Whether you are using peer to peer texting to promote a new product, encourage voters to head to the polls, or you are trying to gain financial support for your nonprofit organization, there are some best practices you must follow. Skipping over these can lead to a decrease in engagement, which will defeat the whole purpose of your text messaging efforts. In order to make the most of your marketing dollars and to stay in touch with your audience, here is our best advice on how to use peer to peer texting:
Practice #1: Personalize Your Texts
First and foremost, you want to give your texts a personal touch. All too often, marketing comes across as detached to your audience. When sending text messages, this can make the recipient feel like just a number and may even prompt them to unsubscribe. Whether it’s the first message you’re sending to a recipient or the hundredth, be sure to frequently include their first name. A peer to peer texting platform such as MudShare makes this incredibly easy, as you simply just need to set up your text to do so, even when sending mass texts.
Practice #2: Give Quick Replies
As a customer or supporter, waiting on a reply can be frustrating. If they expect a quick answer and turn around, especially something that can be given a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response, it is vital that you prioritize promptly replying. Waiting too long, especially more than a business day, to get back to a client can cause you to miss out on a sale or donation.
If you are a non profit organization or you work on a political campaign, ensure that your volunteers are properly trained on how to use your peer to peer texting platform. Provide them with the education they need to be able to answer questions. Should a question come up that they aren’t sure how to answer, encourage them to reach out to a specific person to help them troubleshoot.
Practice #3: Keep It Simple
160 characters – that’s what you have to communicate your message. While it can be difficult trying to fit in all the information that you want with that limited length, it’s imperative that you don’t overdo it. No one wants to read walls of texts, especially one that is made from a marketing standpoint. Get the gist of your message out and encourage your recipient to visit a landing page and include a link to more information. Or you can let them know more information will be coming in a follow up email.
Practice #4: Include a Call to Action
Your peer to peer texting efforts should inspire action. Whether that means you want the recipient to go out and make a purchase, to head to the polls and cast a vote, or you want them to sign up to volunteer, do your best to encourage them. You can do this by ending each text message that you send with a call to action (CTA).
A few classic examples of CTAs include:
- Head to our website to learn more
- Reply to our message to get more details
- Click here to sign up for a time slot to volunteer
- Shop our limited time sales today
- Read more over on our blog
- Sign up for our newsletter
CTAs vary from one business to another, and this small list contains just a few of the common options you could use. Before choosing a CTA, consider what your goals are and what communication efforts that your audience might respond best to.
Practice #5: Follow Up
Between the hustle and bustle of work and life, sometimes people are busy and forget to reply to text messages. If you have sent out a message to a recipient and they haven’t responded, especially if you are asking a question or encouraging them to take a survey, don’t be afraid to follow up with them again. In a world where AI and bots are everywhere, they might not realize that a real human is trying to correspond with them. As long as they haven’t opted out or unsubscribed from your texts, try one more time. You will probably be surprised at how well they respond!
Practice #6: Review for Typos
While it might sound like a no-brainer, proofreading your texts is an absolute must. Nothing discourages engagement or puts a damper on your reputation like a string of typos or misplaced words. Use proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling in your texts, just like you would when making a post on social media or prior to sending out an email. Train anyone who might be using your peer to peer texting platform to do the same. Small mistakes are bound to happen, but if you use a critical eye, you are sure to minimize errors.
Practice #7: Appropriately Pace Your Messages
There is a tightrope you must walk when it comes to sending out text messages. You want to ensure that your messages are relevant and spaced correctly in a way that keeps your brand relevant and fresh in your audience’s mind. However, you also don’t want to overstep and send out text messages so often that your subscribers become annoyed and opt out. If you aren’t sure where to strike that balance, think about yourself as the consumer or supporter. How many texts would it take for you to become annoyed? Use that as the basis to move forward with your own plan.
Peer to Peer Texting From MudShare
While this may seem like a lot of information at first, don’t worry! If you want text message marketing made simple, then it’s time to look into the services that we have available here at MudShare. Our platform is both affordable and incredibly user friendly, meaning that it is easier than effort to implement these best practices while corresponding with your audience. There are different plans available that you can choose from, including self-service and full-service options. Contact us today to learn more about MudShare and the incredible peer to peer texting platform that we offer!
