How to Optimize Your SMS Marketing Texts for Success

What Is SMS Text Optimization?

Text optimization is a term you’ll hear most often in the online marketing space; it’s the process of creating search-friendly web content that offers value, is unique, answers frequently asked questions, and so on.

But it can also be applied to SMS message marketing. Optimizing a marketing text message should involve content that is unique to the brand, engages readers, offers value, and incentivizes customers to take action.

What Are the Benefits of SMS Marketing Text Optimization?

Nothing in life is free, and the same goes for SMS marketing. But with the right text optimization strategies in place, you can earn a hefty return on your investment.

Just like with text optimization for web content, optimizing SMS marketing messages can greatly impact your business’s success. From converting people into first-time buyers and increasing sales to nurturing brand loyalty, there are many benefits to optimizing your text messages — and all of these can lead to a better SMS ROI.

SMS Text Optimization Best Practices

Here are the best practices for text optimization for SMS marketing:

• Choose the right tone and style. Knowing your audience is crucial in the early stages of your business when you’re learning how to position your brand and then in every part of marketing campaigns after that. Understanding your customers will help you determine the right tone and style for your marketing SMS messages. For example, for a primarily older audience, you won’t want to include Gen Z jargon or even emojis, as this can be distracting or confusing for a customer in that demographic. Write according to your audience, but always stay true to your brand voice.
• Segment your audience. But wait—what if your brand has customers who fit different personas? We have an answer for this common situation: customer segmentation. Text marketing platforms, like EZ Texting, have features that allow businesses to group customers by preferences, location, demographics, and more to create more targeted messages with the right style and tone. The benefits of segmenting your audience are reduced opt-outs, increased reach, and higher engagement because each customer is receiving messages that are relevant to them.
• Keep it short and sweet. SMS texts typically have a limit of 160 characters, so every word counts! While you want to be engaging, it’s important to use concise language. Customers shouldn’t have to spend time deciphering your message or wondering why you sent it. Make sure that marketing texts get to the point quickly and succinctly (aka provide a clear purpose).
• Write in active voice. This is a good practice in many situations, but especially so in SMS marketing texts. You might be wondering, “How do I write in active voice?” You write in an active voice by placing the emphasis on the subject taking the action, thus, the action itself, rather than on the target of the action. In other words, you’re making sure that the action is presented up-front.

Take these SMS marketing examples:

Passive voice: “Barry’s Bikes here! The new colors of our tricycles will be loved by your kids. Every tricycle purchase will get 10% off.”

Active voice: “Barry’s Bikes here! Your kids will love the new colors of our tricycles. Enjoy 10% off every tricycle purchase.”

Include a CTA. Another part of text optimization in marketing is motivating customers to take action. After all, you don’t want to go to the trouble of sending bulk text messages if your contacts don’t do anything about them. Be sure to include a call to action (CTA) in every message. A CTA doesn’t have to just encourage people to purchase a product; it can ask them to text to donate to a fundraiser, sign up for an event, check out a real estate listing, and so on. It all depends on the goal of your SMS text campaign. And remember: Write your CTA in active voice.

Choose strong verbs. The stronger the verbs, the more descriptive and engaging your messages will be. You’re probably thinking, “How do I use strong verbs?” You use strong verbs by evaluating the verbs currently in your SMS text and replacing them, if needed, with better ones. Changing the copy to incorporate more descriptive and topic-specific verbs can engage the customer and boost the quality of your messages.

Personalize your SMS texts. Customers probably won’t read your SMS advertising messages if they don’t feel engaged. One way to get their attention right off the bat is by using their name or other details relevant to them or their purchase habits. Additionally, you can reach out to customers who haven’t interacted with your brand recently, share product recommendations that complement a past purchase, and so on — all in an effort to make your contacts feel like they are valued individuals. Personalized SMS texts are the keys to customers’ hearts.

Send at the right time. Don’t overwhelm your customers with too many messages. Instead, stick to this rule of thumb: aim for no more than one SMS text per week, and always send within weekday business hours. As your text marketing campaigns get underway, you can track which times of day and days of the week get more engagement. Use these insights to find the best times to send messages.

How To Measure the Success of Your SMS Text Optimization Efforts

Measuring the performance of SMS marketing messages isn’t always straightforward, especially when each text marketing campaign's goals can differ (do you want to boost sales, garner attention for an upcoming local event, or request donations to a nonprofit?). But one strategy that every business should use is A/B testing.

For any given SMS text campaign, you can test out different messages to see which one has the highest performance. As with any experiment, make sure that your test groups are consistent. This means testing different sets of messages on customers in the same segments. Try to only change one variable at a time when conducting A/B testing (like the CTA, tone of voice, and so on).

Then, schedule both sets of messages to be sent at the same time to different contacts in that group. Take the time to analyze the following from each group:

• Open rates
• Click-through rates
• How many people took the intended action (like purchasing a promoted product, signing up for an event, etc.)

Use this data to determine the most successful message and apply your learnings to future marketing campaign ideas.

Stay Up to Date on SMS Marketing Optimization Trends

Now that you know the best practices for text optimization, it’s time to put them into practice! But remember to stay on top of new optimization trends and helpful features to ensure your messages are meeting the mark.

That’s where EZ Texting can help. We’re your one-stop shop for all things SMS marketing. We offer easy-to-use features and up-to-date information on new trends and best practices in the industry, from generative AI for SMS marketing to how to use text and video messages to your business’s advantage. Start your free trial today!