Black Friday: 8 vital SMS marketing tips

All retailers know that the busiest time of the year in the USA is coming up. Succeeding Thanksgiving, it's every discount shoppers dream, the day of major markdowns, dazzling deals and serious sales—that's right, it's Black Friday!

Take full advantage of the spending season and get the word out about your Black Friday promotions. Use a robust SMS gateway to alert your customers of the value, experience, and significant savings they can expect from your brand this year. By sending personalised, direct, and branded text messages through a secure SMS platform like MXT, your business has a step up on the competition.

51% of survey respondents plan to start their holiday shopping before Thanksgiving and Black Friday in 2021. Send your message straight to consumers' palms with business messaging to capture their attention.

Related article: How to Dramatically Increase Your Black Friday Revenue with SMS

Here are eight impactful and essential tactics that will keep you ahead of the game coming up to Black Friday.

1. Prepare your audience

If your customers have opted-in to receive promotional SMS, that's a good indication that they want to be kept up to date on upcoming sales, deals, product launches and the like. Give customers plenty of notice on upcoming deals so you're brand is front of mind come Black Friday.

As a retailer, it's your responsibility to let customers know in advance what you will have available and prepare them for exciting opportunities that lie ahead. Concise and immediate, text messages are the perfect channel to quickly notify customers.

Fun and enticing ways to promote engagement this Black Friday:

• Sneak peeks of new products and significant dates
• Referral incentives for new customers
• Early access to product launches
• Exclusive events for VIPs
• Loyalty program competitions
• Flash sales

2. Timing is everything

Like most marketing campaigns, it's essential to send text messages at the right time and in the right context. Delivered to a recipient's handset, SMS is highly personal by nature. So, if businesses disregard or misuse promotional text messaging, they run the risk of recipients opting-out.

Using a sophisticated SMS platform like MXT, brands can schedule and stagger mobile messaging campaigns. Organise your SMS marketing schedule tailored to your audience.

The first step is to create a content calendar to plan out a communications strategy ahead of significant dates. Dripping marketing content means your customers receive messages over a designated period and are not bombarded all at once.

For example, you could have a countdown in the week coming up to Black Friday. Maximise engagement by sending a different message every second day as an appealing way to hype up the big day. SMS drip campaigns could include sending promotion codes, new product descriptions, or information on flagship events.

Related article: 5 common SMS marketing pitfalls'

3. Tailor your content

Marketing is all about knowing who your audience is and anticipating what they want. Customising your message to address consumer needs starts with personalised text messages.

Base every text message on how recipients relate to the brand, their purchasing behaviour, and their personal details.

Examples of content personalisation include:

• Greeting customers by name
• Tailoring content to their demographics (e.g., sending an invitation to events in their area)
• Customised recommendations based on previous purchases
• Respecting their timezone and opt-in preferences
• Make VIPs and loyalty members feel special with exclusive offers

4. It's the biggest sale of the year!

When it comes to spending big, creating a sense of urgency can persuade consumers to buy at the right time. Text them details on limited stock, exclusive sales, and flash sales that are only available for a short window of time.

Small discounts building up to the main sale creates anticipation. Flash sales have a limited time in which to get good deals. Advertising items that won't become available until a specific date elevates a sense of FOMO. FOMO, the fear of missing out, escalates purchases as consumers are afraid they might miss out on limited stock items or coveted discounts.

5. Be specific

Make sure your recipients know what promotions, products, and discounts will be available and when. The more specific you can be, the better chance you have at convincing customers to make a purchase.

If a sale starts or finishes at midnight, be specific to the timezone, so there are no miscommunications. Create a positive and accessible customer experience by being concise and accurate in your communication.

6. Media-rich content

A fun way to get consumers to buy more is by providing valuable content they can relate to and use. Photos, videos, GIFs, and links can be easy ways to engage your audience further. With an automatic URL shortener, you can include short links in your SMS to keep messages concise. Include shortened URLs to direct customers to targeted landing pages and track your click-through rate.

As it's coming up to the holiday season, people might be looking out for Christmas presents, vacation wear, or luxury items that tend to cost more. In your text messages, add a link to a gift guide, the reveal of a new product via GIF or video, or an image of an event invitation.

7. Track campaign success

High-quality SMS platforms provide intuitive and sophisticated reporting features. By tracking delivery reports, responses, and specific promo code use over a particular period, the success of your SMS marketing campaign can be measured and compared.

By tracking various metrics, your business can determine which strategies and tactics were most effective for your Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaigns. And then, use those insights to optimise text message content for future SMS campaigns.

8. Check-in with your customers

Thanking your customers and asking for feedback is beneficial for many reasons. While reporting metrics give you statistics and numbers, nothing beats feedback and insights from your loyal customer base.

Checking in with customers and asking for their feedback can:

• Open a dialogue between your brand and consumers through two-way SMS communication
• Build rapport and trust by telling your customers you have their best interest at heart
• Develop new and existing business relationships to foster customer loyalty

SMS marketing is not only necessary in today's digital age, it's vital. With 79% of people keeping their phone in arm's distance, and 90% of texts opened within three minutes of receiving them. Do Black Friday and Cyber Monday right with SMS.

Related article: 7 SMS features to make communicating easier'

For more information about how to enhance your SMS marketing strategies and campaigns, you can contact our dedicated team of SMS experts 24/7.