In today’s digital age, almost everyone owns a mobile phone, making text messaging, or short message service (SMS), an incredibly pervasive and universal form of communication. It doesn’t matter where you are, what type of mobile device you use, or the technology it supports—SMS is accessible to all.
Here’s an astonishing fact: a staggering 98% of text messages are read by recipients, with a whopping 90% being read within the first three minutes of delivery. It’s clear that SMS holds unparalleled potential for businesses to connect with their customers through the fastest and most widely available mobile communication channel.
In this article, we will delve into the world of SMS marketing and showcase ten exceptional examples of how businesses are leveraging this powerful tool to engage their audience. Get ready to be inspired as we present real-time communication in action through captivating screenshots. So, whether you’re eager to explore innovative SMS marketing techniques or simply seeking inspiration to enhance your existing strategy, this blog post has got you covered.
Let’s dive straight into the SMS marketing examples or continue reading to discover how successful brands are leveraging this dynamic communication channel to their advantage.
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SMS Marketing Examples
Here are 10 SMS marketing example campaigns:
- Welcome message. “Thanks for signing up for updates.”
- Sales and promos. “Take 20% off your order with code THANKYOU.”
- Event invitations. “Join us for a live webinar on 5/1 at 4 pm.”
- Status updates. “Valued client, we have updated our policies.”
- Lifestyle and community. “Everything’s going to be amazing.”
- Booking confirmations. “You’re booked! See you on 3/17/2020 at 3:00 pm.”
- Appointment reminders. “Your appointment is tomorrow, 3/17/2020, at 3:00 pm.”
- Billing reminders. “Your balance of $100 will be paid by card on 8/1/2020.”
- Security codes. “123456 is your verification code. It expires in 15 minutes.”
- Internal company updates. “Team, please be aware of building maintenance.”
If it’s important to get your message in front of customers, prospects and communities in real-time, then it’s important to use SMS marketing tools instead of or in addition to email, phone or social media.
Let’s take a closer look at each SMS marketing example with real-world text messages from businesses like yours.
SMS Marketing Example #1: Welcome message
“Thanks for signing up for updates.”
One of the first messages a business will establish as they start text message marketing is the welcome message.
The welcome message greets new SMS subscribers.
Here is Larry Kim’s welcome message for people who subscribe to marketing updates:
In an SMS welcome message, be sure to include:
- What kind of content to expect.
- How often messages will be sent.
- How to unsubscribe.
Subscribe to Larry Kim’s SMS list with marketing news and updates once a week by texting “CLUB” to 1-309-740-3151.
SMS Marketing Example #2: Sales and promos
“Take 20% off your order with code THANKYOU.”
Businesses use SMS to send promotions and sales because it is one of the most engaging and cost efficient ways to engage prospects and customers.
Here is an update from a fashion brand, Jenni Kayne, offering a 20% promotion code to all shoppers.
This SMS example includes an image, the promo code, and a link to the website to purchase.
SMS Marketing Example #3: Event invitations
“Join us for a live webinar on 5/1 at 4 pm.”
Events, both online and in-person, are an engaging way to stay in touch with prospects and customers.
Send an event invitation to SMS subscribers letting them know when and where the event is happening and how to sign up or view it online.
Learn more about how to use chatbots to increase webinar signups and send event reminders.
SMS Marketing Example #4: Status updates
“Valued client, we have updated our policies. Read more here.”
SMS messages are read instantly and are the most effective way of sending time-sensitive messages.
That’s why SMS is the channel of choice for sending urgent messages and status updates.
If hours are changing, or appointments are being rescheduled, cancelled or moved, use SMS to update customers en masse.
SMS Marketing Example #5: Lifestyle and community
“Everything’s going to be amazing.”
Gary Vaynerchuck is a marketing industry influencer with massive reach.
Gary Vee uses SMS marketing updates to cultivate community and deepen brand engagement and customer relationships.
He does this by sending motivational and encouraging updates for marketers and entrepreneurs.
Depending on the brand, sending inspiration and motivation can be a way to secure a positive place in customers’ trusted mobile space.
SMS Marketing Example #6: Booking confirmations
“You’re booked! See you on 3/17/2020 at 3:00 pm.”
Email is a crowded place. Messages are often lost to spam filters or become invisible in a sea of unread messages.
Rather than sending a booking, appointment or reservation confirmation via email, businesses can send confirmations in SMS where they are more likely to be seen.
Along with sending an SMS confirmation that a booking has been made, this spa follows up with a reminder of the appointment, and automates the confirmation process.
Clients confirm their appointment by replying “C” to confirm their attendance.
SMS Marketing Example #7: Appointment reminders
“Your appointment is tomorrow, 3/17/2020, at 3:00 pm.”
Customers report SMS as the most convenient way to stay in touch with service providers and businesses.
Appointment reminders via text message are a no brainer because they are most likely to be seen when an appointment is upcoming.
In this SMS marketing example, a customer is reminded of a flight that departs in 24 hours.
Customers reward brands they do businesses with when solid communication is provided.
SMS Marketing Example #8: Billing reminders
“Your balance of $100 will be paid by card on 8/1/2020.”
More and more businesses are accommodating the preferences of their customers by providing billing reminders via text.
SMS updates are less likely to be overlooked than messages sent to crowded email inboxes, and they are just as easy for businesses to automate.
SMS Marketing Example #9: Security code
“123456 is your verification code. It expires in 15 minutes.”
One of the common ways that businesses provide a secure browsing experience to customers is to require 2-factor authentication via text message security codes.
In an age where online security is a top priority, customers appreciate the convenience and safety precautions available in SMS security codes.
SMS Marketing Example #10: Internal company updates
“Team, please be aware of building maintenance.”
SMS marketing updates allow businesses to have instant, light-weight, convenient communication with customers.
SMS is also a great channel for companies to send internal updates as well.
While email has traditionally been a primary way of sending internal company communications, start an internal SMS subscriber list for instant, urgent, and timely updates.
How to Create SMS Marketing Campaigns
Follow these steps to provide instant, engaging SMS updates for marketing, sales, customer support and communication.
Step 1: Sign people up for SMS updates.
How do I get SMS subscribers?
There are 3 main ways to opt-in subscribers to SMS updates:
- Keyword opt-in. “Text CLUB to 1-309-740-3151.”
- Upload contacts via CSV. Upload a list of phone numbers to an SMS marketing platform.
- Use an opt-in widget. Use website pop-ups and web chat to subscribe.
Read a step-by-step guide: How to get more SMS subscribers.
Step 2: Create SMS campaign content.
How do I write marketing SMS messages?
These are best practices for writing effective SMS marketing copy:
- Write short, concise copy.
- Clearly state the call to action.
- Personalize content.
- Emphasize words with capital letters.
- Add visual interest with emojis and images.
- Communicate urgency.
- Persuade with action words.
SMS marketing best practices are guidelines, not hard rules. There are always exceptions and only experience and testing will show what works best for a particular brand and audience.
Read a step-by-step guide: How to create engaging chatbot content.
Step 3: Blast SMS text message campaigns.
How do I send SMS text message blasts?
It is easy to create an SMS blast in 5 steps using a visual SMS campaign builder like Customers.ai:
- Create a Customers.ai account and activate SMS tools for $9/mo.
- Go to Marketing Automation tools > Chat Blaster.
- Choose the audience of SMS contacts to send the blast to.
- Use the visual StartBot editor to add text and visual media to the text message blast.
- Schedule or send the text message blast immediately.
Read a step-by-step guide: How to send SMS text message blasts.
Copy These SMS Marketing Examples & Make Them Your Own
SMS marketing is the fastest way to reach the +5 billion people that send and receive text messages around the world.
SMS marketing is instant, convenient and universal.
When you’re ready to execute your own SMS marketing campaigns, opt-in programs, and text message blasts, use Customers.ai’s suite of SMS marketing tools.
See all the tools in Customers.ai’s multi-channel chatbot platform by getting started with Customers.ai for free.
Important Next Steps
- Sign up for Customers.ai’s OmniChat™ chatbot builder to execute SMS marketing growth strategies and text message marketing campaigns.
- Advance your marketing performance with Chatbot University, a free chatbot tutorial and training area for marketers.
- Learn about SMS marketing with other enthusiasts. Join Customers.ai Island, a Facebook Group of 35k marketers and entrepreneurs.
Frequently asked questions about SMS marketing examples
Q: What is SMS marketing?
A: SMS marketing (short message service marketing) is another channel that marketers use to promote their products and/or services to customers.
It can also be referred to as text message marketing.
Q: Does SMS marketing really work?
A: Yes, SMS marketing is an effective way to reach customers. SMS messages have a 98% open rate (90% are read within the first 3 minutes).
Plus, text messaging is the most used mobile app in the world.
Q: How do I get started with SMS marketing?
A: There are three main ways to opt-in subscribers to SMS updates:
- Keyword opt-in. Example: “Text CLUB to 1-309-740-3151.”
- Upload contacts via CSV. Upload a list of phone numbers to an SMS marketing platform.
- Use an opt-in widget and use website pop-ups.
Q: How do I write marketing SMS messages?
A: The following are the most effective SMS marketing write practices:
- Write short, concise copy
- Clearly state the call to action
- Personalize content
- Emphasize words with capital letters
- Add visual interest with emojis and images
- Communicate urgency
- Persuade with action words
- SMS marketing best practices are guidelines, not hard rules. There are always exceptions and only experience and testing will show what works best for a particular brand and audience.
Q: What is the best time to send SMS marketing messages?
A: The best time to send SMS marketing messages depends on the audience.
With a platform that offers a scheduler, you can schedule SMS messages in your customer’s time zone.
Q: Can I SMS blast my customers?
A: Yes, you can use an SMS campaign builder to create a text message blast. SMS blasts are messages sent to a group of people at the same time.
You can use Customers.ai’s Chat Blaster to create and send an SMS blast!
Q: How do I send SMS text message blasts?
A: It’s simple to generate an SMS blast with a visual SMS campaign builder like Customers.ai in 5 quick steps:
- Create a Customers.ai account for $9 per month and enable SMS tools
- Go to Marketing Automation tools > Chat Blaster
- Choose the audience of SMS contacts to send the blast to
- Use the StartBot visual editor to add text, pictures, and other visual content to your text message blast
- Schedule or send the text message blast immediately or at a later time
Q: Can I blast SMS messages to people who haven’t opted-in?
A: You should only send SMS messages to people who have opted-in to receive them. Sending unsolicited text messages is a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and can result in penalties.
Q: What are the best practices for text message blasting?
A: Here are some SMS marketing best practices that help us use this channel to peak advantage when following text message marketing regulations in the U.S.
- Users must opt-in
- Include fine print details in ads and promos about the texting program
- Make opt-out easy
- Make messages valuable
Q: What is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)?
A: The TCPA is a law that regulates how businesses can contact consumers using auto-dialed or pre recorded telephone calls, SMS messages, and faxes.
You can learn more about the TCPA on the Federal Communications Commission website: https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/tcpa-rules.pdf
Q: How can I use SMS marketing to increase sales?
A: There are a few ways you can use SMS marketing to increase sales.
You can send text message coupons and discounts, promote contests and sweepstakes, or announce new products and services.
You can also use SMS marketing to re-engage customers who haven’t interacted recently or to follow up on a purchase.
Q: What are the best practices for using SMS marketing to increase sales?
A: The following are some best practices for using SMS marketing to increase sales:
- Offer discounts and coupons
- Promote contests and sweepstakes
- Announce new products and services
- Follow up on purchases
Q: What are 10 examples to stay in touch with customers?
A: Here are 10 example SMS marketing campaigns:
- Welcome message. “Thanks for signing up for updates.”
- Sales and promos. “Take 20% off your order with code THANKYOU.”
- Event invitations. “Join us for a live webinar on 5/1 at 4 pm.”
- Status updates. “Valued client, we have updated our policies.”
- Lifestyle and community. “Everything’s going to be amazing.”
- Booking confirmation. “You’re booked! See you on 3/17/2020 at 3:00 pm.”
- Appointment reminders. “Your appointment is tomorrow, 3/17/2020, at 3:00 pm.”
- Billing reminders. “Your balance of $100 will be paid by card on 8/1/2020.”
- Security codes. “123456 is your verification code. It expires in 15 minutes.”
- Internal company updates. “Team, please be aware of building maintenance.”
Be sure to review all 10 SMS marketing examples in this article with real-life examples.
Q: What are some preventative actions I can take to avoid making a mistake with my SMS campaign?
A: We’ve outlined 10 measures you can take to avoid SMS marketing mistakes that might get your number blacklisted, blocked, or banned.
- Always get SMS subscribers to opt-in.
- Always include a clear way for SMS subscribers to opt-out.
- Add personalization to your SMS marketing strategy.
- Optimize the send frequency of SMS messages
- Keep your SMS character count to 160.
- Provide value first, then sell.
- Respond to your SMS subscribers in a timely fashion.
- Be careful with how you use URLs in SMS marketing messages.
- Send your SMS Messages at the right time.
- Take measures to stop texts from being marked as spam (details in the full post).
Q: What does SMS marketing look like?
A: SMS marketing can vary in look and feel, but it typically includes a mix of text and images.
Here’s an example of an SMS opt-in message from Customers.ai which you can experience for yourself by texting the word “CLUB” to +16174335511 from the U.S. or Canada:
Once you’re subscribed to Larry’s Unicorn Text Marketer’s Club you will receive weekly tips and tricks like this one:
Q: Is SMS marketing digital marketing?
A: SMS marketing is a form of digital marketing. It uses electronic messages to communicate with customers via their mobile devices.
Tie SMS marketing together with your other digital marketing efforts and you’ve created the perfect multi-channel marketing campaign to achieve your goals.
All of these channels work together to form a marketing communication network that enables businesses to develop connections with consumers and leads at a massive scale.
Q: What is the average open rate for SMS marketing?
A: The average open rate for SMS marketing is 98% while email open rates sit just at 20%.
Text messaging is a more efficient way of interacting with consumers since they are immediately informed and have a greater probability of being read. Did you know that 90 percent of text messages are read within the first three minutes?
Q: What is the click-through rate for SMS marketing?
A: The click-through rate for SMS marketing is 36%.
Because of it’s simplicity, text messages are easier to read and improve click-through rates. The solution is short and sweet.
For more SMS marketing statistics, check out our article on 60 SMS Marketing Statistics.
Q: What are the benefits of SMS marketing?
A: The benefits of SMS marketing include:
- Reaching customers on their mobile devices
- High open and click-through rates
- Immediate delivery
- Can be used to announce new products and services, follow up on purchases, re-engage customers, customer survey on products and services, and more
- Low cost per message
Q: What tools do I need for SMS marketing?
A: As you evaluate your marketing stack, there are some SMS tools that are suited for fast-moving, growth-oriented marketing teams:
- Coding-free campaign builder
- Advanced Inbox Management in Desktop & Mobile Apps
- Keyword Opt-in Tool
- Contact List Uploader
- Website Chat SMS Opt-in Widget
- SMS Text Blaster
- Text Message Quick Replies
Check out our essential list of 20 SMS marketing tools.
Q: Do consumers like SMS marketing?
A: 75% of consumers are comfortable receiving SMS messages from brands as long as they opt-in to messaging.
64% of consumers think businesses should contact them via text messages more often.
Q: What are the best text messaging apps for SMS marketing in 2022?
A: Here are 22 best text messaging apps for SMS marketing in 2022:
- SMS opt-in from website popup
- Opt-in with text keyword
- SMS opt-in from Instagram
- SMS opt-in from ads
- Contact uploader
- Audience segmentation
- SMS blast
- Campaign scheduling by recipient time
- Drip campaign sequences
- Unicorn lead detection and notification to your team
- Audience tagging
- Conditional follow-ups
- Message personalization
- Email integration
- SMS customer survey
- Multimedia message (MMS)
- Emoji keyboard
- CRM integration
- Text-to-call forwarding
- Live chat agent follow-up
- Campaign analytics
- Android and iOS mobile app
Q: How can I get more subscribers to my SMS marketing campaigns?
A: The lifeblood of any SMS marketing program is in the subscriber list growth strategy. Here are 16 ways to get more subscribers to your text message marketing campaigns:
- Give SMS subscribers VIP access
- Collect phone numbers in Instagram automatically
- Opt-in SMS subscribers with a magic keyword
- Run a contest or giveaway via SMS
- Promote SMS opt-in across social media
- Use a website pop-up to invite SMS opt-ins
- Convert email subscribers to SMS subscribers
- Invite Facebook Page fans to get SMS updates
- Run Facebook Ads powered by a chatbot with automatic SMS opt-in
- Promote SMS opt-in on signs, posters, business cards and more
For the complete guide on 16 ways to get more subscribers, check How to Get More SMS Subscribers: +15 Irresistible SMS Opt-in Strategies to Grow Your List.
Q: Are there hacks to being successful in SMS marketing?
A: Yes! Let’s get to it:
- SMS keyword opt-in
- Upload customer audience list
- Get opt-in from web chat
- Get opt-in from Facebook chat
- Post a sign in a store or office
- Incentivize a website popup
- Mass text contacts with an SMS blaster
- Schedule SMS blasts in advance
- Drip SMS campaigns
- Trigger live agent notifications
Ready to dive in? Check out our full guide to SMS marketing hacks.
Q: What is an SMS keyword?
A: An SMS keyword is a term or phrase that individuals type into their cellphones to a phone number or an SMS shortcode. These SMS keywords are utilized to connect with your company through a particular text messaging campaign and a dedicated phone number or 5-6 digit shortcode (e.g., 12121) that corresponds to it.
Q: How can I create an SMS keyword campaign?
A: Use Customers.ai’s platform for all your SMS marketing campaign needs.
Step 1: Activate SMS tools
Once you’re in your Customers.ai account, navigate to the menu on the left-hand side, and click on SMS.
Then click on the “Activate SMS” button to get a free phone number to start sending SMS messages to your customers and prospects.
This requires upgrading to the PRO version or another subscription plan.
Step 2: Create a keyword to let people opt-in to SMS updates
Follow these SMS keyword tips, and you’ll be in good shape. Choose a keyword that is:
- Specific to your SMS marketing campaign
- Easy to remember
- Simple to spell
- Has as few characters as possible
Step 3: Add text and media content widgets to the SMS opt-in confirmation message
You can add both text (SMS) and rich media (MMS) to your Customers.ai SMS keyword campaign by clicking the plus sign and selecting your preferred content widgets.
Q: What is an SMS drip campaign?
A: Drip campaigns are intended to get in touch with the customer at the correct time with a specific message. Drip campaigns are good such as welcome sentiments, happy birthday wishes, order confirmations, and status updates—they’re good for your company while you focus on other things.
Q: Should SMS marketing replace another marketing campaign?
A: SMS marketing should not replace another marketing campaign, but can be used in conjunction with other campaigns to improve results. When done correctly, SMS marketing provides an immediate and personal connection with customers that can help increase conversions and sales. tips on SMS marketing, check out our blog!
For more guides, tips, hacks, and more on SMS marketing, check out our entire blog section on SMS Marketing.