Mobile phone displaying text messages, illustrating direct customer communication via SMS
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What Is SMS Marketing? Benefits, Tips & Best Practices

A comprehensive introduction to SMS marketing and how it can transform your customer communication.

SMS MarketingNov 15, 20256 min readSebastian StokkendalSebastian Stokkendal
In This Article▼

SMS marketing is the practice of sending promotional or transactional messages to customers via text message. It's one of the most direct and effective ways to reach your audience, with significantly higher engagement rates than almost any other marketing channel.

How SMS Marketing Works

At its core, SMS marketing involves three key components:

  1. Building a subscriber list: Customers opt-in to receive messages from your business
  2. Creating campaigns: You craft messages that provide value, promote offers, or share information
  3. Sending and tracking: Messages are delivered and performance is measured
Phone showing a text thread where a store sends a shipping update with a tracking link, the customer asks whether delivery needs a signature, and the store replies that it does not
Two-way SMS turns a broadcast channel into an actual conversation.

The Power of SMS

Why do so many businesses rely on SMS marketing?

  • Immediate delivery: Messages arrive in seconds
  • High visibility: 98% of text messages are opened
  • Fast response: Most texts are read within 3 minutes
  • Universal reach: No app downloads or internet required
  • Personal channel: Direct access to customer's phone

Common Use Cases

E-commerce

  • Abandoned cart reminders
  • Flash sale announcements
  • Order and shipping updates
  • Back-in-stock notifications

Service Businesses

  • Appointment reminders
  • Booking confirmations
  • Follow-up requests
  • Review requests

Restaurants & Retail

  • Daily specials
  • Loyalty rewards
  • Table ready notifications
  • Curbside pickup alerts
Three phones side by side labelled Ecommerce, Healthcare and Hospitality, showing an order shipped alert with tracking, an appointment reminder asking the patient to reply YES, and a discount code from a restaurant
Same channel, three very different jobs: a shipping update for a store, an appointment reminder for a service business, and an offer for a restaurant.

SMS vs Other Channels

Channel Open Rate Response Time
SMS 98% 90 seconds
Email 20% Hours to days
Push Notifications 7% Minutes
Social Media 2-5% Hours

Getting Started

Ready to launch your first SMS campaign? Here's what you need:

  1. An SMS marketing platform (like Messaro)
  2. A compliant phone number (10DLC for US)
  3. An opt-in strategy to build your list
  4. A content plan for your messages

With Messaro, you can have your first SMS campaign running in minutes. Our platform handles compliance, deliverability, and reporting so you can focus on growing your business.

Ready to level up your SMS & email marketing?

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