{"id":28193,"date":"2022-10-01T15:23:51","date_gmt":"2022-10-01T14:23:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/?p=28193"},"modified":"2022-10-17T15:29:50","modified_gmt":"2022-10-17T14:29:50","slug":"what-is-text-message-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/what-is-text-message-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"What is text message marketing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In text message marketing, marketers send promotional campaigns, transactional messages, and other marketing communications via text messages. This approach is primarily used for time-sensitive communications, as it allows brands to reach customers almost immediately on their mobile devices.<\/p>\n

For marketers, SMS text message marketing is a highly useful channel to add to their omnichannel strategy, as it gives them a direct line of contact to customers that isn\u2019t competing with a massively high volume of communications, which is the challenge with email.<\/p>\n

How does text message marketing work?<\/h2>\n

Marketing text messages are typically sent from short codes, rather than full phone numbers. These codes are typically 5-6 digits long, and can either be linked to a specific sender or shared by a variety of senders using the same service.<\/p>\n

In many cases, countries won\u2019t allow for the sender information to be modified, and this means the text message will appear in your customer\u2019s phone as if sent from the short code. This makes it vitally important to include the business name somewhere in the text message (ideally near the start so that it appears in the preview text) so that the customer knows who it\u2019s coming from.<\/p>\n

What is text message marketing used for?<\/h2>\n

While there are a myriad of creative ways that brands can use text message marketing, there are two common use cases that typically appeal to marketing teams.<\/p>\n

The first is short-term promotions, particularly used for ecommerce and retail businesses. For example, if a brand has a time-sensitive discount code, sale, or sitewide promotion, using text message marketing as one of the communication channels can help drive more customers to their website.<\/p>\n

The other most common use case for text message marketing is sending important updates around events that customers might have signed up for. With text messages, you can easily share any changes, cancellations, and real-time updates and there\u2019s less of a chance they\u2019ll get lost in their spam folder. This approach can also be used to share updates on a customer\u2019s purchase, maintaining the relationship between brand and customer.<\/p>\n

What are the benefits of text message marketing?<\/h2>\n

Marketers that make the most of their text message marketing channel experience a number of benefits:<\/p>\n