Why you can't ignore SMS marketing any longer
Email marketing has somewhat failed to hold audience attention, and it SMS marketing could be a viable alternative.
HubSpot's recent research indicates that most 12-17 year olds prefer to communicate via SMS, instant messaging, and social media. Over the last 12 months, there was a 59% drop in their Web-based email usage. If most teenagers prefer to communicate with text messages, instant messaging and social networks, then email marketing doesn't reach as far as it used to. SMS marketing could be a viable alternative.
While SMS marketing could fill the gap for teenager communication, HubSpot also claims that "web-based email usage has been on the decline among ALL Internet users under the age of 55." So SMS marketing isn't just for teenagers.
This is not to deny email marketing as a technique, but to remind us that SMS marketing (and social media marketing) deserve a place in mainstream marketing practice. SMS marketing has two main benefits that traditional marketing doesn't have. The first is that its medium (text message) is a communication channel preferred by customers (this also why Facebook advertising is successful).
The second reason for SMS marketing success is that it communicates with audiences in a more personal way. The 'one-way' transmission model of communication is gone: we now know that two-way communication is more successful. So SMS marketing, like social media marketing, works because it makes communication between organisations and publics as easy as possible. SMS marketing becomes valuable when audiences can send an SMS to an organisation and get a personalised reply.
SMS marketing is not a 'fix-all:' it can and should be used in addition to other marketing channels. It must be well-planned to get great results. Above all, it needs to offer value to the customer, in accordance to marketing best practice. That 59% of teenagers who aren't using email won't necessarily be customers of SMS marketing today, but as HubSpot put it, "today's kids are tomorrow's customers-and they're probably not going to be reading your email."
Watch this video for a quick introduction to SMS marketing: what it is, why it works, and how you can use it.
HubSpot's recent research indicates that most 12-17 year olds prefer to communicate via SMS, instant messaging, and social media. Over the last 12 months, there was a 59% drop in their Web-based email usage. If most teenagers prefer to communicate with text messages, instant messaging and social networks, then email marketing doesn't reach as far as it used to. SMS marketing could be a viable alternative.
While SMS marketing could fill the gap for teenager communication, HubSpot also claims that "web-based email usage has been on the decline among ALL Internet users under the age of 55." So SMS marketing isn't just for teenagers.
This is not to deny email marketing as a technique, but to remind us that SMS marketing (and social media marketing) deserve a place in mainstream marketing practice. SMS marketing has two main benefits that traditional marketing doesn't have. The first is that its medium (text message) is a communication channel preferred by customers (this also why Facebook advertising is successful).
The second reason for SMS marketing success is that it communicates with audiences in a more personal way. The 'one-way' transmission model of communication is gone: we now know that two-way communication is more successful. So SMS marketing, like social media marketing, works because it makes communication between organisations and publics as easy as possible. SMS marketing becomes valuable when audiences can send an SMS to an organisation and get a personalised reply.
SMS marketing is not a 'fix-all:' it can and should be used in addition to other marketing channels. It must be well-planned to get great results. Above all, it needs to offer value to the customer, in accordance to marketing best practice. That 59% of teenagers who aren't using email won't necessarily be customers of SMS marketing today, but as HubSpot put it, "today's kids are tomorrow's customers-and they're probably not going to be reading your email."
Watch this video for a quick introduction to SMS marketing: what it is, why it works, and how you can use it.
About the Author:
This article was written by Andrew Campbell, the Country Manager of TXT2GET Australia. TXT2GET are a leading SMS marketing company operating from the US, NZ and Australia. For more free insights, industry trends and research reports, visit the TXT2GET blog.
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