A bulk text message can be a great way to reach a large group of people quickly and efficiently. Whether you’re a business owner looking to promote a sale or a nonprofit organization looking to spread awareness about an upcoming event text messaging is a powerful tool to help you reach a broad audience.
Here are a few tips for how to send a bulk text message:
1. Gather a list of phone numbers:
The first step in sending a bulk text message is to gather a list of phone numbers to which you want to send the message. This can be done by manually inputting numbers or importing a spreadsheet list.
2. Choose a text blasting service:
Various bulk text messaging services are available, each with features and pricing options. Some popular options include PowerTextor or Twilio.
3. Create your message:
Once you have your list of phone numbers and a bulk text messaging service, you can create your message. Make sure to keep your message short and to the point, and consider including a call-to-action (such as a link to a website or a phone number to call) to encourage recipients to take action.
4. Schedule your message:
Many bulk text messaging services allow you to schedule your message in advance to ensure it goes out at a specific time. This is especially useful if you want to send a message to people in different time zones or if you want to send a message at a time when you know most people will be able to see it.
5. Track your results:
After sending your bulk text message, it’s essential to track the results to see how many people opened the message, how many people clicked on any links included in the message, and how many people took the desired action (such as making a purchase or signing up for an event). This will help you gauge the effectiveness of your message and make any necessary adjustments for future campaigns.
By following these tips, you can send a bulk text message that reaches a broad audience and gets the results you’re looking for.
Here are some statistics related to the effectiveness of text messaging for marketing:
- Almost 78% of the global population owns a smartphone.
- In 2020, the average American spent about three hours per day on a smartphone and checked their phones around 160 times a day.
- 2021 mobile app sales were projected to hit $3.56 trillion.
- Six of 10 U.S. internet users have digital tools for product price comparison.
- Around 59% of American adults prefer to shop using their mobile phones.
- 69% of consumers prefer to connect with brands over text messaging instead of calls.
- Approximately 75% of people would like to receive commercial offers through SMS.
- According to Gartner research, text messages have an average open rate of 98% and a response rate of 45%.
- Comparatively, email open and response rates average just 20% and 6%, respectively.
- 95% of text messages are read within 3 minutes.
- The average person takes 90 minutes to reply to an email and just 90 seconds to respond to an SMS text.
As part of your marketing strategy, text messaging can help you leverage high open and response rates, quick read times, and widespread smartphone usage to effectively engage with your target audience.
Bulk text messaging is an easy, scalable, and cost-effective way to engage with your audience, share helpful content and offers, and market and promote your services.
If you’re ready to start SMS marketing or want to learn more, this guide explains everything you ever wanted to know about bulk text messaging. Keep reading to learn more about the benefits of bulk text message marketing and some valuable tips and tricks to make it work for your small business.
What is bulk SMS marketing?
Bulk SMS marketing is a way to connect with a diverse audience through message platforms and messaging applications.
It is a type of permission-based marketing in most countries, which implies that you can propagate bulk SMS only to those who have exclusively agreed to receive this mode of communication from you.
The expense of sending bulk messages is essentially based on volume, and messaging-providing services usually offer a subsidized cost for larger books. Standard plans could have monthly subscriptions and pay-as-you-go packages. You could increase your expenses with advanced features, but the bulk SMS software platform is generally pocket-friendly.
Features of Bulk SMS Marketing
Scalability
Bulk SMS marketing lets you target more clients side by side with lesser marketing campaigns and lower expenses. While you have a sufficient database of interested clients, you can grab a powerful SMS application to send bulk text messages.
These interested potential clients will instantly receive your text messages in everyday scenarios. Additionally, you can contact specific contacts by propagating bulk SMS messages that conventional marketing channels cannot achieve.
Application-based Automation
With the application, you have the leverage to manage the whole mechanism to lessen manual work. The program or software will target your contacts database and help you manage the message type you want to send and send those text messages.
Make genuine, two-way communication.
You have the control to make each text message into two-way communication. You can instantly send and receive feedback using a bulk text messaging service. That way, you won’t have to wait for a one-sided marketing conversation with lower success chances.
Engagement
Your customers want instant convenience for SMS communication. Contacting customers via text messaging is more practical for startups and small businesses. When customers approach your business through texts, they find it more convenient than email and other modes of communication.
While your business is more active and easy to reach, it will bring more customers and reach. However, email remains the rational approach for customer engagement and planning out outreach campaigns.
Keep the privacy of each recipient.
Bulk SMS USA service lets you unlimitedly send messages to a diverse audience while handling personalized conversations and SMS threads. The receiving party cannot access each other’s responses as each thread is transformed into a personal one-on-one chat reducing privacy concerns.
Moreover, this practice lets you do better customization to your client conversations.
What is SMS marketing for businesses?
SMS marketing, popularly called SMS marketing – is one of the most efficient ways to connect with clients. Most businesses of every size and in every industry can use text message marketing to:
- Send information about sales, deals, special offers, and coupons
- Send one-off, unique, or regular notifications or alerts
- Share relevant and meaningful content that may or may not be sales-related
- Send quick updates about the company, new product launches, new collections, upcoming events, etc.
- Or share updates about upcoming appointments and service reminders, or check in after service and ask for a review.
By sending short, direct, and relatable text messages, your business can:
- Increase audience engagement
- Boost conversions
- Close more sales and repeat sales
- Create marketing, advertising, and promotional programs
- Elevate brand awareness, recognition, and recall
- Establish strong customer relationships
SMS text messages are a low-friction communication platform that companies can easily customize. Additionally, you can automate your SMS marketing program to send bulk text messages to numerous existing and potential customers.
The Text Message
Initially, you must draft the message theme and actual text. Creating the SMS, particularly for a clientele, is crucial before you go for a bulk SMS service for your company. Make sure to follow business ethics while crafting messages. You can even keep a text template for later use.
However, your SMS must be concise and to the point prompting a call-to-action (CTA). After reading its context, your SMS content must have relevant information directing the clients towards further action.
Pick the Client
Make a group of clients depending on the client stage and pool specifically. Be mindful when you are picking out the clients for their grouping. These groups will determine your journey of bulk messaging. You can send specific information to clients of a particular affiliate individually.
Keep increasing your client database.
For a business, it is crucial to expand your client database more than it is today. Smartly increasing the number of recipients is beneficial in growing your clientele. You must also grow your target audience at least.
Be mindful of the bulk texting settings.
Counter-check your bulk messaging settings. When sending a targeted message, you must ensure the client cohorts’ names are accurate. You can schedule your bulk message at a suitable time for your clients.
You’re ready to send a bulk SMS.
It is time to send the messages as you have sorted everything out. The bulk SMS automation tools let you send SMS to customers or schedule text messages depending on your future needs.
Some things that you must ensure about the people you are sending the bulk messages to are as follows:
- They must have opted into receiving such messages.
- The message is relevant to them to the best of your knowledge.
- There is an option for people to opt out of the bulk texting group if they feel irrelevant.
Essential practical tips related to bulk text messaging
- The message should be concise and direct.
- Set the correct messaging time. Make sure you do not send out messages at odd hours. The message efficiency will affect if the timing is not appropriate.
- Another factor that reduces message efficiency is unlimited messaging. Do not message too much; it will not serve the purpose.
- Apart from sending bulk SMS, it would be best to manage message replies properly. Manage client responses, opt-ins, and opt-outs professionally. You can experience a good increase in target audience if you successfully send proper messages and stick to a precise mechanism. The aim of your message is customer engagement and education about your offer.
Bulk SMS provider service has a proven record of guaranteed results for small and large business enterprises to communicate with their clients and update them on the latest happenings. For your bulk messaging optimization, you should stick to the business guidelines.
Many bulk SMS-providing companies target businesses to avail of their services; the choice is yours. Pick the one that best matches your business needs based on their packages.
Is bulk messaging legit?
The short and sweet answer is yes. It is legit. But businesses must adhere to specific rules and guidelines and know these formalities well.
SMS communication is more personal and close than any other type of interaction. You receive SMS directly on your phone, whether at work, home, traveling, or shopping. Due to this versatility, businesses should take total leverage of text messaging ethically.
In their legal aspect, SMS messaging and SMS marketing are a transparent approach for businesses to communicate with clients who have given companies their consent earlier. Businesses have to follow these protocols set by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and other relevant rules in the U.S. These guidelines also include spam messages and calls.
Is bulk sms legal?
Bulk SMS, or sending large numbers of text messages to a group of people at once, is a popular and effective way for businesses to reach their customers and clients. But is it legal in the United States? The short answer is yes, bulk SMS is legal in the USA, as long as specific guidelines are followed.
In the USA, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates the use of text messaging and other forms of electronic communication. According to the FCC, businesses can send bulk SMS messages if they obtain prior express written consent from the recipients. This means businesses must have the explicit permission of each person on their text message list before sending them any messages.
Additionally, businesses must provide an easy way for recipients to opt out of receiving further messages, such as including an “unsubscribe” link in every text message. It is also essential that the messages do not contain any illegal or fraudulent content.
Violation of these rules can result in fines and penalties from the FCC. Businesses also risk being sued by recipients who feel their rights are violated.
Bulk SMS is legal in the USA as long as prior express written consent is obtained from the recipients, an opt-out mechanism is provided, and the messages do not contain illegal or fraudulent content. Businesses must comply with the regulations set forth by the FCC to avoid fines and penalties.
Bulk messaging begins with a division.
One important factor of using a bulk SMS service provider is to send texts with a higher conversion rate. It starts with dividing your customer database into sequential customer profiles. Relevant customer divisions can enable you to win customer trust, explore new service options, and exponentially boost your customer experience and service.
You can use different customer division models, including:
- Demographic division (age, gender, income)
- Geographic division (country, state, city)
- Psychographic division (personality, values, interests)
- Technographic division (phone vs. desktop use, apps)
- Behavioral division (tendencies and usual actions, feature/product use)
First, set your client division goals and what you aim to target and gain to make client segmentation. Then, divide your clients, and once your targeting and approaching phases are done, consider your segments and organize accordingly.
Making client divisions into groups for promotions and SMS is time-consuming and needs research. But it is all worth it. With settlements and thorough analysis, you can send the right SMS at the right time.
How to add a human touch to your SMS
Another crucial aspect of using a bulk SMS service is to have a human touch rather than acting like a bot. In modern times, customers prefer personalized communication over a bot-like interaction. They feel suitable to receive personalized human interaction with your business and attract more. Adding a personal touch to your SMS marketing will make your text posts sound like natural communication.
Add personal information in your SMS and marketing plan to achieve this purpose. For instance, Eva wants a promo SMS with a special discount on her earlier purchase on her anniversary, directed personally to her.
So, have you picked out a bulk text messaging platform for your business yet?
