What is Bulk SMS Marketing & How to Use It for Your Business

There is no doubt that we currently live in a mobile device-first society. Smartphone manufacturers compete to make their mobile phones faster, smarter, and easier to use. Texting, in particular, is a major focus when it comes to functionality because it is a hugely popular form of communication. So much so that more businesses are using text, or more accurately, SMS, to reach and convert their customers.

Bulk SMS marketing or SMS bulk messaging provides companies with an effortless way to connect with existing and potential customers. It may seem like a mass-production type of marketing, but in reality, bulk SMS campaigns can be personalized and create a sense of urgency to buy. The fact that SMS has an open rate of 94% means that a business can rely solely on bulk SMS advertising and enjoy unheard-of success. 

You can build SMS sender platforms or use a bulk SMS service to send bulk SMS messages to thousands of customers. Doing this will decrease the time your business spends on marketing, and you’ll have better results compared to using several traditional marketing methods. 

How To Write a Text Meant For Bulk SMS  

If you’ve never used SMS marketing methods, you’re probably wondering how to send mass text messages. Learning how to do bulk SMS marketing is the first step in turning your marketing campaigns into overwhelming business successes. And it all starts with creating texts for bulk SMS purposes.

Follow these steps to ensure your first bulk SMS message hits the mark:

• Decide on a goal for your message. Make sure this goal aligns with what your audience wants. Segment your contact list according to customer preference and send them messages about products and services that interest them.
• Include a CTA in all bulk SMS messages. You want your audience to act on your SMS bulk message, so keep it short and sweet and end with one intended action. This action could be to visit your website or to confirm their attendance at a product launch event.
• Make the SMS messages personal. Include your business name, logo, and recognizable visuals. People won’t click on a link if they don’t recognize the sender.  
• Measure your results. Track the delivery status of your SMS campaign. Doing this will help you understand how many of your messages have been delivered, opened, clicked on, etc.

How To Send a Bulk SMS

Now that you know how to structure your bulk SMS text messages, you must familiarize yourself with how to send out mass texts. The technical but user-friendly steps are as follows: 

• Grow your unique SMS subscriber list using a website opt-in form. Keep in mind that not everyone wants to receive text messages. You must gather your customers and potential customers’ permission before sending them any marketing SMS messages. Also, when people sign up for your SMS bulk messages, they are genuinely interested in your products. This means you have a better chance of converting them to paying customers.
• Find an SMS service provider that offers bulk SMS marketing solutions. Ideally, you want an SMS service producer that can guide you on how to send SMS messages fast without technical errors creeping in. The provider should also be knowledgeable about carrier and global regulations to prevent your business from landing in hot water.
• Get a pre-approved short code from your SMS carrier. This shortcode will allow you to send and receive bulk SMS messages. If you use long codes, chances are your bulk messages will end up in customers’ spam folders.
• Choose your words carefully. You only have one shot to grab your subscriber audience’s attention with your SMS message. Read up on text blast writing best practices and follow these guidelines before hitting send. Before sending your bulk SMS message, you must set your recipient and sender. You also need to set the content parameters of your message. Once you’ve sent your first message, you can track its performance.

How To Create an Effective Mass SMS Marketing Campaign

When you’re in the swing of things with mass SMS marketing, you need to work on creating effective SMS marketing campaigns. Work through these steps to get your bulk message campaigns on the best track: 

• Decide which goal is most important to achieve. For instance, do you want to get more sales from your campaign? Do you want to generate more interest in a new product? Do you want to introduce your brand to an entirely new audience? Your ultimate goal will form the foundation of your entire SMS campaign. 
• Determine the interests and requirements of the audience you want to reach. If your subscribers don’t need what you’re selling, they won’t react to your messages. But, if you can establish what they need and how it will solve their problems, you can create messages that speak to them directly.
• Segment your audience according to their interests. Your specific products and services will not appeal to all your subscribers. This means you must target different audience segments with different products and services.
•  While keeping your messages as short as possible, you must include a call to action. Always make sure that your messages are relevant to upcoming events at your business. For example, if you are having a weekend sale, send your message well in advance. Do not send random messages about products if you do not include value in the communication.
• Personalize your SMS messages. Use your subscribers’ names and refer to their past purchases when sending them new messages. People are far more likely to interact with a message, or a brand for that matter, that personalizes their communication.
• Use a professional SMS bulk messaging provider that can handle several bulk SMS campaigns. Using an SMS bulk messaging expert can also help you analyze the results of your campaigns. And these providers help businesses comply with anti-spam laws, which is vital to bulk SMS messaging.

Podium’s messaging tool will help you send tailored messages in minutes. You can use Podium’s messaging templates to craft a winning message and see results in minutes. Podium offers audience segmentation, personalization, and automation. These are the pillars of a successful bulk text campaign. Find out more about the Podium SMS marketing tool here.

The Best Bulk SMS Senders In The Market

Some of the best bulk SMS senders in today’s market include:

1. Podium

Podium offers businesses a way to maintain two-way conversations. It unifies communication efforts by integrating SMS technology with other marketing channels. Moreover, Podium is committed to compliance, helping your businesses avoid penalties. Podium stands out due to its commitment to cater to local businesses and its integrated, easy-to-use, review platform. Contact Podium today to discover how to simplify SMS bulk messaging. 

2. SimpleTexting

SimpleTexting is known for offering easy-to-run SMS bulk messaging campaigns. In contrast with other providers, this solution includes built-in applications for personalized surveys and competitions. Pricing starts from a mere $29 per month, making this a great choice for SMBs. 

3. MessageBird

MessageBird is another bulk SMS provider that is perfect for new users. Apart from being extremely easy to use, MessageBird allows you to organize your company messages, both internal and external.

4. ClickSend

ClickSend offers a range of features, including a customized sender ID and real-time message monitoring. And, unlike most other providers, ClickSend doesn’t charge monthly fees, which is a huge plus for small businesses.

5. EZ Texting

If you’re very green when it comes to bulk SMS campaigns, EZ Texting will get you going with onboarding and detailed help documents. And the company’s customer service department is always on hand to help. EZ Texting simplifies the process of bulk texting, and you can use integrated apps to send event or appointment reminders to your subscribers.

6. Textmagic

Textmagic is a highly intuitive solution for SMS bulk messaging. The platform offers pay-as-you-go pricing and several automation features. The best part is that it costs as little as $0.04 to get started, and you can connect to thousands of other tools, including Typeform and Slack. 

7. SendPulse

SendPulse brings automation and bulk SMS texts together for a winning combination. With SendPulse, you can send SMS campaign messages to over 1,000 mobile network providers in 200 countries. The platform also offers a fixed rate for bulk text messaging, which varies by country.

8. Textlocal

Textlocal promises built-in redundancy, real-time reports, and mobile features. This bulk SMS message provider offers fast API integration and browser-based UI/APIs. It has a stand-out customer support department to help you run successful SMS messaging campaigns. 

9. Salesmsg

Salesmsg offers you a local number no matter where you send your messages from in the U.S. or Canada. You can integrate the service with other CRMs, and it is a fantastic option for local small businesses. You can use Salesmsg for as little as $16 per month, an excellent budget benefit. 

10. Omnisend

Omnisend specializes in e-commerce SMS campaigns and offers several automation and reporting options. It comes with pre-built workflows and sign-up forms. Its best feature is omnichannel or multimedia marketing, allowing you to combine email marketing, SMS, and web push notifications.

11. Textedly

Textedly is a good option for smaller businesses that don’t have a huge marketing budget. The platform offers 12 plans that come with free incoming messages and custom keywords. Its standout feature is that you can send 300-word messages as opposed to 160-word texts.

12. Twilio

Twilio makes bulk SMS messaging easy by using intuitive APIs and features that work with a couple of lines of code. Twilio offers a unique documentation library and also provides a sample code and developer tools to get you going with your SMS campaign.

13. SlickText

SlickText offers a host of features like birthday messages, link shortening, keyword marketing, and webhooks. You can even create and manage a drip campaign with SlickText. And, what makes this option stand out is the ability to reward customers by texting them to offer redemptions.

14. Fast2SMS

With Fast2SMS, your messages are sent using multiple routes. This bulk SMS service also offers instant delivery reports for SMS and MMS. Moreover, it comes with a QR code system, which is great for quickly adding contacts.

15. Messente Communications

Messente Communications allows you to send over 9,000 messages per minute. This is a fantastic feature for large businesses. Messente prides itself on being able to handle rapidly increasing volumes, and it can reduce your artificial traffic.

16. BulkSMS                

Using BulkSMS, you can add attachments to your messages. You can also create landing pages, manage sender IDs, and set up scheduled messages. You can enjoy two-way SMS messaging while making use of BulkSMS templates.

17. MSG91

MSG91 focuses on the fact that people check their phones at least 144 times every day. This platform allows you to send millions of SMS messages at once. And, best of all, you can use regional SMS to communicate with customers in their language.

18. SMS Global

SMS Global promises two-way conversations and detailed reporting on SMS campaigns. Furthermore, SMS Global offers an extensive library for SMS integrations and plugins.

19. SpringEdge

SpringEdge has a range of messaging services powered by transactional SMS APIs. These APIs make it possible for you to integrate the bulk message services with your existing website or software. You can even send SMS alerts to customers using SpringEdge gateway services.

20. Trumpia

Trumpia is one of the easiest platforms to use for bulk messaging. It is as simple as creating a message, choosing a subscriber list, and clicking send. Trumpia also allows you to learn more about your audience’s preferences, and it stores the data for you. You can use this data to shape your messages, ensuring you only send relevant information.

Benefits of Mass SMS Marketing

 The benefits of bulk SMS marketing are endless. Some of the best benefits include:

Ramping up results with higher cut-through.

SMS messages have a high open rate, which means you can reach your customers in 7 seconds or less. While many people delete an email without reading it, most will open a text message to read it. 

Cutting costs with an affordable SMS plan,

SMS bulk message campaigns are cost-effective, so you can keep costs down while reaching more potential customers.  

Delivering unbelievable ROI.

SMS has a response rate of 45%. This means your ROI (return on investment) will be much higher than with an email campaign, especially since most people respond to a text message in under two minutes. 

Helping customers feel heard.

Personalized SMS messages help customers feel heard and appreciated. This is especially true if your message refers to their previous interaction with your business.

Tracking results in real-time.

You can track your results in real time, allowing you to make the necessary changes for your next bulk SMS campaign. 

Increasing brand awareness and building relationships with customers.

SMS marketing can help you build brand awareness by making it easy to send company updates and provide prompt customer service. You can also use it to build customer relationships by simply sending discount reminders and special offers.

Is SMS Marketing Legal?

Despite several anti-spam and other communication laws, text message marketing remains legal. But you must comply with the existing text marketing laws. 

The law states that you must not send intrusive text messages. SMS marketing regulations and legislation are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), and the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA).

The two main laws in the U.S. are the TCPA and CAN-SPAM laws. The TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) states that marketers must receive written consent before sending bulk SMS messages to their customers. Marketers must also explain the reason for the SMS messages and highlight all terms and conditions. The CAN-SPAM Act protects consumers against unsolicited messaging. The act essentially makes it illegal to send unwanted messages. If you violate this act, you may pay a fine of up to $16,000.

You can comply with all laws by receiving written consent before sending SMS campaigns. You should also provide opt-in (and unsubscribe) options on multiple platforms. Also, consider a double opt-in and ensure you stick to your terms. 

Bulk SMS Marketing Case Studies

Several companies use bulk SMS marketing and achieve great success with it. Consider these use cases for bulk SMS marketing:

•  Pottery Barn uses a business texting service to inform customers about their latest deals. This works incredibly well for the company because it allows customers to get first in line to take advantage of promotions and discounts.
• Orangetheory Fitness uses SMS communications to motivate people to sign up for a membership. The company sends out free VIP invitations for a free class, which has proven very popular with potential customers. SMS marketing has also done wonders for the company’s customer engagement.
• Umbra uses promotional messages to share sales and special offers on its home décor and hardware. They use a VCF (virtual contact file) to make it easy for customers to save the company’s details on their phones. This has helped Umbra to develop text relationships with customers and increase sales.
• Savage x Fenty is a lingerie brand owned by singer and songwriter Rihanna. SMS marketing, along with influencer marketing and email marketing, has helped the company grow by 150% year-on-year since it was established. The company uses text marketing to alert customers about new products and special deals. 
• Shopify uses SMS to send users an access code to help them enter their information on websites that use the Shopify platform. Doing this via a Shop Pay SMS has helped increase checkout speed by four times. 

How Much Does SMS Marketing Cost Per SMS?

Sending one SMS a week to 1,000 subscribers’ phone numbers for one month equals 4,000 messages. This would cost around $170. But that is just an average, and costs depend on the SMS platform or text message service you choose. You may pay between $0.01 and $0.05 per message. MMS texts cost more, as do international texts. International messages can cost up to $0.50 per message.

You should also consider the cost per customer keyword. Again, the keyword costs will depend on your provider, but you will likely receive one free keyword each month and must pay for more.

The best way to determine the overall and individual costs of your business SMS marketing campaign is to choose a provider and then a tier or price package.