Text Message Marketing Best Practices

TEXT MESSAGE MARKETING BEST PRACTICES FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES AND YOU'LL BE DOING JUST FINE! Text message marketing is an incredibly powerful method for marketing to customers instantly. In order to maximize your success however, it must be leveraged properly. 8 Guidelines to follow... BE CLEAR ABOUT YOUR PROGRAM CLEARLY COMMUNICATE WHAT YOUR SUBSCRIBERS CAN EXPECT. Make sure your subscribers are aware of what types of text Pizza House messages they can expect to receive. This may only need to be 1 sentence in your auto reply if that's all it takes. Just make sure they aren't going to be blindsided when their first ......... Thanks for signing up for Pizza House's text specials! Show this text message campaign arrives. text for a free order of breadsticks! Receive up to 4 msgs/month. Msg & Data rates may apply. Txt "STOP" to cancel. 16 you don't... They'll most likely opt out as your text program wasn't what they were thinking it'd be. GET PERMISSION You must have permission from subscribers in order to send them text messages. Period. Pizza House OTHERWISE... You'll be spamming, breaking laws, and possibly subject to hefty legal penalties. Thanks for signing up for Pizza House's text specials! Show this It will damage your brand's image, create a bad name for text for a free order of yourself, and annoy your customers. breadsticks! Receive up to 4 msgs/month. Msg &Data rates may apply. Txt "STOP" to cancel. So what is permission? How do I get it? 31996 If subscribers are opting in by texting a If you are manually uploading a list or keyword to your shortcode, then you adding subscribers one by one, you have the permission you need. must absolutely have written consent. PAY ATTENTION TO FREQUENCY Do not send texts all the time! ****************************** Nobody wants to get an excessive amount of texts landing on their phone from your business. Pizza House 2 - 4 TEXTS/MONTH Any more can annoy your customers. You may find them opting Thanks for signing up for Pizza out or developing a poor attitude towards your business. House's text specials! Show this text for a free order of Make sure your subscribers know breadsticks! Recelve up to 4 msgs/month. Msg & Data rates how often you will be texting them. ..................... may apply. Txt "STOP" to cancel. You need to be crystal clear about how many text messages they can expect to receive from your business or organization. EXAMPLE! Include frequency in the "auto reply" for your keywords. 'Receive up to 4 mags/ month" NOTE: This doesn't have to be in every one of your text message campaigns, just the initial auto reply that your subscribers receive when first signing up. INCLUDE DISCLAIMERS CTIA (THE WIRELESS ASSOCIATION) Is an international nonprofit trade association that represents the wireless communications industry. They require you to include 'Msg & Data rates may apply' as Pizza House well as the other things listed here in this infographic. Don't morry! Thanks for signing up for Pizza House's text specials! Show this Good text marketing services add this text for a free order of disclaimer to your auto reply messages breadsticks! Receive up to 4 0000000.... automatically so you don't find yourself msgs/month.Msg & Data rates in any trouble. :may apply. Txt "STOP" to cancel. NOTE: Your subscribers only need to see this once, when they first join your list. Not every time you send a text message. PROVIDE AN EXIT A EXIT Your subscribers need to know that they can opt out of your text marketing campaigns at any time. Pizza House This is another thing that good text marketing providers will add to your auto replies automatically. Thanks for signing up for Pizza House's text specials! Show this text for a free order of When someone signs up for your text marketing list, in breadsticks! Recelve up to 4 addition to "Msg & Data rates may apply", you must also msgs/month. Msg & Data rates may apply. Txt "STOP" to cancel. include "Txt STOP to cancel" in your auto reply. NOTE: It's also a good idea to include opt out instructions in your outgoing text campaigns from time to time. TEXT DURING NORMAL HOURS Only send text marketing campaigns during business hours. The time Is 11:30... Getting hungry yet? Show this text at Be courteous to your subscribers Pizza House and receive a free drink with your lunch! Good only for today! Be sure they won't enjoy waking up to your texts in the middle of the night. Also, think about how "not effective" it is to send your texts outside of your business's hours.. One of the many benefits of text marketing is to inspire immediate action from your customers. No one will visit your store in the middle of the night! USE COMMON LANGUAGE USE TEXT MESSAGING SHORT- HAND AS SPARINGLY AS POSSIBLE. Pizza House Although it does save you precious characters in your message, It can also look very unprofessional. You don't want your text messages sounding like they were written by a tech savvy teen. Thx 4 signing up 4 Pzza txt specials! Show txt 4 free bred stks! Up 2 4 msgs/mnth. Msg & Data rates aply. Txt "STOP" msgs - messages to end. If you need to save characters in your TEXTING HANDBOOK text by using text messaging shorthand, start with the most obvious words first and try to keep it to a minimum! fs/fsr - for sale mnth - month PROVIDE VALUE EVERY TEXT CAMPAIGN SHOULD BE VALUABLE TO YOUR SUBSCRIBERS! If your customers are willing to give you explicit permission to text them, make sure you give them something worth while in return. Good afternoon! Hungry yet? Show this text at Pizza House and receive a free drink with your Make sure you're not sending the same campaigns over and over again. Good only for today! You need to keep things fresh and exciting for your subscribers so they feel glad to be part of your "special text program." If you're not... Your text program may not worth it for them. It's then likely they'll unsubscribe from your list. SlickText.com provides businesses and organization of all sizes SlickText.com with an incredibly easy, feature-rich, and compliant platform Text Marketing Made Incredibly Easy. for sending text message marketing campaigns.