As the digital world continues to grow, it’s becoming more and more difficult to stand out from the competition. Getting in front of audiences is more complicated than ever. Even tried and true tactics like social media marketing and SEO are becoming crowded with competition. Marketers who want to communicate quickly and effectively with audiences are now turning to new tactics.
Most businesses with digital marketing programs are aware of what marketing automation means. Automation helps simplify tasks and complete complex workloads in a fraction of the time it takes to do it manually. Another type of automation that can help brands in a big way is automated text messaging. This strategy helps communicate important information quickly with customers and deliver key messages directly to the hands of consumers.
What is Automated Text Messaging?
To begin, let’s define automated text messaging. Automated text messaging uses SMS messages to set up time-based and triggered events. When the events occur, a text message is sent to the phone number of a contact with a pre-planned message. This ensures that customers get the message exactly when you want them to.
Automated text messages can help businesses achieve many different marketing goals. They help brands engage with customers at specific points in their customer journey. They can also be used to advertise promotions or short-term deals. You can also use automated text messaging to gather reviews and encourage customers to return.
Some brands even use their automated text messaging software to help organize parts of their business. They can be used to send out appointment reminders, delivery updates, and follow-up steps. And they can be set up to go out at any time of day, not just when you are in the office.
How Do You Set Up Automated Text Messaging?
Setting up your automated text messaging system doesn’t have to be overwhelming. You can think of your automated text messaging along the same lines as a chatbot. You want your messages to connect with audiences and feel human. You don’t want to come across as robotic, or, even worse, as spam.
The first step to setting up your automated text messages is to pick the right platform. Explore different platform capabilities, costs, and functionality. You want to ensure that the platform you pick has great automation options. You’ll also need to double-check the reporting and metrics capabilities of your platform. After all, collecting data is what helps you manage your process and plan for the future.
A great tip for those starting is to plan out your strategy before selecting a platform. Know what types of messages you want to send and the steps in the process. That way, you can check your strategy against the capability of different platforms. Never be afraid to ask for demos and explore different options before selecting your final pick.
Why Should You Include Automated Text Messaging in Your Marketing Strategy?
There are many different reasons why you should include automated text messaging in your overall marketing strategies. Automated text messaging takes your customer communication to the next level. It can also help you manage different aspects of your brand. Let’s deep dive into the benefits.
Offer Customers More Convenience
There’s no question that today’s consumers want convenience. Customers don’t want to wait for webpages to load or details to be emailed. They want the information they are looking for as fast as they can get it, and in the easiest format. Automated text messaging can go a long way in helping your customer satisfaction with your brand.
Automation, on the whole, helps organizations stay on top of customer communication. Rather than manually sending messages, you can time events and set up schedules. This ensures that nothing falls through the cracks. And text messaging delivers the message directly to the customer. That means they don’t have to log into emails or find your company webpage to get information.
Save Valuable Time for Employees
Another great benefit of including automated text messaging in your marketing plans is the time it saves for employees. Manually writing and sending text messages to each customer is a pain and a time-waster. When you can automate your messages, it gives employees back valuable time in their day. Then they can focus on strategizing for bigger events.
Get Control of the Customer Journey
Automated text messaging can also help route customers to FAQ pages or to the right person to speak to directly. You can also customize the customer journey and provide paths to conversions at key times. Messages about upcoming payments, reminders to review, appointment reminders, or even new deals can move customers along the journey.
Manage Your Brand Reputation
One of the best ways to use automated text messaging to your benefit is reputation management. Reviews are one of the biggest ways local businesses find new customers. Brands that don’t have many reviews might be overlooked while their competition gains business. That means that gathering new reviews is a key strategy for success.
While you might ask customers to leave a review after a service or purchase, it’s easily forgotten. Follow-up text messages can remind your happy customers to leave a review or shout out your brand. By automating the messages to appear when a customer is happiest, you can help increase the number of positive reviews. And you can make sure that every customer is given the option, rather than forgetting to mention the option.
Partnering with Marketing Experts
Starting an automated text messaging strategy might not come easily to many brands. After all, most of our direct communication is through social media or email marketing, not texting. Without support, many brands can lose interest in automated text messaging or never being a program in the first place.
L7 Advertising is here to help. We are experts in digital marketing strategies like PPC, social media marketing, and automated text messaging. We partner with brands to help them jump start their initiatives and get the most out of their marketing goals. If you want to start creating powerful advertising strategies today, contact us to get started.