SMS short codes provide an effective way to communicate with your customers. These codes enable customers to receive text messages from companies they want to interact with regularly. A major benefit for businesses wishing to use shortcodes for marketing is that mobile carriers do not filter shortcodes in the way they process standard 1-800 numbers.
In other ways, mobile service providers usually pre-approve shortcodes, enabling direct delivery to customers who have opted to receive them from their favorite businesses. Given this tremendous advantage, it is no wonder that many companies turn to short-code API for their promotional efforts. A look at the top five ways short code SMS boosts marketing campaigns can guide your company’s success.
Boost Open Rates
Using short code SMS is a great way to increase open rates. Experts believe the reason is that customers have voluntarily elected to hear from their favorite companies long before they receive the first text message. According to Statista, the average messaging opt-in rate is 77% worldwide. Among those who elect to receive marketing messages, only 6% ever choose to opt out later.
Moreover, up to 86% of consumers leave notifications on whether they are using native SMS, Apple, or Android. By using a short code SMS API service, businesses can help drive these numbers for success. Even more importantly, SMS messages have the highest open rate. According to Gartner Research, 90% of recipients open and read text messages within three minutes. Compare that to the mere 18% open rate for emails. Shortcode helps you quickly capitalize on this consumer behavior and maximize your effort and time.
Improve Customer Engagement
The use of short code SMS can also encourage customer engagement. Since a short code is only five or six digits, it is easy to remember and type. It allows customers to interact with their favorite businesses on their own terms. Customers can quickly identify the sender and respond at their leisure.
As a mobile-friendly form of marketing, shortcodes are perfect for bulk broadcasting, two-way messaging, and personalized alerts. You can easily engage with customers without needing to log onto multiple communication channels. In addition, the best short-code API services offer real-time message traffic reports to help optimize your SMS campaigns in the long run.
Increase Brand Awareness
Another benefit of short code SMS is that the tool can become synonymous with your brand. For example, you can create a vanity short code that reflects your industry or relates in some way to the product or service you sell.
Similarly, you can create a dedicated short code that uses a set of unique digits that customers will then begin to associate with your brand. Some of the best marketing techniques choose a dedicated short code that automatically works as a vanity short code. An example is Target Corporation’s short code of 827438. These six digits spell out TARGET on your smartphone keypad.
Bolster Consumer Confidence
Customers express greater confidence in companies with solid mobile marketing techniques. According to Bloomberg Insights, consumers prefer SMS communication since they are explicitly permitted to receive marketing notifications.
While email has a reported spam rate of 53%, the estimated spam rate for SMS messaging is only 2.8%. Since consumers now do everything from shopping to paying bills using mobile devices, they are also likely to react positively to business texts that are competent and professional. Using a dedicated short code is a great way to instill confidence in your brand.
Expand Audience Reach
SMS short codes offer a great way to expand your marketing reach. The tool allows you to send thousands of messages at a lower cost within seconds. Compared to paid advertising or sponsorships, bulk SMS messages provide a more economical way to reach numerous customers at once. Since SMS takes only seconds to reach any customer holding a smartphone, it is also a faster alert system than any other marketing channel.
Conclusion
Few mobile techniques can maximize your marketing efforts better than SMS short codes. Using shortcodes can increase engagement, improve brand recognition, and boost sales. Most of all, shortcodes connect you instantly with a target audience so that your brand always has an outlet for expansion and growth.
