As a broadcast and media sales professional, diversifying the options for advertising to customers is critical to remain competitive. Those who embrace digital advertising opportunities can generate more revenue and retain customers longer. If you haven’t added SMS marketing to the mix, there’s good reason to do so. Check out these tips on how to sell mobile messaging to your advertisers.
Defining the Opportunity
The first part of selling mobile messaging to local advertisers is quantifying the opportunity based on SMS marketing metrics. Here are some that could pique the interest of your clients:
- 91% of people are interested in subscribing to texts, with nearly 56% already receiving them.
- Consumers are more likely to open text messages than any other digital communication.
- Mobile messages have up to a 99% open rate— nearly five times that of email.
- On average, people respond to text messages within 90 seconds.
- When SMS is part of a marketing campaign, companies see SMS coupon redemption 10 times greater than that of traditional coupons.
Presenting advertisers with this baseline proves the opportunity. Consumers are more receptive to texts, and it’s an opt-in channel. The people that subscribe want to hear from the business, driving better results for their campaign.
How to Properly Pitch Mobile Messaging
Now that you have a foundation, how can you pitch mobile messaging expertly? There will be low-hanging fruit to start, and that’s those advertisers already using cross-channel advertising sales. Mobile messaging is one more item to add to the bundle that helps them target messaging in a specific and personalized way.
It could also be a way to get your foot in the door with digital for those broadcast-only customers. If a client is hesitant to add more digital ad units, mobile messaging is easy to deploy and affordable, which could show them the value of a digital footprint.
For companies that are more sophisticated with digital and SMS marketing and only purchase broadcast from you, the sale is harder. Show them how including SMS in an integrated campaign can provide better results. It may even save them some money by keeping all their dollars with you.
Integrated Campaigns that Should Include SMS
Mobile messaging likely won’t be the only tactic in a campaign. Rather, the campaign will be multimedia and offer many channels to engage with customers. SMS complements social media campaigns, digital display ads, OTT ads and broadcast spots.
What’s different about mobile messaging is that you can target as you do with email marketing but in a channel that receives more responses. You can also segment what message you send to what customer. For new signups, your advertiser may send them a welcome message with a first purchase promo. For long-term customers, your customers can send loyalty club updates more regularly.
Offer Examples of Success
If you want to make a case for mobile messaging, proof never hurts. While you may not have documented case studies from your advertisers, others are accessible. We’ve produced several that could be helpful:
BMW Hypertargets Winter Tire Promo:
The company only promoted it to those in snowy climates, achieving a 30% conversation rate and $45 million in revenue.
Harley-Davidson Holiday Campaign:
The company offered 20% discounts to club members on different items for 12 days. They witnessed a 250% increase in in-store traffic.
Whether for contests, specific promotions or product discounts, mobile messaging has the power to drive interest and sales. That’s true for any local business.
Selling Mobile Messaging: What Type of Platform Should You Use?
There are lots of options. When comparing, look for these things, which will help you sell mobile messaging:
- First-party data collection: Collecting customer data, or metadata, allows for accurate and relevant retargeting message campaigns for advertisers.
- Inbound message queues: Real-time queuing offers easy review and response via SMS, capturing the complete conversation.
- Scalability and reliability: Ensuring this is critical, and the platform must enable it with direct carrier connections.
- Security: Any solution you decide to adopt should have robust security for messaging.
Ready to Sell Mobile Messaging?
Mobile messaging can deliver the outcomes your advertisers crave — engagement and revenue. These campaigns are easy to manage and budget-friendly. Make sure it’s a part of future integrated campaigns for your clients.
