sending: You can choose to stagger your deliveries to numbers of people at a time so you’re not overwhelmed with enquiries all at once

When you’re done, click ‘Next.’

8. Review with fresh eyes

Here’s the total cost of your campaign, as well as a summary of the campaign details. Double-check that the Sender ID, Contact List, Message, Link, and Scheduled time are correct.

9. Send!

All looks good? Hit ‘Schedule.’

10. Evaluate and analyse

To measure the ROI of your campaign, check out Burst SMS’s URL tracking feature. Depending on the goal of your message, keep tabs on traffic numbers, sales conversions, keyword engagement and opt-out numbers. To improve future campaigns, consider A/B testing next time.

Nail your next SMS campaign

A good process is ‘good business.’ To become a well-oiled SMS marketing machine, implement some of these steps to help you stay organised, scale-up, and maintain great ROI.

Of course, it’s not a one-size-fits-all. Just change where needed to suit your business.