People are overwhelmed by ads on every platform. You may not even realize how often you are seeing ads because you’ve gotten so used to seeing them. You see them when you open your Gmail, you see them on social media, you see them whenever you look at a page of Google’s Search Results (SERP). Not to mention ads on tv, radio and in between WIx videos. They even interrupt podcasts. 

But how can a business advertise a sale or special product that you know a person will like? One option is to send the news via texts.

Not everyone does it (yet). And they have high click through rates. 

Businesses turn to bulk SMS messaging to break through the marketing noise and effectively reach consumers. Short messaging service (SMS), or texting, is a simple, straightforward way to get your company’s message out to hundreds or thousands of customers at once. 

While there are dozens of bulk texting software companies on the market to help businesses communicate with their customers, choosing the right one can be difficult.

 

Pros of Mass Texting:

Instant Communication: Mass texting allows you to reach a large audience quickly. Messages are typically read within seconds of being received. That’s as good as it gets if you’re having a flash sale or weather related event, or want to notify people of any “ breaking” situation. 

High Open Rates: SMS messages have one of the highest open rates of any marketing channel, often exceeding 90%. People get far less texts from companies than they do phone calls. So they’re more willing to open a text (but see below. Mass texting comes with some downsides). 

Cost-Effective: Sending text messages is generally less expensive than traditional advertising, such as PPC Google Ads or TV commercials.

Personalization: You can tailor your messages by addressing recipients by their first name or selecting which content, offers, and more they receive. 

Opt-In Subscribers: Mass texting typically relies on recipients opting in to receive messages, which means you’re communicating with an audience that has expressed interest in your business or organization. They can opt out of course. 

Cons of Mass Texting:

Privacy Concerns: Mass texting can be annoying. Some consider texts the last form of digital communication advertisers shouldn’t invade. You can get around this if you make sure you have a customer’s consent before sending them texts, and stop when they reply “STOP.” Also, don’t text too much. 

Overload: No more than once a month, depending on your industry. It can vary if you’re providing order updates, but don’t go nuts. 

Limited Content: Text messages have a character maximums, which can restrict the amount of information you can convey. This can make it challenging to provide detailed information or convey long messages.

Spam Filters: Some cell carriers and spam filters may block or filter out mass text messages, preventing them from reaching the intended recipients.

Opt-Outs: You must provide an easy way for recipients to opt out of receiving further messages, and you must honor these requests promptly. Failure to do so can result in negative feedback.

Message Timing: Timing is crucial with mass texting. Sending messages at the wrong time can annoy or alarm customers. Keep time zones and seasonal changes in time. 

 

How Companies Use Mass Texting Software

Businesses use mass texting in various ways to communicate with customers, employees, and others. Here are some common ways in which businesses use mass texting:

1. Promotions and Marketing Campaigns: Many entrepreneurs use mass texting to promote products, services, or special offers, including promo codes. This can include sending discount codes, announcing sales events, or launching new product releases.
2. Appointment Reminders: Doctors, dentists, pet groomers salons, and service-based businesses often use mass texting to send appointment reminders to clients. This reduces no-shows and ensures that appointments are honored.
3. Customer Engagement: Businesses may send personalized messages to engage with their customers. For example, text  birthday wishes, anniversary greetings, or loyalty program updates. 
4. Emergency Alerts: In cases of emergencies, such as natural disasters or security threats, companies can use mass texting to quickly communicate with employees, customers, or residents in a specific area to provide safety instructions or updates. Garden nurseries often tell people if fast rising storms may shut down their businesses. Schools use mass texting services to inform parents not just about safety issues, but also fundraisers. 
5. Event Reminders:  Companies use mass texting to inform customers or attendees about upcoming events, changes that affect attendance, conferences, webinars, or workshops. This can include event details, schedules, and registration information.
6. Order Updates and Shipping Notifications: Any businesses that deliver products can send mass texts to provide order updates, shipping notifications, and delivery tracking information to customers, ensuring transparency in the purchasing process.
7. Employee Communication: Companies use mass texting to communicate with employees for various purposes, such as notifying them of work schedule changes, safety alerts, or important company-wide announcements. Encourage employees to keep it related to work. A lack of work/life balance sometimes makes people leave jobs. 
8. Surveys and Feedback Requests: Businesses may use mass texting to gather customer feedback through surveys or request reviews. This helps them gather valuable insights for improving products and services. Don’t overdue this. If someone does it once, consider yourself lucky. 
9. Fundraising and Nonprofit Initiatives: Nonprofit organizations and charities utilize mass texting to reach donors about events, ways to donate and more. Keep the monetary requests to a minimum over text. 
10. Travel and Transportation Alerts: Airlines, Ubers, public transportation systems, and travel agencies use mass texting to provide travelers with flight updates, gate changes, delays, and other travel-related information. It’s the one type of text people love to get! 
11. Political Campaigns: During political campaigns, candidates and political organizations use mass texting to reach potential voters, share campaign updates, and mobilize supporters. Keep it to a minimum and don’t use texting to hate on opponents. It will backfire.

 

Our Picks for Best Mass Texting Software

We compared bulk texting software based on factors such as ease of use, price and other fees, customer support and features.

BEST FOR MARKETING CAMPAIGNS: Trumpia

Pricing: from $94 per month (Free trial available)

Clients: McDonalds, LG, New York State

Pro: text and email messages based on subscriber data and responses, so you only send relevant messages

Con: Pricey

 

BEST FOR SMALL BUSINESSES: Textedly

Pricing: from $26 per month (Free trial available)

Clients: Walmart, JetBlue, Peloton

Pro: Boasts 98% open rate

Con: Some non-profits complained discounted plan was stopped

 

BEST FOR AUTOMATED CUSTOMER SERVICE: BurstSMS

Pricing from $5/month then per text charge

Pro: Unspent budget carries over into next month

Con: Some say price plan is confusing

 

BEST FOR BUSINESSES WITH INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS: SendPulse

Pricing from 2.2 cents per message (Free trial available)

Clients: Samsung, Swatch

Pros: Offers other services like chatbot

Cons: Not very user friendly

How SEO Design Chicago Can Help with Mass Texting

Depending on the business needs and goals, there are countless ways to conduct digital marketing.  Our digital marketing agency team specializes in on-page and off-page SEO as well as PPC. We also consult on the best mass texting software to use, and create the content for mass texts. We then give you reports showing you what texts are working and what aren’t. 

Text or SMS marketing involves getting texts directly from companies. Subscribers sign up to receive texts about a business’s products or services as well as industry news. Effective text marketing campaigns dramatically improve your business. Text marketing services from SEO Design Chicago include building your SMS subscriber list, creating texts, and sending them to your subscribers. Text marketing keeps your business on your customers’ minds. Our text marketing strategies are designed to increase click through rate and encourage readers to visit your website and make a purchase.