How to Create an SMS Marketing Campaign in 5 Easy Steps

SMS marketing is one of the most direct and effective communication channels that businesses can use to reach their customers. With open rates exceeding 98%, sending text messages represents a unique opportunity to engage your audience and promote products or services. However, an SMS marketing campaign requires careful planning to achieve the best results.

In this article, we will see how to create an effective SMS marketing campaign in 5 simple steps, using advanced tools such as those offered by Lightspeed, your platform for email marketing, bulk SMS and WhatsApp.

Step 1: Define Your Goals

The first step in creating an SMS marketing campaign is to establish clear objectives. What do you want to achieve with this campaign? Do you want to promote a product, launch a new offer, build customer loyalty, or increase traffic to your site? Defining objectives is essential to guide the entire process, from creating the message to choosing the recipients.

Examples of objectives for an SMS campaign:

• Increase sales with a special discount.
• Generate reservations for an event or appointments.
• Inform customers about news or promotions.

The most effective campaigns always have a specific and measurable goal. Use KPIs such as response rate, conversions and sales to track results.

Step 2: Build a Qualified Contact List

An effective SMS campaign relies on a well-structured contact list. GDPR requires obtaining explicit consent from customers to send them promotional messages, so make sure your list is made up of people who have given their consent and are interested in your services.

You can collect phone numbers in several ways:

• Sign-up forms on your website
• In-store events or promotions
• Special offers in exchange for phone number (e.g. discount for those who sign up)

Segment your list based on factors such as location, purchasing behavior, or interests. The more targeted your messages are, the more likely they are to get a positive response.

Step 3: Create a Short and Clear Message

The effectiveness of SMS marketing lies in its brevity. With only 160 characters available, you must be concise and direct. The message must contain:

• A clear offer.
• An explicit call to action (CTA).
• Any key information such as a link to a landing page or a discount code.

Message example: “Hi [Name], 20% off your next purchase from [Brand Name]! Use code DISCOUNT20 by Friday. Click here to purchase: [link]. Reply STOP to unsubscribe.”

Use the recipient’s name if possible and make sure the message is personalized. A personal touch can significantly increase your response rate.

Step 4: Schedule Sending at the Right Time

When you send your SMS is crucial to the success of your campaign. Avoid sending messages too early in the morning or too late at night. The best time to send promotional SMS varies by industry, but in general weekdays between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm are considered ideal.

Test different sending times and analyze the results to understand when your audience is most responsive. Lightspeed gives you the ability to schedule campaigns to reach customers at the best time.

Step 5: Monitor Results and Optimize Your Campaign

Tracking results is essential to evaluate the success of your SMS marketing campaign. Use the available metrics to analyze:

• Open rate: How many recipients opened the message.
• Conversion rate: How many people completed the desired action (e.g. purchase, booking).
• Response rate: How many recipients interacted with the message.

If your response rate is low, you may need to revise your message copy, CTA, or send timing. Lightspeed provides detailed, real-time reports to understand what’s working and what’s not, helping you optimize your future campaigns.

Don’t forget to A/B test. Try different versions of your message, sending times, or offers to see what works best with your audience.

Creating an effective SMS marketing campaign is not complicated if you follow these five steps: define your goals, build a list of qualified contacts, create a clear message, choose the right time to send and carefully monitor the results. With the advanced automation tools offered by Lightspeed, you can make this process even easier and achieve an even higher success rate.

SMS can become an extremely powerful channel for your multichannel marketing strategy, especially when combined with email and WhatsApp, to offer your customers a complete and personalized experience.

If you’re ready to take your communications to the next level, try Lightspeed today to create SMS marketing campaigns that make a difference!