Bulk SMS

Bulk SMS services are a valuable tool that gives businesses the means to send large quantities of SMS messages to a targeted audience. Bulk SMS can be used for a variety of purposes, but is most commonly used for marketing and for communicating with existing clients.

When used for marketing, bulk SMS services in South Africa will help you reach a wider audience instantly, with promotional messages, special offers, loyalty programme updates, and product launches. With the shorter SMS format, you can quickly and easily get your message across and, given that many people are short on time these days, short messages tend to have a lot more impact than those that are long drawn out.

When you are using bulk SMS for communication, you can send appointment reminders, order confirmations, shipping updates, and two-factor authentication codes directly to your customers’ mobile phones, which will certainly improve your ability to provide an excellent and resilient customer service.

About 90% of South Africans own and regularly use mobile phones. And, according to research, South Africans can spend as much as 31% of their waking hours using their phones. This makes Bulk SMS an ideal marketing channel, as your customers and potential customers are unlikely to miss your message. 

If you decide to use bulk SMS services in South Africa, you definitely won’t regret it because you are guaranteed to benefit in a wide number of ways:

Unmatched Reach

With this style of mobile marketing, you will be able to get your message directly into the hands of your target audience, bypassing overflowing email inboxes and cluttered social media feeds. Bulk SMS services in South Africa will give you the opportunity to tap into a massive, and in many instances mostly untouched, mobile user base.

High Engagement Rates

When it comes to any kind of marketing, engagement, not reach, is the most important factor. The great news is that SMS messages offer both, as along with their incredible reach, they also have phenomenal open rates, with studies showing that over 90% of messages are read within minutes of being received. This ensures your message gets seen and acted upon.

Cost-Effectiveness

Of all the marketing methods out there, bulk SMS services are among the most budget-friendly marketing solutions, especially when compared to pricey traditional advertising methods. Depending on your bulk SMS service provider, you will generally only pay for the messages you send. This makes bulk SMS services an exceptional and scalable solution for businesses of all sizes.

Measurable Results

You will be able to track a few key metrics like delivery rates, click-through rates, and opt-in rates to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns and optimise your strategy for better results. This is generally all done through your business dashboard which will be hosted by your provider. 

Instant Communication

Bulk SMS allows for immediate communication with your audience. This allows you to send time-sensitive messages, promotions, or alerts instantly, keeping your customers informed and engaged.

Increased Brand Awareness

Regular communication through SMS will help you keep your brand at the forefront of your customers’ minds. This will in turn help build brand loyalty and trust.

Two-Way Communication

Bulk SMS isn’t a one-way street. You can use SMS shortcodes or keywords to enable two-way communication, allowing customers to respond to your surveys, participate in contests, or provide feedback directly via SMS.

To enjoy all of the benefits of bulk SMS services in South Africa, you need to make sure that you choose the right provider from the get-go. To do this, you need to look at a few characteristics that could make a bulk SMS provider the best fit for you:

Reliability

You should always look for a provider with a proven track record for consistent uptime as well as message delivery. A reliable bulk SMS service provider in South Africa will always ensure that your messages reach their intended recipients every time. At Channel Mobile, we pride ourselves on our reliable infrastructure and exceptional uptime, guaranteeing your campaigns run smoothly and provide the results you are looking for.

Pricing and Features

When making your selection you should compare the available pricing plans and the features you’ll have access to, to find a solution that fits your budget and your campaign needs.

Ease of Use

You also need to ensure that the provider you choose to work with is able to offer you a user-friendly platform for creating, scheduling, and tracking your SMS campaigns.

Customer Support

And then there is customer support. Try to find out if the provider is reliable with its customer support as this will prove to be vitally important should you have any technical questions or encounter any issues.

As with all marketing, sometimes it helps to add elements to create a creative but cohesive campaign, rather than try to get a single element to do all the work. You can easily integrate a bulk SMS service into your existing marketing campaign by doing the following:

Promote Opt-Ins

To get your customers to start benefitting from your SMS campaign, you need to start by encouraging them to sign up for your SMS list. You can do this by creating website forms, social media campaigns, or in-store promotions.

Cross-Channel Marketing

Next, you should promote your upcoming SMS campaigns across your other marketing channels like email, newsletter, social media, and your website. Be sure to include a call to action to join your SMS list for exclusive offers and updates.

SMS Retargeting

If you have a website you can use website visitor data to send targeted SMS messages to those who haven’t completed a purchase or abandoned their cart. Keep in mind that this will only work if the user has given you their number and consented to be sent an SMS. 

SMS Drip Campaigns

You can create automated SMS sequences to nurture leads, welcome new subscribers, or promote loyalty programmes.

Event Reminders and Follow-Ups

Finally, you can send SMS reminders for upcoming events, webinars, or promotions. Once you’ve sent this, you can follow up after the events to gather feedback or promote related content.

At Channel Mobile, we give our clients a reliable, user-friendly platform and competitive pricing plans that you can use to create an effective SMS marketing campaign that will drive the results you want.