How To Run A Text Messaging Campaign For Your Mobile App

The urge to stay relevant in today’s modern world has led many businesses to create mobile apps. While not every business requires a mobile app, it can make a difference in boosting conversions and customer loyalty.

A mobile app may even help businesses monitor customer relationships, particularly if they maintain close contact with each of their customers. It can also enhance customer analytics, boost promotional efforts, and give your brand better exposure in the online shopping arena. However, you need to market your mobile app to get your desired results.

These days, there are countless ways to promote your mobile app, and one of these is running a text messaging campaign. Also referred to as texting, text messaging is a form of personal, direct communication that allows you to get in touch with your target audience. Unlike other communication channels, text messaging will enable businesses to communicate with their audience in a responsive and more personalized way.

If you want to take advantage of text messaging campaigns for your mobile app, it’s now made easy because of companies offering services similar to Drop Cowboy ringless voicemail. To get started, here are some of the ways to run a text messaging campaign:

1. Understand Your Goals

Before you decide to run a text messaging campaign for your mobile app, you should understand your goals first. Have specific, achievable, measurable, realistic, and relevant goals to ensure your campaigns are executed in a way that meets your primary objectives.

For example, one of your goals is to spread the word about your mobile app. In this case, you need to prepare a compelling story about your mobile app and what makes it different.

You should also take time to determine your target audience to craft the right content for your campaigns. To know more about your current and potential audience, you can use tools similar to the auto dialer system, which can provide insights about your customers.

2. Include A Clear Call-To-Action (CTA)

One of the reasons text messaging campaigns fail is that a CTA isn’t presented properly. More often than now, some CTAs are unclear, making consumers more confused about what they should do next. So, if you wish to drive engagement, focus on creating a clear CTA for your campaigns.

Here are some of the tips to create a killer CTA:

• Use Attractive Words And Clever Verbs

As mentioned, CTAs must be clear and concise. Therefore, avoid using lots of words and be straightforward. Your audience must immediately know the next step to take. Otherwise, you’ll end up losing opportunities.

Using action verbs is a good way to attract your audience’s attention. For instance, your CTA can be ‘Get the app now.’ It may push your target audience to quickly click the link and download the app.

• Get Rid Of Distractions

A distraction can be a design or copy element that distracts readers and prevents them from taking action. Typically, it happens once you try to achieve too much, like including information that your readers don’t need.

• Use Persuasive Writing Skills

Another way to create a killer CTA is to use persuasive language. Use various words that persuade people to follow your direction. Just keep it concise to make your audience learn more and build intrigue.

• Never Be Afraid To Be Creative

It’s best to keep your CTAs fresh like you must with your text messaging campaign content. An old-fashioned A/B test will help you determine which CTAs bring you clicks and frowns.

While you can always stick with the tried and true CTAs, being creative with your next CTA may also give your desired results. Just be sure to test it and check the analytics regularly to know which CTA works best with your campaigns.

3. Leverage Immediacy

Most people read text messages as soon as they receive one. It makes text messaging an immediate channel to connect with your target audience. So, make sure to leverage immediacy when running a text messaging campaign for your mobile app.

For example, if you’re going to release your mobile app on Friday evening, sending campaigns before Thursday is too early. If you want your campaign to grab your customer’s attention, send it a few hours before your mobile app’s launch. Just be sure to deliver high-value content with a clear and concise CTA.

4. Keep Consistency In Mind

Another big mistake most businesses often make when using text messaging campaigns is not paying attention to consistency. Like many marketing aspects, you must leverage any promotional or marketing character at your disposal. If you don’t have one, create one and use it as your messaging calendar’s foundation.

In terms of sending your campaigns to your customers, you want to deliver something of value in every message. However, if you’ll take your audience for granted even after installing your app, most of them may unsubscribe because they’re too busy and may forget about your app. So, try to send at least one text message weekly to stay at the top of their minds and continue using your mobile app.

5. Measure Your Progress

The only way to know if your text messaging campaign is successful or not is by measuring it. In terms of text messaging, there are some things you can do to measure the results. The good thing is that it’s easy to manage. Some of the metrics you can follow when running a text messaging campaign are as follows:

• Redemption Rate – It’s something you can monitor to determine the percentage of users who redeem your offers.
• Subscriber Churn Rate – It’s the frequency with which people opt out of your text messaging campaign over time. Ideally, your campaign shouldn’t exceed a two to three percent churn rate.
• Subscriber Growth – It helps you monitor your growth rate every week and help determine which activities can make your mobile app more interesting.
• Cross Channel Engagement – Using keywords within various media outlets, you can easily measure which kinds of media or media locations perform best and optimize depending on the engagement.

6. Have A Text Messaging Campaign Team

A text messaging campaign for your mobile app isn’t something you should do on your own. While you have a helpful tool for mobile app development and running text messaging campaigns, you’ll need the assistance of skilled professionals at some point. It’s especially true if you don’t know where to start and don’t know the steps to create a successful campaign. For this reason, create a team of professionals who are knowledgeable about text messaging campaigns.

Depending on your needs, your team may include a text marketing expert, creative digital designers, coordinators, promotions specialists, and more. The more complete your team is, the better the results you’ll get from running text messaging campaigns.

Best Practices To Consider When Running A Text Messaging Campaign

Are you ready to launch your text messaging campaign? If so, here are the best practices you can consider to achieve success:

• Get Permission

Text messaging campaigns have evolved throughout the years. Back then, spamming individuals with texts was considered wrong, but several organizations still did it. Today, based on the authorities’ rules, it’s illegal unless you have consent.

The days of buying a database of phone numbers and sending out text messages are a thing of the past. As a matter of fact, doing so may get you penalized. So, to avoid penalties or a hefty fine, you should get permission from the users.

Before you send a text messaging campaign, ensure your potential customers have supplied you with their phone numbers or opted in. When you contact unsolicited users, you may lose your credibility and increase the number of users who unsubscribe.

To grow your list, you can use keyword campaigns so that your target users can text a particular word or code to opt in. For instance, if you want them to use your mobile app, you can ask your consumers to send a message with the word ‘Try’ to a certain number.

• Keep Your Text Messages Short And On Point

The text messages you send must be simple and short yet straightforward. Once you send lengthy messages, your target audience won’t bother reading and may opt out of receiving messages in the long run.

Moreover, text messaging will only let you write content with 160 characters. Thus, it’s wise to grab your audience’s attention, communicate your message, and close it with a killer CTA. For example, when informing your audience about your mobile app, make your message more compelling with an exciting greeting, relay the information about your app, and explain how they can get it. You don’t need to include other unnecessary details.

• Add Value

Ensure your text message campaigns are relevant and add value to their experience with your mobile app or brand. When you’re prepared to reach out to your audience, think of the messages that would please them. Some crowd-pleasers are sneak peeks, promotions, and coupons that are only accessible using your mobile app. These can excite your audience to download and install your mobile app immediately.

Providing valuable information other than promotional offers can also create a level of surprise and anticipation. As a brand, you should see text messaging campaigns similar to how it looks at joining group conversations on social media platforms. So, ask yourself how you can add value to your campaigns without causing disruptions.

• Never Bombard Your Users

While you might want to communicate every piece of promotion or the latest information about your mobile app, never overdo your text messaging campaign efforts. Consumers can’t ignore text messages as they could with social media ads or billboards. If they often receive more messages from your brand, they may opt-out quickly.

And to avoid bombarding your users and make the most of text messaging campaigns, consider scheduling your texts when necessary. Then, try limiting the number of words you send to a particular number of users.

• Focus On Your Best Clients

If your business has been operating for several years already and it’s only recently that you decide to launch a mobile app, a good practice for running text messaging campaigns is to focus on your loyal or best clients. They are the ones who are consistently transacting with your business, and they deserve to be the first ones to know about your mobile app.

Create a list of your best clients and reward them by prioritizing them in your text messaging campaigns. For instance, you can include special offers or other benefits in your campaigns once they download your mobile app.

• Give Your Audience An Option To Unsubscribe

While you don’t want your target audience to opt out of your text messaging campaigns, you should give them the freedom to choose whether or not to unsubscribe. Often, making it simple for them to do so can make them willing to stick with your campaigns since they know how easy it is to unsubscribe in case they don’t find your texts relevant.

You can provide several options for your subscribers to opt-out. For example, you can include a link that will direct them to your app’s unsubscribe page. Aside from this, you can make it easy by allowing them to reply with the word “Stop” to unsubscribe from your campaigns quickly.

• Choose Appropriate Times When Sending Text Messaging Campaigns

Avoid flooding your users with text messages at inappropriate hours. Pay attention when sending your messages. Consumers will think you’re intrusive or unprofessional once you randomly send text messages.

Regardless of your operation or service hours, you can send messages during your typical business hours. This way, nobody would feel resentful toward your text messaging campaigns, and fewer people would opt out.

If you want to know the best time to send campaigns via text messages, you can run a survey to ask your customers their preferred time to receive texts. Doing this will help you figure out the right timing when sending campaigns without causing disruptions to your audience.

Conclusion

Regardless of what type of mobile app you want to promote, you can maximize the advantages of your text messaging campaigns by taking the time to create effective messaging, investing in a team, understanding your goals, and more. For best results, read the above guide before you run a text messaging campaign for your mobile app.