The not-so-technical Guide to SMS Marketing (Part 2)

Push and pull messaging – how does it fit into an SMS marketing campaign? Find out here and enjoy easier campaign planning.

Last week we explored the difference between push and pull messaging.

Push messaging constitutes instances where messages are pushed to a mobile subscriber’s phone. He or she didn’t specifically request the information, but receives it nevertheless.

Pull messaging on the other hand refers to instances where customers specifically request a service or information. In other words, they pull it toward themselves.

But, that’s only scratching the surface. Let’s take a more in-depth look at how it works…

The Catch-22 of Push Messaging

Let’s imagine for a minute a world where you can randomly push your messages out to any person with a mobile phone, with no rules to regulate the flow of these messages or their content. If virtually any email inbox is anything to go by, our mobile phones would be cluttered with endless amounts of s-p-a-m and we’d have to pay providers to restrict these messages, or get software to do it for us (forcing everyone to buy a handset capable of storing and running the software package). In fact, it would be the personal computer all over again, just smaller and choked easilier by large amounts of unwanted content.

Lucky for us we sometimes learn from our mistakes. In South Africa you can refer to the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002 for regulations about unsolicited messaging.

Push messaging requires opt-in customers – in other words, customers that have physically opted in on your text messages campaigns, indicating that they have an active interest in what you have to say or sell.

So how do you get opt in customers?

Just Pull Them

Or rather, let them pull you. Remember, the excellent thing about SMS marketing is that your audience is already qualified – that sale is almost there. So all you need to do to let them pull you is use any existing advertising channel to let them know you have a text message service available.

If you refer to our previous post you’ll note that the following message types all form part of pull messaging:

Text..

• …to win
• …to vote
• …to feedback
• …for call-back
• …for alerts
• …for code
• …for rewards

Any of the above call-to-actions can be advertised virtually anywhere where traditional and more contemporary advertising channels exist.

Tip: Incentivise your pull message campaigns. It works.

Pull a Little, Push More

Pull campaigns aren’t the only way to get subscribers to your SMS marketing campaigns, but they are effective. When you combine your push and pull strategies for the purposes of customer acquisition and increased sales over the short term, the campaign structure would look something like this:

1. 1. Pull: Launch a campaign to advertise your SMS marketing service using a medium applicable to your target market.
2. 2. Opt-in: Provide those who respond to your pull campaigns with the option to opt in – but remember to give them a reason. “Join today to receive future specials and freebies…” is an example of a good start.
3. 3. Push: You now have the contacts for your SMS marketing campaigns. Ensure your own success by keeping the following in mind:

• Let your contacts know where they stand: tell them how often they can expect messages from you.
• Cater for their interests: Would try and sell a parachute to Superman? No. The same goes for your clients – give them content you know they’ll have an interest in.

Although there is still a lot of info, we’ll have to stop this post right here. But next week we’ll have a look at how you can gauge audience response and tweak your campaigns for better SMS marketing success!

Read about the benefits of mobile marketing, get campaign ideas and see which products and solutions will fit your business by visiting the SMS marketing page now.

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