While it may seem dated in some industries, text message marketing is still one of the most effective ways to boost sales and create new opportunities for your business. With an impressive opening rate of 98%, which is far higher than any other marketing method, this is an approach your business is going to at least need to consider.
However, you’re only going to get success from this SMS marketing method is you implement it in the right way. With this in mind, today we’re going to explore the seven do’s and don’ts of text message marketing you need to know.
1. DO Choose the Right Service Provider
The first thing you need to make sure you’re doing is choosing the right SMS marketing service provider for your business. You’re going to make sure you can automate the sending and receiving of text messages and deciding how much this is going to cost in relation to the budget you’re willing to spend.
2. DON’T Forget to Opt-In Statements to Your Advertising
For your messaging service to be available, you’re going to need people on your sender list, which means you’ll need to advertise the fact you run this SMS service. One of the best places to do this is to add your opt-in mobile number to the bottom of your advertisements, whether that’s on your banner ads, or even your real estate sign postage.
3. DO Follow Up with Cold Leads
It can take a lot of time to follow up with cold leads, especially if you don’t think they’re going to lead anywhere. However, using a professional SMS service means you’ll be able to automate this process, perhaps by sending them a message a week later to remind them to take action.
There are plenty of different ways you could approach this, and the more creative you can be, the more you’ll stand out from the crowd, and you’ll grab the attention of your reader and the more likely you’ll be able to create a sales opportunity.
4. DON’T Text Numbers That Don’t Want to Be Contacted
If a number is registered on the National Do Not Call Registry, or whatever the equivalent is in your country, you must make sure you’re not contacting these numbers without their permission because this is against the law to do so.
You need written consent to do this. Otherwise, you could end up in a lot of trouble. In the US, this all relates to the FCC rules, so you’ll need to make sure you’re following them.
5. DO Remind People of Your Open House Events
The more interest you can gather for your open house events, the more likely you’ll be to make professional connections and create successful sales opportunities that make a profit for your business. Always remember to advertise your open house events via your text message service to remind interested people to attend.
6. DON’T Forget to Make Your Message Personal
The more personal you can make your messages, the more your readers and customers will connect to your messages and the more likely they’ll be to respond and take action that will benefit your business. Be clear about who you are and what you want people to do, as well as making sure you sound like a human being.
Nobody wants to interact with a faceless company or brand. Put some emotion into your messages.
7. DO Always Provide a Way to Opt-Out
Of course, while you ideally don’t want people leaving your text message mailing list, some people are going to want to, and it’s a good business practice, and basic common courtesy, to allow people to do this easily. It’s going to give you a bad reputation if you make people feel trapped.
At the end of your text messages, always give people a way to opt-out of your list easily and quickly, so they don’t feel pestered by your messages. You can easily do this by adding a line like;
“Reply STOP to opt-out of future messages.”
Make it clear and easy to spot. Remember, if you text someone after they have opted out in this way, this is a legal violation, and you can be sued because of it. Be mindful with your practices and ensure you’re operating within the boundaries of the law.
Summary As you can see, there are a few things you’re going to want to remember when it comes to using text message marketing for your real estate business, and as long as you’re putting these tips into practice and being mindful of your approach, you’ll know you’re taking the best steps possible to make the most of this coveted marketing strategy.
Molly Crockett is a marketing and lifestyle blogger for Ukwritings.com and Academized.com, where she writes advice for how businesses can increase sales using innovative marketing strategies. Molly is always seeking new ways to help develop sales skills; she teaches such skills at Boomessays.com.