Tips for Personalized Messages & Custom SMS Campaigns
It’s almost 2022, which means now more than ever, customers increasingly expect more convenience in their communication. And with 80% of consumers more likely to make a purchase after a personalized experience — the importance of SMS Marketing as a communication tool cannot be over-emphasized.
While it’s true that most texts have a 95% open rate, a lot of brand texts which include notification/informational, campaigns, and promotional messages often go unread. So how do you get customers to in actual fact engage with your text messages? Personalization is the blueprint to getting results from your messaging.
In this article, you’ll learn how to properly leverage personalized text campaigns and why they deliver better results.
Personalized Text Campaigns — Key Definitions to Know
A personalized text message is an SMS created using subscribers’ specific data to provide more valuable offers and updates at the right time. Personalized messages can range from small touches, like adding a name, to messages written with one specific user in mind.
Here are a few important terms you should have in mind as we dive in:
Import Contacts: this is a tool that lets you input all your subscribers’ data/information by adding specific columns with these headers for each customer on your list:
. First name
· Last name
· Phone number
· Address
· Birthday
· ZIP code
· Gender
· And further specific details you need
List: A list is a group of subscribers’ contacts, along with each of their default and custom fields. You can create separate lists for different segments. For example, you may want to have one list for customers and another for employees.
Personalized Tags: this lets you send bulk SMS campaigns without making it obvious to your recipients, as you can insert a placeholder [tags] with %% signs on either side in your message content while composing your message to deliver personalized messages to each subscriber in your bulk SMS campaign.
For example:
“<%First Name%> has <%issue%> is in process.” Or
“Hi Mary, visit <%Address%> to collect your new card.”
How to Get Started with Personalized Text Messages
1. Import Any Existing Customer Information:
firstly, you’ll need the information with which to personalize your messages.
If you already have customer data from an existing CRM, you can easily upload it to our platform. However, if you do not have any information about your subscribers, you’ll need to gather it and save using our sample CSV file.
Learn more about how to import your contacts here.
NB: It is critical that you must have obtained definitive [written] consent from your customers before you text them.
2. Gather Additional Information
It’s easier than you think to collect additional information from your users. All you need to do is ask!
To help you with that, here are some ways to collect phone numbers.
· Via your Company Website using Web Sign-Up Forms
· Text-To-Enter Promotions
· Use Email Subscriptions to Collect.
Local businesses who already have a list of their subscribers’ phone numbers [data] who have given permission to text them, can simply integrate their CRM with Termii through our Campaign API. You can learn more about that here.
3. Segment Your Audience
Separate your users into lists based on the information you gathered.
4. Create and Send Your Personalized Text Messages
Compose your message and include the custom field you’d like to insert.
Each field corresponds to a personalized tag, which is a piece of text that looks like this: “<%First Name%>. Our platform will automatically replace this tag with the information stored for the corresponding field.
For example:
“Dear <%FIRST NAME%>, we sincerely apologies for the outage experienced on your account”
Here, the <%FIRST NAME%> tag will be switched out for each individual’s name from your list.
Custom SMS Mistakes to Avoid
1. Forgetting to Update Customer Data -
Don’t let too much time slip between when new subscriber comes onboard and updating their information.
This also presents an advantage for re-engagement. Messaging your contacts asking them if their information is up to date is a great way to keep your brand top of mind.
2. Over-Personalizing Messages -
Be sure not to over-personalize your messages with too many fields. Remember the goal is to give off a personal touch with your user and not appear overtly computerized.
Also, endeavor to keep your personalization limited to the information your audience has shared with you (either directly or indirectly).
3. Ignoring The Double-Check -
Before sending any personalized campaign be sure to double-check that your fields are placed correctly simply as an added precautionary method.
Now that you understand how to personalize messages and custom your bulk SMS Campaigns, let’s keep communication flowing this sales season! To get started, log in to your Termii account or sign up at www.termii.com to create a free account.
PS: You can use our Sandbox feature to test our SMS functionality and be ready to start an SMS marketing campaign or have a 1-on-1 conversation with your customers today.
Cecilia Abegunde
