Effectively reaching your target market has always been a struggle for business owners and marketers alike. While the task has become easier to achieve with the dawn of new technologies and trends, there are two classic digital marketing strategies that many companies still implement today.
SMS and email marketing can be considered antique marketing tactics when you consider how their technologies are decades old. However, the fact that these two are still part of the conversation is a testament to how effective they are in reaching and engaging their target market. Their longevity is also part of the reason why you see plenty of email vs SMS arguments among digital marketers nowadays.
The endurance of email marketing is understandable since many still use their emails for work and school. In fact, the first email blast was sent out in 1978. Meanwhile, the first instance of SMS being used as a marketing tool didn’t happen until 2000.
Learning everything you can about these two digital marketing approaches can help expand your marketing efforts. The two have their unique perks and characteristics, presenting unique advantages that can help you achieve your goals and reach your target audience.
Armed with this knowledge, you can create a more effective and comprehensive marketing strategy that harnesses the strengths of both channels and delivers better results for your business.
It’s a Toss-up Between Email and SMS Marketing
The fact that these digital marketing tactics are still standing is a testament to their efficacy. The question now lies on which channel will suit your needs best since they offer vastly different experiences.
If we must categorize the two, you can consider email marketing as a digital marketing approach that prioritizes reaching as many people as possible. Meanwhile, SMS marketing can be considered the more personal marketing strategy as text messages on mobile phones are more personal in nature.
Both email and SMS marketing campaigns can be accessed through PCs and mobile. However, email marketing lends itself better to being opened and read on computers and laptops; the opposite rings true for SMS marketing.
Email marketing
Email marketing works best for reaching a lot more people. Since email inboxes are more conveniently accessed via computers and smartphones, it’s possible to reach more people through it. After all, most people have active email addresses they use for social media and work-related matters.
The biggest things that make email marketing stand out from SMS marketing is its visual design and customization options. It’s easier to add visual flair such as colorful layouts and interesting images to promote the points that you’re trying to make.
It’s also easy to track the performance of your email campaigns with the help of email analytics software. Additionally, you can also program your software to automatically send emails to customers that meet certain criteria (items left in the shopping cart, previous buyer, etc.).
However, just about every other company also implements email marketing strategies. So, it’s hard to stand out from the crowd, especially if your emails aren’t action-provoking and visually appealing.
This brings your email design into mind. If your email has too many elements that take a while to load, your readers may lose interest. On the other hand, nobody likes to a block of plain text. Popular devices in the market uses must also be considered when designing your emails, making it a delicate dance to find the balance between visual engagement and quick loading times.
It’s also important for email marketing campaigns to constantly interact with their networks and encourage them to positively engage with your fresh content. However, flooding your contacts’ inboxes with emails may end up with your readers unsubscribing from your mailing list. Worse, they might even mark your future emails as spam. That makes for a second balancing act.
When to Use Email Marketing:
Email marketing can be a valuable tool for businesses in a variety of scenarios. For instance, it can be particularly effective when trying to nurture and retain existing customers, as it allows for personalized and targeted communication.
Email marketing can also be useful for promoting products or services to a specific segment of a company’s audience. Additionally, it can be a cost-effective way to reach a large number of people, as well as track and analyze the success of a campaign.
SMS Marketing
The biggest advantage that comes with SMS marketing is the level of consent from their customers. Obtaining a potential customer’s mobile number is a difficult task, and having it means that they have expressed interest in your offerings and are open to hearing more from you. This level of trust creates an opportunity for businesses to establish a direct and personalized relationship with their customers, which can help drive conversions and foster loyalty.
SMS messages are also more likely to get opened than emails. Since people have their phones with them all the time and SMS communication isn’t always used, they’re more likely to get read. More importantly, since SMS messaging is perceived as more personal, it’s easier to create a relationship with your customer base this way.
Unfortunately, these benefits also come with their own challenges. Since SMS messages can’t hold as many characters as emails, you need to be quick and concise with your message to your customers. The lack of visual customization that email marketing has in spades also hurts SMS marketing in terms of how appealing messages look.
Another important factor that SMS marketers must be particular with is the timing of their message blasts. If you’re handling a restaurant’s SMS efforts, it wouldn’t make any sense to send messages during the early morning or late in the evening. It would make more sense to send your SMS campaigns before or during regular meal times.
People usually see SMS messaging as a space that clients usually only use for people that they consider important in their lives. Family and friends usually fill people’s SMS inboxes. Fighting for space in a communication medium that is usually reserved to important relationships is an uphill battle that not everyone is so eager to fight.
When to Use Email Marketing:
SMS marketing can be a useful channel for businesses in certain scenarios. It can be particularly effective when a business wants to reach a specific audience quickly and directly, such as during a time-sensitive promotion or when sending appointment reminders.
SMS marketing can also be useful for engaging with customers who have opted in to receive messages and want to stay up-to-date on company news and offers.
Send the Best Message to Your Customers
We’ve all received unsolicited messages that encourage us to buy a certain product or service at least once in our lives. Whether it’s through SMS or email, we’ve probably been annoyed by those that we didn’t even ask for and immediately marked them as spam or blacklisted them.
On the other hand, we also remember emails and texts that came from businesses we know and trust. We’ve interacted with their messages well and probably got convinced to take action.
By putting your customers at the heart of your email or SMS marketing efforts, you can more easily turn prospects into sales. By learning the specifics of both digital marketing strategies, you can maximize your chances of reaching your goals and improving your bottom line.
If you’re interested in engaging in SMS marketing, talking to our qualified experts at Semaphore is a good place to start. We have years of experience in handling SMS marketing campaigns and help you build a network of loyal customers.
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