How to add value to your SMS recipients.

How to add value to your SMS recipients.

Most consumers prefer to receive an SMS from a company rather than any other form of media.

Emails and voicemails can get easily ignored and deleted, but texts are practically impossible to miss thanks to notifications appearing instantly, and phones always being in hand. Opt-out rates for email subscriber lists are significantly higher than Text opt outs.

Even with these statistics, it is still important that your recipients feel they are getting some sort of value from the messages they receive. They need to feel that you had a good reason to message them, that the message is worth their time to read and respond to and that they can take action based on that message.

What adds value to an SMS?

Text messaging is the most engaging channel for messaging, with a near 100% open rate and 40% click-through rate. But if you don’t have a message that engages your recipients and adds value, they are much less likely to take action.

1. Have a compelling reason to reach out:

What is the reason they are receiving your message and why is it important?

2. Create a captivating message:

Your message needs to be clear and concise. Your message is coming in the form of a text message, and one of the biggest appeals of a text is that it’s short and to the point.

3. Avoid language that is industry specific:

Try not to include words or phrases that the majority of your audience may not understand.

4. Incorporate a call to action in your message.

A call to action is a phrase that will give your audience a next step in the process. In the case of an SMS promotion the next step could be “click this link”, “Reply to this message” or “use this code.

 

SMS tips to make sure your message is not reported as spam

What to do:

  • Indicate where the message is coming from. What organization you are sending from or sending on behalf of.
  • Indicate nature of your contact reason in question, possibly the account/invoice # or any other information that will indicate this is a legitimate contact.
  • Confirm that intended recipient is at the indicated number. “Is ------ at this number?” “We are looking to contact -------”
  • Use the Odyssey blacklist, Do not message contacts if they opt-out of messages. Have language in you message to allow recipients to opt-out.
  • Only text contacts who consented (Opted in) to being messaged.

 

What not to do:

  • Do not, use of public URL softeners or links to questionable websites or domains that do not match your official website. These can appear as spam to many people receiving such messages.
  • Do not, use outdated customer databases where phone numbers could have new owners who did not opt in or are not the target of the content.
  • Certain phrases or style choices may set off spam filters. This can include ALL CAPS, Unicode characters (such as emoji’s) sent in large quantity.
  • Avoid using phrases such as “Exciting opportunity” or “Important Business Matter”. These can be used by spammers to grab attention and due to this are automatically flagged/blocked by many SMS service carriers.

Other things to note.

  • Some wireless providers may block A2P (Application to Person) messages from ten digit long code numbers.
  • Sending the same (or similar) messages from many numbers may cause a carrier blockage. If the content is flagged as spam by a carrier, it can affect any recipient using that carrier.

Why Odyssey’s SMS service can help you regularly communicate with your remote team

Some common feelings of remote workers are that of being isolated and the lack proper communication. They want to feel more connected to their office and team.

Likewise, businesses depend on remote workers doing their tasks effectively to be operational, and being able to get questions rapidly answered is key to this relationship.

SMS can be an excellent communication method for this purpose. Most people can more immediately answer a text to the phone they carry at all times, than an email or group chat.

With Odyssey, you can individualize a mass text sent to your team so that each SMS recipient gets a unique response based on their personal requirements.

1. Reach out instantly for a situation that needs immediate attention.

2. Touch base in a way that feels more personal to the recipient.

3. Keep everyone updated on recent accomplishments and growth.

4. Read all SMS replies in a single place.

You can use text in conjunction with other communication streams to ensure your message will be read, even on the trip for morning coffee!

Improve your internal organizational communication with Odyssey SMS

Organizations, and the teams within them, often have scheduled meetings to get all of their members on the same page – these can occur weekly, monthly, quarterly or as required.

With more and more teams working remotely, coordination is essential. Odyssey SMS can be used to send a group message to the entire team, with the ability to personalize the meeting link, time, date and other important details for different departments in a single send. 

SMS can be used as a quick reference rather than sorting through the countless emails one receives on a daily basis.

Using Odyssey Merge tags, you can input information in one single “list” that is unique to each team or even an individual recipient you would like to contact. Sending one SMS “job” to multiple teams simultaneously, improves efficiency, organization and time management.

Here are a few examples of personalization that can be achieved in a single list with varying information.

 “Hello [Department] team, our quarterly meeting will be held on [Meeting date] at [Meeting time] please click this link [Meeting link] to join.”

“Hey [first name], it is time for your performance review. Please meet with me on [Meeting date] at [Meeting time] and use this link [Meeting link] to join.”

The 3 steps to a successful communication plan

Medium or Message?

The Medium or the Message? Which is more important and where should we focus our efforts?

There has been much discussion, and confusion surrounding this subject. The answer is simpler than you think: Both!

In today’s world of multiple communication platforms and mediums, we tend to get swayed or confused on where we need to place our efforts. Which medium? How do we format our content to fit each medium? Must we communicate all messaging across all mediums? What demographic content is right for which medium? With so many questions, where do yous tart?

There has been no other time in history where we have had such a barrage of communication methods available to us. It seems that we just get used to one method, learn how to use it effectively, when something new pops up and the discovery starts again. WhatsApp, Snap Chat, Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, iMessage, to name just a few. And let’s not forget the existing older methods of communication: Email, fax, paper mail, newspapers, magazines, TV, radio and the phone. Are these still even viable or accepted methods to communicate  and do they provide a given return on the investment of time, effort and money?

Let's look at this from a different perspective. The following 5 questions are the first step in our quest to determine which method and medium is the right one to use:

Step 1

  1. What do we want to accomplish?
  2. What is our desired end goal?
  3. Where are we now?
  4. What’s available to us currently?
  5. What else is out there that we know or don’t know?

These questions lead us to the next step. Here are 6 reasons why we communicate.

Step 2

  1. Generate awareness of who you are (Enables you to be found, person or company)
  2. Get your message to resonate (Create a connection)
  3. Generate a sense of trust (Create a conversation)
  4. Create a relationship (Validate your brand)
  5. Sell something (End goal)
  6. Sell something again (Start another process which includes some of these steps above)

Now we have a starting point. Now don’t get me wrong, this is by no means easy, however getting these questions answered is vital and results in the creation of our roadmap.

Let’s take these 6 reasons and look at what we should know or do before we begin the task of creating a communications plan. Believe it or not, the information you have just derived from this process will begin your strategy.

Step 3:  The T5 of your communication plan.

  • Theme- What is the overall look and feel? What is the demographic? Who is the ideal target? What is the ancillary audience? What is measured, providing what information and for what purpose? What is the knowledge derived and what power can you gain?
  • Tactics- How are you going to bring action to your plan, and what are the milestones? What technology will be used? When and how will they be utilized?
  • Technology/Tools- What technologies do you have at your disposal and what can be used to provide some automation, repeatability, and scalability? Which messaging or communication platforms will be used in this plan?
  • Term- What is the period or length of this communication project? There must be a defined end.
  • Talent- What do you have available and what do you need to source? Think about marketing execution, content creation, and process development.

So, what do we know? We know where we are, we know where we want to be, what we want to do and we know what we have available to us (technology/tools/talent). Also be aware that at this stage, we don’t know some things. These will only be revealed as we progress in our plan. This must be allotted for and allowed to occur, as nothing ever follows precisely as planned.

So, what does all this have to do with the medium or the message? Everything!

It tells us that we need to think about how our world is communicating today, and what is the best medium for direct communication. It also tells us that once we figure out the medium, we need to understand how that medium works and what is accepted and what is not! It tells us that we must be clear about our message and the content of that message. Does the message provoke a positive response? Does it provoke an action?

A stone tablet and a chisel, or carrier pigeons were once the prime way to communicate, however we don’t see them in use today.

SMS-Voice-Email, and others; all mediums serve a purpose or we would not still be using them. When we find a better way to communicate, we adopt it and dispose of lesser none useful ones. In summary, when you build out your communications strategy, keep in mind these steps to create success:

⇒ Understand, plan and create a strategy on how you want to use technology

⇒ Technology is great, but it’s just a tool.  It is highly sophisticated, but a tool none the less

⇒ Use  a  medium  that  fits  your  message,  and  then create a  message  that fits  your  medium 

⇒ Think about how and when you would use specific mediums