Want to reach more people without spending too much time doing it? Automation has changed the way businesses keep in touch with prospects. Whether it’s to remind audiences about appointments, notify consumers about deliveries, or to simply engage with them, you can conveniently send mass messages using text automation.
Here’s a quick guide that shows why automated text messages are important and how you can send them.
How to Automate Text Messages
Around nine out of ten people prefer to communicate with businesses through SMS, according to SMS Comparison. Not only that, 80% of people who subscribe to business text alerts find it convenient, efficient, and more importantly, unobtrusive.
Automated text messaging refers to a myriad of ways of scheduling and sending bulk SMS messages to specific audiences without having to do it manually.
This is what you need to do before you can send an automated text message:
1. Subscribe to an SMS messaging system
In the US, you can choose from a diverse range of mass text messaging systems and gateways which make it easier for you to send bulk messages at specific times.
2. Upload your contacts
Once you’ve signed up, you can upload all the contacts who’ve opted-in for text alerts. Categorize your groups depending on where they are in the sales funnel, demographics, or purchase history so you can send the right message.
3. Write SMS messages
You can write personalized messages, product or service promotions, appointment reminders, and all kinds of alerts to your opt-in list.
4. Send and schedule SMS messages
After writing your messages, start scheduling them ahead of time. This way, you won’t have to manually send each one.
How to Use Text Automation for Business
SMS messaging systems may offer you multiple ways of automating your texts. Instead of spending hours sending texts to individual subscribers, you can automate responses and save precious resources, giving you more opportunity to focus on value-added activities.
Here are a few different ways of using automated text messages.
Keywords
Every time a subscriber texts a keyword, you can set up your messaging system to generate an automatic response. This method can be used for the following purposes:
· Welcome messages
· Offering promos, discounts, and rewards
· Collecting customer reviews
Scheduled SMS
Using your SMS messaging system, you may schedule messages for a specific group of consumers in the sales funnel. All you have to do is enter the message you want, then set the date and time you want them to be delivered. Scheduled SMS campaigns can be used for:
· Reminding clients of appointments
· Requesting customer reviews and ratings
· Following up on potential consumers
Drip campaigns
If you want to keep everyone in the sales funnel engaged, you can send a series of text messages, starting when someone enters your list. Drip campaigns can be used to carry out different tasks:
· Welcoming new subscribers
· Following up on leads and upselling
· Requesting customer feedback and reviews
· Converting new consumers
Non-commercial messages
Even if you don’t have active marketing campaigns, you can keep audiences engaged all-year-round by sending them non-commercial messages such as birthday greetings or holiday greetings:
· Enter a keyword for the special event
· Write the message you want to deliver
· Set the time and date
The Advantages of Text Automation
Eliminate manual tasks
SMS messaging systems eliminate the need for manual tasks. You can write the messages you want to send to your audience, schedule them, and then deliver them at the ideal time. You can schedule messages for a few minutes a day, then focus your energy on other activities that move the business forward.
Save time and money
Save your most commonly sent messages as templates to save precious time and resources. Take your welcome message for example. Saving it as a template will reduce the time you spend on entering the same message. The next time you need it, you simply have to select the template and hit send.
Enhance the user experience
SMS marketing can enhance the user experience and improve customer loyalty. Engaging consumers for non-commercial purposes, including birthdays, will help you nurture a relationship with your audience. Make sure not to leave them a message on special occasions.
Boost sales with minimal effort
Reach out to new leads, share promotions, and reduce cart abandonment without having to spend all your energy into sending mass text messages to audiences. Automation takes out the tediousness of SMS marketing.
Start SMS Messaging Today
SMS messaging remains a vital component of business. It lets you establish stronger relationships with consumers and improve sales without spending too much time sending messages. The best thing about it? You can minimize tedious tasks and focus your attention on what matters most—growing your business.
Ready to start SMS messaging? Contact the professionals at TextMyCompany to text-enable your current landline and set up your user-friendly SMS marketing platform.
