It’s our hope that you are beginning to enjoy creating an app empire with the AppsGeyser Android app builder. And we believe that you’ve learned many new tricks that will help you on your way to a successful appreneurship. We have already shared various resources in this blog that can help you so far. For instance, we have looked in more detail at internal marketing strategies for location-based marketing for your app, we’ve also shared in-depth about how we use and create push notifications. Today we continue equipping you by sharing another app marketing strategy that involves a more traditional advertising method of sending SMS messages to your app audience.

It is crucial in the modern business world for an enterprise to be able to communicate effectively with its audience. Effective communication is key to maintaining a good level of customer service and helping to increase audience participation. One of the ways businesses can enhance brand messaging is by using a popular technological communication method of today – SMS (text) messaging. 

Why should I use SMS (text) messages?

1. They are Prompt

One advantage of using text messaging as part of your app marketing strategy is that this communication method is time-sensitive and arrives instantaneously on the portable device of your audience. Besides, research shows that 90% of people read their text messages within 3 minutes. And on average, it takes mobile phone users 90 seconds to reply to a text.

2. Non-disruptive

The message is not disruptive like a pop-up advertisement and does not block up your post like a leaflet. It simply sits in the mobile mailbox until the audience member is ready to respond. This messaging style will reach your audience no matter where they are and is accessible at all times for the audience member to access as and when they need to.

3. SMSs are opened more than other types of messaging

98% of text messages sent are opened. Put SMS against emails and you realize that text messages score excellently since the open rate for emails is 15-20%. This we can attribute to the fact that you will require a smartphone or computer and connection to the internet service to open an email, WhatsApp, or Facebook messages. But any simple phone can receive and view a text.

4. Personal

People carry their phones all over and are likely to have them near 24/7. Additionally, one of the commonly used features of smartphones is text messaging.

5. Availability

Your target user just needs to have any type of phone and they can comfortably receive a text. It doesn’t need to have any special features. They will read any message you send them directly without the need to use a QR code or switch to a different phone.

6. Two-way communication –

If you wish, you can choose an app that allows recipients of your sms text messaging to reply to you. This increases your personal interactions with target consumers and you can get valuable insights about your app from them.

Are SMS (text) messages actually read?

Let us look at some statistics that were recently extracted from a report taken in the US:

• Mobile phone users aged between 18 and 29 years use text messages more often than voice to communicate.
• On average, 94% of all text messages are read.
• 80% of consumers have their mobile at hand for the majority of the day.
• 39% of US consumers — that is a staggering 76 million people — prefer text messages to radio or TV advertising.
• According to customers texting research by Point of Sale, 85% of buyers claim coupons they receive via text messages within a week.

See, the statistics say a lot about the power of SMS marketing especially when utilizing
the power of SMS links. Besides, it’s also important to know that even if smartphones and the internet are common in most parts of the world today, there’s still a large population that doesn’t own a smartphone or doesn’t have access to the internet service. But, they own simple phones that they can use to receive text messages that don’t require QR codes.

How can I incorporate a messaging strategy in my marketing?

There are many ways in which you can integrate SMS (text) messaging within your marketing plan, it all depends on what message you want to convey. For example:

• Sending promotions – using CRM with text messaging, you can send up-to-date sales messages to advertise a new product on the market or a discount. This is a very common form of SMS (text) messaging marketing.
• Education/Information e.g new updates –  Another way text messages are used is to educate the audience or to notify them of service changes. Take for example a school can send all their pupil’s parents a message to announce that the school has to close due to an emergency situation. This way, the school gets the message instantly to all that need to hear it.
• Customer Service – As a business, you may need to update customers on individual situations, such as when their orders have been shipped, or if you need additional information from the customer. This is a more personalized approach to customer service.
• Services/Reminders –  Reminders of events and appointments are regularly sent out in order to ensure that the customer does not forget something that they have signed up for.

What companies can I use to send SMS (text) messages?

Built-in text messaging services are not available via AppsGeyser, we offer you the option to create push notifications. However, this is not the end of the road. There are many companies out there that will offer you the tools to create an account from which you can send text messages to your target customers. Here is a look at some examples of such companies:

1. Clickatell is an international-based company that offers you the ability to alert and interact with your audience. It works together with over 960 mobile networks in 220 countries, giving you the ability to message an international audience. Click here for more details on this company.
2. 2sms has been offering SMS (text) messaging solutions to companies since 2000. Its main clients are in the United Kingdom and the United States. It claims to be able to reach all the major mobile networks throughout the work allowing you to target your audience no matter where you are based. To read more about this company please click here.
3. Eztexting is another large company that has over 50,000 businesses and groups that utilize their services. This company has seen text messaging services being utilized as both a communications tool and also a text message marketing platform. The service is easy to use and has different pricing and strategies depending on your business type.
4. SimpleTexing is a text messaging provider that focuses on enabling you to run marketing campaigns quickly. Use it to send a single message to a list of users at once. You just need to create a new campaign and insert your message. Once you hit the send button, everyone on your list will receive it. You can send autoresponders for new leads and check how your marketing is doing using SimpleTexting’s Analytics tab. Check them out to see how they work and their charges.
5. TextMagic is your go-to choice if you are a new user who wants to start sending your marketing messages right away. There’s no learning curve or complicated requirements to fulfill. You just sign up and with a few clicks, you’ll be ready to send your first messages. With TextMagic, you can send messages from your personal number so that you receive the replies directly, or use TextMagics number and get the replies from API, your email or website. Besides, you can automate texts and integrates with other apps such as calendars and Zapier. 

Good luck getting started with your app career. We would love to hear how you have set up your new business, what strategies have worked for you so far as well as what has not worked. Share with us on our social media pages.