We have reviewed thousands of SMS campaigns and come up with what we think is a benchmark for the anatomy of a great SMS.
OPTION 1: REPLY ‘YES’
Personalisation has been shown to increase the amount and quality of the leads our clients generate.
Highlight the unique value of your offering, whether that’s a really great deal or fast delivery. Why should the recipient choose you?
The tone of voice should suit your brand – and your audience! As a rule, keep it simple and avoid long words.
The word ‘FREE’ attracts readers’ attention, while reverse billing (where the sender pays for the reply) improves responses.
Naming your brand/product typically increases the chances of it being opened and eliciting a positive response.
Use direct language and clear calls-to-action for a high-performing, hard-sell SMS.
OPTION 2: AN EMBEDDED FORM
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Personalisation is extremely important in getting attention. Be sure to play around with how you personalise the message as well as where in the message you place personalisation.
Use a shortlink that is generated by your automated messaging platform for easy, seamless tracking. Additionally, this also helps keep the SMS character count under the important 160 character limit.
Use a less hard-sell, more informative tone of voice – you’re encouraging the user to find out more, learn and enhance their experience.
OPTION 3: BULK SMS BLAST
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A clear call to action always adds impact (but consider converting to a REPLY YES or embedded form SMS for better results).
Bulk SMS blasts have a more product-centric tone of voice.
Creating a sense of urgency encourages the recipient to act.
NB! Every SMS campaign and every brand is different, so be sure to split-test all of these elements to find the right message for you.
We hope you found the anatomy of a great SMS insightful. For more tips, visit 12 tips for creating the perfect SMS campaign