E-commerce is big business, and it’s a field that has been dominated by email and social media marketing in recent years. Let me guess: your current e-commerce marketing campaign consists of a daily/weekly email newsletter and several irregular “deals” emails as well as daily social media campaigns on Twitter and Facebook? Yep, that’s what I thought.

These campaigns have become all-too-familiar for e-commerce shoppers, however, and have gradually lost their effectiveness in a saturated market. How, then, do you differentiate yourself from the pack? The answer: free text SMS marketing.

WHY USE SMS MARKETING?

1.      Efficiency – Just like email marketing, text marketing involves very little cost but lots of upside.

2.      Read rates – Many emails get deleted immediately. Texts feel more “personal” and are more likely to be read. Recent studies show that close to 97% of text marketing messages are at least opened (that’s much better than email, in case you didn’t know).

3.      Trust – If you can build a personal relationship with your customers, you’ll see far greater results in product purchases. Text is still a personal medium of communication, and talking directly to your customers with deals and promotions tailored to them is a sure way to boost sales.

SMS MARKETING BEST PRACTICES

1.      Build trust – Just like email marketing, text marketing is about trust. Make sure you get an explicit “opt-in” from all your recipients when they sign up for updates online. Then send them an innocuous SMS welcome message that gives the opportunity to opt out. Once someone has opted in twice, he or she has confirmed interest in receiving your messages.

2.      Use sparingly – SMS is the most invasive marketing form as it intrudes on a recipients personal communications. Unless you think your promotion or deal is a can’t-miss opportunity, don’t send it via SMS. Treat SMS marketing like your biggest gun and use appropriately.

3.      Resist over-automation – SMS automation is good in that it saves time, but text messaging is still a “personal” medium and so your communications should reflect that. Don’t sound like a text robot – put some voice and personality into your communication.