You’ve spent time crafting emails that end up in spam, social posts lost in crowded feeds, and costly ad campaigns that aren’t sustainable. 

The real problem? Your message isn’t reaching customers where it matters most.

Now, imagine a solution that bypasses these barriers and connects with your audience directly  in the palm of their hand. That’s the power of SMS marketing campaigns. 

With the average person spending almost 4.5 hours a day on their phone, SMS or text marketing  campaigns have a higher  chance of  engaging customers and driving sales.

In this blog post, we dive into  SMS campaigns, share examples of successful texting campaigns, and reveal  top tips to create effective text marketing  campaigns. 

What are SMS campaigns?

SMS campaigns are a marketing strategy that sends targeted text messages to promote services and products, or convey information  to a targeted list of recipients. 

Text messages are brief, so even a quick glance typically means your audience has read the entire message. You can effectively convey your message almost every time.

These texting campaigns are typically used by businesses to directly communicate with customers. SMS campaigns boast  high open rates and are perfect  for:

• Promoting sales and special offers
• Announcing product launches
• Sending order and shipping updates
• Delivering  time-sensitive alerts and reminders
• Building customer loyalty with personalized messages

Benefits of text marketing campaigns for e-commerce

High engagement rates

With open rates as high as 98%, SMS campaigns can increase customer engagement. Also, most people check their text messages within minutes of receiving them, so your message is almost guaranteed to be seen quickly.

Personalization opportunities

By using customer data in your SMS campaigns—such as their name, past purchases, or browsing history—you can tailor your SMS campaigns to each individual recipient.

Direct and immediate communication

SMS messages are perfect for creating a sense of urgency, for example, “Sale ends today” or “Limited stock available.” Texts are delivered instantly and customers are more likely to take prompt action.

Customer retention

Discount coupons and offers aren’t the only way to retain customers or to get them to subscribe for SMS marketing campaigns. But they do play a big role. 

According to a Forbes piece, 77% of consumers say discounts influence where they shop.

This means that customers are choosing to purchase through SMS. If you maintain the best SMS marketing practices, you can retain more customers. 

Integration with Shopify and e-commerce tools

Most SMS marketing tools integrate with your Shopify store. You can sync Shopify contacts and collect data from your storefront. 

This builds an automated system where you don’t have to switch multiple platforms to manage campaigns and see results. You can personalize messaging and make routing decisions based upon customer data in Shopify.

How to create an effective text marketing campaign in 6 easy steps

1. Define your campaign goal

Before diving into texting campaigns, define what you want to achieve with them. Your goal will guide your campaign's structure, messaging, and frequency. 

Do you want increased sales, better customer engagement, or event promotion?

Here are some goals for your SMS campaigns:

2. Build a targeted list of subscribers

A targeted list of subscribers is essential for any successful SMS campaign. First, ensure you follow SMS best practices, such as asking for opt-in, and comply with regulations such as GDPR in Europe and the CAN-SPAM Act. You can gain consent by adding opt-in forms on your website homepage, in physical stores, or in social media campaigns. Wondering how you can avoid getting into trouble with your texting campaigns?

• Keep content free from inappropriate material
• Ensure subscribers know what they're agreeing to when opting in.
• Avoid sending messages outside normal hours to respect your audience.
• Honor opt-outs and promptly remove unsubscribers from your list.

Once you’ve gained consent, grow your subscriber list by: 

1. Offering incentives: Reward customers for subscribing to your SMS list by offering a special discount or giveaway goodies.

2. Promoting across channels: Don’t limit your sign-up invitations to just your website. Promote SMS sign-ups across your email campaigns, social media, and even printed receipts or packaging.

3. Leveraging existing subscribers: If you already have an email list or followers on social media, encourage them to join your SMS list for exclusive mobile-only offers and updates.

4. Keeping the opt-in process simple: Avoid long or complicated forms. A quick message with a keyword and number to text can make the process simple and fast.

You can use an  SMS marketing automation tool like Plivo CX to grow your marketing list. Plivo CX’s Audiences feature syncs your Shopify contacts in real time and offers an excellent solution for managing and targeting your SMS subscribers. With Audiences, you can organize your subscribers into targeted segments based on demographics, purchasing behavior, or engagement level. This ensures your campaigns are highly relevant. The best part? You can create segments with unlimited rules and send hyper-relevant messages to your subscribers. 

3. Craft engaging and concise messages.

Once you’ve picked the right SMS marketing platform, you must create text messages for your audience that are clear, engaging, and concise — all within the strict 160-character limit. You must capture attention and convey value quickly and drive action.Tips for crafting engaging messages for your text marketing campaigns:

• Be direct: With limited space, skip the fluff and get straight to the point. Lead with the most important offer or benefit.
  
  
• Spark curiosity: Use intriguing language or ask a question to encourage  recipients to read the entire message.
  
  
• Personalize: Boost engagement by addressing recipients by their first name or referencing recent purchases. 

For example, "Thanks for your order, Sarah! Your package is on the way. Use code SHIP10 for 10% off your next purchase."

• Use clear CTAs: Create urgency with phrases like "limited time offer" or "expires today" to drive immediate action. 

For example, "Click to claim your free shipping" or "Tap to unlock 20% off your first purchase."If you don’t want to spend hours crafting the perfect copy for your texting campaigns, you can use Plivo CX’s Copywriter AI. Once you set the goal, parameters, timing, urgency, and tone, Copywriter AI then crafts engaging SMS messages that align with your campaign’s objectives, all  within the 160-character limit. You can then review the different options Copywriter AI comes up with and fine-tune the content before sending. 

4. Pick the time and frequency wisely‍

Ninety-six percent of customers have felt annoyed by brands’ SMS marketing messages, and the number one reason was “messaging too frequently.”   Overloading your audience with frequent messages can not only lead to your customers ignoring or unsubscribing from your list as a result of message fatigue but also negatively impact your brand reputation.Limit your marketing messages to 2-3 times a week. Consider your audience’s time zones if they live in different regions of the world. Plivo CX's Journeys feature allows you to send the right message to the right customer at the right time based on their activity. With Journeys, you can identify key events that trigger messages to meet customers where they are in their journey. These include messages for:

• Returned orders 
• Abandoned carts
• Feedback requests 
• Shipment notification 
• First-time purchases 

The best part? You don’t need a developer to build these Journeys for you. Plivo CX has no-code workflows that allow you to create and optimize journeys by yourself. 

Create Events to start a Journey instantly  and schedule messages with precise timing.  For example,  send a follow-up  for an abandoned cart  5-6 hours later.

5. Add SMS to your omnichannel strategy

Now that you know how to start your text marketing campaign, it's time to integrate it with your other channels, like email, social media, and more. By combining SMS with other marketing platforms, you can ensure consistent and effective communication, making your brand’s message clearer and more impactful. Here’s how you can blend SMS into your omnichannel strategy:

• Align messaging across channels: Ensure that your SMS campaigns complement what you're sharing in emails, on social media, or in paid ads. 

For example, if you’re promoting a sale, use SMS to send quick reminders, while your email or social media can dive into more product details with visuals and product links.

• Drive engagement between channels: Use SMS to drive engagement on other channels. For example, send a text with a link to your latest blog post, social media contest, or email newsletter signup.

If you want to send consistent messages across all channels,  Plivo CX’s Campaigns enables you to select your audience, choose your preferred channels, and schedule messages. Then, Plivo CX Engage can deploy the campaign at your desired time so that you can get back to your other marketing priorities.

6. Pick the right tool to automate your SMS campaigns 

No matter how hard you try, you can’t plan, write, and send every message on your own.  Automation ensures  consistent communication with your audience, helping you hit key dates and seize opportunities effortlessly.An SMS marketing automation tool like Plivo CX saves you time, increases efficiency, and leads to more consistent results.

Examples of successful SMS campaigns

Flash sales and limited-time offers

PopUp Makeke uses SMS marketing to share holiday shopping offers with its subscribers.

Abandoned cart reminders

Cloudy uses text marketing campaigns to nudge Tiaja to complete her order.

Loyalty and reward programs

Brooklinen uses text marketing to share Black Friday deals with its Platinum Comfort Crew members. 

Product launch announcements

Bisoulovely uses text marketing campaigns to promote its new Valentine’s Day collection.

‍Essential metrics to measure your SMS campaign success

Pick the best tool to launch your SMS marketing campaigns

In this blog, we’ve covered everything you need to know about SMS marketing campaigns — from crafting effective messages to integrating SMS  with other marketing channels. But, to truly unlock the potential of SMS marketing, you need the right SMS marketing tool. That’s where Plivo CX shines. 

Plivo CX leverages a premium carrier network from  Plivo which lets you send messages to 220+ countries and territories. Plus, it offers a range of features designed to fully automate your SMS campaigns. 

Thanks to Plivo CX’s automation capabilities, you can:

• Pre-schedule campaigns for holidays, events, or launches, ensuring timely customer outreach
• Import contacts from e-commerce stores, including Shopify, opt-in forms, or APIs, and segment your audience with 360-degree visibility
• Personalize the SMS messages using data like names or purchase behavior
• Automate messages with the Journey feature, triggering based on customer actions like purchases or sign-ups

Detailed analytics from Plivo CX also let you track campaign performance and optimize for better results from your text marketing campaigns. 

With Plivo CX's robust features, you can seamlessly launch and manage strong SMS marketing campaigns. Sign up for Plivo CX today.