Small and large businesses rely on Textline for their SMS marketing needs. Read their reviews and success stories.
<span class="platform__quote"><q>It made our business communication way more efficient, allowing us to get more leads and business in less time. <span class="platform__quote--blue60">I was looking for a solution like Textline for years. It was a lifesaver for us.</span></q></span>
<span class="platform__quote__author">Lina L.,<span class="platform__quote__author--blue60"> Capterra</span></span>
SMS marketing software is a platform that allows businesses to implement marketing campaigns via text message. The software enables businesses to send promotional SMS or MMS messages to customers who opt-in.
SMS marketing, a strategy for generating sales via text message, has grown in popularity over the last few years. That’s because more companies want to cut through the noise and reach customers on their mobile devices. SMS marketing is a good supplement to an email marketing campaign and can be used to build customer loyalty.
On average, SMS marketing campaigns perform seven times better than email marketing campaigns. Plus, SMS has an average open rate of 98 percent. This is nearly four times the average open rate of an email.
The average CTR for links in text messages is much higher than other channels like Google Adwords and Facebook. Text links see above a 9 percent CTR, while the others sit around 1 percent.
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SMS is a reliable form of communication because of its high delivery rate and immediacy. Research suggests that 90 percent of texts are read within three minutes.
If customers give your business their cell phone number, it’s a big display of trust. This makes SMS marketing a great opportunity to help strengthen customer loyalty and satisfaction.
Many organizations use text marketing software to send promotional offers and alerts to customers. While every SMS marketing software is different, Textline has an abundance of features to help scale via text message marketing.
<div class="platform__mb40">Save time and effort with an SMS provider that allows you to send text blasts to many customers at once. Instead of typing the same message over and over, you can send one message to many simultaneously.</div>
<div class="platform__mb40">Pick a provider that makes it easy for customers to opt into your marketing messages or provides suggestions on how to collect more opt-ins. Look for one that offers a text-to-join, which allows people to sign up to receive SMS messages by sending a keyword like “start” to your phone number.</div>
<div class="platform__mb40">One key to legal text marketing is to ensure customers can easily opt out of promotional messages. The right software automatically unsubscribes contacts if they reply with words like STOP or END.</div>
<div class="platform__mb40">You want an SMS provider that is familiar with regulations like the TCPA, the Campaign Registry, and CAN-SPAM Act. You need to make sure your text marketing is compliant, and the right SMS provider will help you understand the regulations and requirements.</div>
<div class="platform__mb40">There’s a human behind every phone number in your contact list. As a result, you’ll want to ensure you can respond to anyone who replies to your text marketing message. Having two-way text conversations will help you build connections with customers and answer questions quickly to close more sales.</div>
<div class="platform__mb40">When it comes to marketing, often a picture is more engaging. As a result, pick an SMS software that supports multimedia messaging.</div>
<div class="platform__mb40">You want a provider that makes it easy to add and manage contact lists. Look for those with import options like excel or CSV files and one that allows contact segmentation. This will make it easier to tailor specific messages to a group of contacts.</div>
<div class="platform__mb40">Ensure your business SMS platform allows you to schedule messages around the clock. That way, your marketing message will be sent to your target audience at the right time.</div>
<div class="platform__mb40">Some businesses will want a provider that has an SMS application programming interface. This will allow for greater marketing automation. The API can make marketing workflows more productive and connect disparate software. </div>
<div class="platform__mb40">Adding auto-reply texts to your SMS marketing means customers will get a response quickly. This could include order confirmation texts, appointment confirmation texts, or thank you messages.</div>
<div class="platform__mb40">To save time and effort, look for a provider that allows you to create and store text templates. This will help you save several canned responses to answer common customer questions or help you craft your next marketing text faster.</div>
<div class="platform__mb40">You want an SMS provider that allows you to track the performance of your text marketing campaign. Ensure you can see metrics like delivered, not delivered, replies, and more.</div>
<div class="platform__mb40">SMS surveys are a great way to learn more about your customers’ needs. Use SMS surveys to understand brand awareness, collect customer data, or adjust your marketing campaign.</div>
Textline is an industry leader in conversational SMS marketing, providing companies with tools to personalize text marketing efforts. It is equipped with features like mass texting, scheduled texts, and automations while also enabling businesses to two-way text with their customers. But what else differentiates Textline?
Textline is the gold standard for security. Our platform is the most secure texting platform on the market, following advanced protocols to protect customer data. Text contacts without risk.
Our support team is here to help from day one. We’re committed to answering questions and resolving issues quickly and thoroughly. Our Standard and Pro plan customers even get a dedicated support manager.
Textline’s multi-user platform enables teams to collaborate and efficiently manage SMS marketing campaigns. Team leads can also easily view and improve SMS campaign performance.
We constantly add new integrations and features based on customer feedback, so we’re at the forefront of SMS marketing.
Businesses across industries have turned to Textline for their text message marketing needs. Here are a few examples:
If a customer opts into your marketing messages, send them a welcome offer for joining.
<span class="chat-bubble"><span class="chat-bubble__text">Hi Maria! Thanks for signing up for Road Racer’s promotional messages. Here's a 20% off welcome coupon: {{link}}. Message frequency varies.</span></span>
Send a promotional offer or coupon to your customers.
<span class="chat-bubble"><span class="chat-bubble__text">Hey Ash. Take 25% off your order when you dine at Cobblestone Restaurant. We're open from 4pm to 10pm daily. Offer valid through 11/11.</span></span>
Send customers limited-time offers or send a flash sale notification.
<span class="chat-bubble"><span class="chat-bubble__text">Antonio’s Wilderness Resort: TODAY ONLY. Book your stay with us and get 25% off.</span></span>
Encourage customers to finish the buying process by sending them a gentle nudge over abandoned carts.
<span class="chat-bubble"><span class="chat-bubble__text">Serene’s Fragrances: It looks like you left a few items in your shopping cart, Sarah 👀 Finish checking out now: {{link}}</span></span>
Let a customer know that a product or item they want is back in stock.
<span class="chat-bubble"><span class="chat-bubble__text">Hi Marshall. Our heart rate monitor is back in stock! Get yours before it's gone: {{link}}. Text STOP at any time.</span></span>
Alert customers about a new product, menu item, house listing, or more.
<span class="chat-bubble"><span class="chat-bubble__text">Hi Payton. This is Riley from Crone’s Real Estate. There are 3 new houses in your desired neighborhood. Would you like to see more details or schedule a showing?</span></span>
Let customers know about a new store location opening.
<span class="chat-bubble"><span class="chat-bubble__text">Hi Shelby. Honeycomb Salon’s new location in Knoxville opens this week Tuesday! Schedule an appointment here: {{link}}.</span></span>
Urge customers to buy a product or service with a price drop text.
<span class="chat-bubble"><span class="chat-bubble__text">THIS JUST IN. Fit Gym slashed the price of our annual membership for a limited time. Purchase before Dec. 24 to get this lifetime discount.</span></span>
Send customers updates about their orders, including shipping alerts and more.
<span class="chat-bubble"><span class="chat-bubble__text">Hi Sam! We got your order. We will send another text when your items have shipped 😊</span></span>
Send customers a personalized birthday gift via SMS.
<span class="chat-bubble"><span class="chat-bubble__text">Coffee Roasters: Happy birthday, Marcos 🥳 Stop in this week for a free birthday reward.</span></span>
Make sure customers come to their appointments by sending appointment reminders.
<span class="chat-bubble"><span class="chat-bubble__text">Hi Fern. Your furniture consultation with Morty's Store is tomorrow at 12pm. See you there! </span></span>
Use a drip campaign to schedule a series of marketing texts to send to customers at the right cadence.
Day 1:
<span class="chat-bubble"><span class="chat-bubble__text">Hi Lucas. Thanks for signing up for Coffee Roaster’s loyalty program.</span></span>
Day 3:
<span class="chat-bubble"><span class="chat-bubble__text">Hi Lucas. Present this coupon code for 15% off your order: SWEET15</span></span>
Try Textline for free for 14 days. No credit card required.
Yes. SMS marketing is legal. But, there are several rules businesses must follow to comply with the laws that regulate texting. This includes the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991. To comply with the TCPA, you must have the consent of the person you’re texting. Read more about how to get more subscribed contacts here.
One best practice for marketing texts is to obtain a double opt-in. This means confirming a customer’s opt-in choice in the first text message you sent to them. To explain further, a single opt-in is asking customers for their phone number or having them fill out a contact form. A double opt-in is confirming the choice in a text.
In addition to obtaining an opt-in, you must also ensure your contacts can opt out at any time. This means ensuring customers can reply to the message with words such as STOP or END. Read more compliance guidelines here.
Sending a mass text campaign on Textline is easy with our Announcements feature.
Here are the steps to create a marketing Announcement on Textline.
To see a more in-depth guide with photos, view this help center page.
SMS marketing has proven to be an effective way to engage customers and increase revenue. Here are a few stats that showcase its effectiveness:
The best time to send a marketing SMS will depend on your industry and customer base. For example, an ecommerce store may have better luck reaching customers on weekends, while a B2B marketing team should aim to reach their customers during the business hours during a typical work week. One good way to find the best time to send marketing messages for your company is to test different send times.
However, be sure you don’t send marketing messages before 8am or after 9pm in your customers' time zones. If you send it outside of these hours, you could be illegally texting your customers, according to the TCPA.
There’s not a one-size-fits all frequency for businesses. It will depend on your industry, SMS subscribers, time of year, and more. However, one thing is clear: Do not send too many marketing texts, or you will increase your opt-out rate.
Textline recommends a monthly range of two to four texts to each contact.
There are many ways you can grow your SMS list. Here are just a few ideas:
For more SMS list growth tools, read our blog.
Yes! When you’re using Textline to send marketing messages, all customers can reply to your message. You can manage replies in one central SMS dashboard.
Pricing will depend on your SMS service provider and the number of marketing messages you send. Textline offers three different pricing options. Each option starts with a 14-day free trial. If you have unique business needs, you can fill out our enterprise form and a team member will work with you to determine a custom pricing plan.
Using the Textline mobile application, you can send marketing messages from your mobile device.
However, don't send marketing messages from your native texting app on your personal mobile device. Customers can’t easily opt out of messages from a native texting application. Plus, you can’t send out bulk text messages using a native texting app because it would start a group message versus mass message.
There are many best practices for SMS marketing. Below we break down a few:
To learn more about best practices, read our blog here.
There are three types of mobile phone numbers you can use for marketing SMS messages. These are 10-digit long codes, dedicated short codes, or toll-free numbers. 10DLC are local long-code numbers. Dedicated short codes are five or six-digit codes for texting campaigns and are often used for one-way text blasts. Toll-free numbers allow businesses to text from an 800 number. Each phone number type has pros and cons.
Create an omnichannel marketing experience and make better-informed decisions by integrating Textline with your top marketing channels and tools. You can integrate Textline with Instagram, Facebook, and HubSpot to centralize marketing outreach. Take your SMS marketing to the next level by integrating today.
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