When you’re trying to promote and SELL a new service or product, like Online Gift Cards, do you just choose one channel, cross your fingers and hope for results? Nope! One itty-bitty post to Instagram isn’t going to drive those sales all by its lonesome. It has to work with all the other powerful channels you have in your marketing toolkit to get you the results you’re envisioning.

From social media, to email marketing, influencer marketing and more, there are so many awesome, effective tools at your fingertips. They all have their own unique audiences and crossovers that can work in your favour.

But today, we want to talk about one of the tiniest but mightiest: SMS marketing.

SMS are all the rage aka. effective

So why are SMS so special? Well, our fab SMS provider MessageMedia, has found that 90% of text messages are read within 90 seconds. That’s crazy fast, right?!

It’s because we largely use texting as a social means of communication rather than just a marketing tool, much like email has become. We expect texts from friends and family so will be much more likely to open and read texts as they come in.

So how can you use them to your advantage?

SMS can help you sell

One of the best-selling tools you have, SMS are proven to drive results and get your message across quick smart! If you launch a new product or service, just like Online Gift Cards, SMS can help you spread the word.

We already know Online Gift Cards is an offering your clients will LOVE because they can now purchase digital gift cards straight from your website and send them directly to the recipient. The Online Gift Card feature sits as a little tab wherever you like on your website which pops out when clicked.

Your guest can then enter their details, choose their preferred gift card amount, add in a personalised message if they like, and pay for it through Stripe’s secure payment gateway. The gift card is then emailed directly to the recipient ready to be redeemed in the salon at their next appointment on either products or services.

Our Online Gift Cards feature also has a whiz-bang-fancy new trick where you can offer additional value to each gift card purchase, by way of an extra percentage on top of the card value. So if you offer an extra 20% of value and your guest purchases a £100 gift card, they’ll actually receive £120 of redeemable value. It’s a great way to encourage clients to buy big, and drive some revenue for your business as we start to ease COVID-19 restrictions. It’s also an awesome tool to limit cash-handling to ensure your busines stays COVID-safe.

Handy, hey?

In your marketing strategy for promoting your new Online Gift Cards, use SMS to its full potential! Send out an SMS campaign to your existing clients letting them know what it is, where to find it, and what to do.

Here’s a few examples:

EXAMPLE 1

“Online gift cards are available NOW on our website! Buy now, get an extra 10% to spend. Visit [WEBSITE URL AS A BITLY LINK HERE]”

Character count: 93 characters + your website link

EXAMPLE 2

Gift giving just got easier! We now have online gift cards available on our site. Get an extra % of value for limited time. Buy now [WEBSITE URL AS A BITLY LINK HERE]

Character count: 120 characters + your website link

Quick tips for attention grabbing SMS’s

• Keep them short and snappy! 160 characters = 1 text message
• Include a call to action
• Include a shortened trackable link.

Check out even more tips is this blog all about must-know tips for SMS best practice!