It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of marketing to a business, as no business can thrive without it. There are various ways to engage in marketing, one of such ways is bulk SMS marketing. Bulk SMS marketing is the use of bulk SMS as a major marketing tool, it involves the sending out of mass messages via SMS, to a large number of contacts. An important thing to note is that bulk SMSs should not be unsolicited, for them to have a great impact, they should be sent only to a consenting audience.

Why is SMS Marketing Important

SMS marketing has yielded good results in the past, and is still yielding good results. This explains why businesses are jumping on Bulk SMS as a sure means of efficient marketing. In case you are wondering why SMS marketing is important to your business, below are a few reasons

•  Instant Messaging; SMS messaging is instant, which means that it can work in a situation that has time constrictions or restrictions. You can pass your message across in time.
•  Phones are always in hand; what better way to pass a message than directly to the palm of the receiver? Most people are attached to their phones, this means that your message would undoubtedly get to them.
•  Most people receive SMS; anyone with access to a cell phone can receive SMS, this is pretty much everyone. One does not need airtime or an internet connection to receive an SMS. Since most people have access to cell phones, it means that your message would reach most people.
•  98% Read rate; is this not wonderful! Your message has a 98% chance of being read when sent across via SMS. This means that you are sure that your message is reaching your target audience.
•  Consistent engagement; since SMS is faster and easier to send, it reduces the stress attached to marketing, thus making it easier for businesses to communicate with their audience more often.
•  Cheaper; SMS marketing is quite cheaper than other forms of marketing, bulk SMS, is even way cheaper to access and send across. Considering the amount of money businesses spend on marketing annually, Bulk SMS marketing is a method any business interested in saving some money should try.
•  Faster feedback; with the use of SMS as a marketing tool, it is easier and faster to get customer feedback.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is another form of marketing. It involves the use of social media platforms as a tool for marketing. Social media marketing is the act of engaging business leads on social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, etc. This is a newer approach to marketing and it is proving to be effective as well. There are many opportunities that social media marketing presents to marketers that other forms of marketing do not provide. Most businesses and brands are taking advantage of these provisions.

Importance of Social Media Marketing

With the different tools available on social media, it is not surprising that it is an effective marketing tool. Seeing that most social media platforms bring a lot of people from different backgrounds together, it is not wise to underestimate its importance to your business. Below are a few reasons social media marketing is important for your business

• High interaction rate; social media provides more opportunities to engage your audience, this leads to meaningful interaction between businesses and their audience. These kinds of interactions work to improve the relationship between businesses and their audience.
•  Real-time communication; social media marketing provides the opportunity for real-time communication. It can most times be a simulation of face-to-face communication, which is very effective as well. With real-time communication, clients and businesses can close deals in a matter of minutes.
• Cost-Effective; social media compared to other forms of marketing is very cost-effective, you can reach a large number of people with very little cost implication.
• Build brand awareness; social media marketing is a great way to build brand awareness, it helps businesses show themselves and what they are about to the public. Social media platforms give businesses latitude of expression because, with the use of social media, businesses are not limited to their words only, but pictures, info-graphics, videos, etc.
• Learn about your competitors; staying ahead of your competition is an important marketing strategy. Social media allows you to know about the moves your competitor is making. Since most businesses nowadays have an online presence, it is easy to track your competitors.

Bulk SMS Marketing Vs Social Media Marketing; How Do They Compare

Bulk SMS marketing and Social media marketing are quite similar, in that they are both digital approaches to marketing. They both have their pros and cons, and that is what we would be exploring in this section. These 2 forms of marketing are similar in that they are both fast, instant, easy to carry out and cost-effective, but there are striking differences between the 2 of them.

• The first difference between them is the latitude that they offer. An SMS has a limit of 160 characters, but with social media, it is a lot more, therefore, social media provides more space for businesses to express themselves and showcase what they do.
• Next, Bulk SMS are alphanumeric, this is to say that they can only carry alphabetical numerical characters. Social media on the other hand is a mix of everything. There is space for alphabets, numbers as well as audio, pictures, videos, etc. This is to say that social media offers the opportunity to provide your audience with a wider range of content, thus, social media is more versatile.
• While anyone with a cell can easily receive a bulk SMS, it takes someone with a smartphone to access the internet (social media). Not only does it take a smartphone, but it also requires an internet connection (data) this further reduces the accessibility of social media when compared to bulk SMS.
•  you need a database to engage in SMS marketing. Since sending unsolicited SMS is not proper, you need to develop a robust contact list to send SMS to. This is not so for social media. Of course, there is target marketing, but more people are likely to see your business on social media than with bulk SMS.
• Bulk SMS is more personalized than social media marketing. Information can be personalized easily with bulk SMS and given the 98% read rate of SMS, you can be sure that your message was not only sent out and delivered but seen. With this, you know that you are reaching your target audience. People receive fewer texts, compared to the amount of information they juggle on social media platforms, this means they are more likely to pay more attention to an SMS.

Bulk SMS marketing is said to have a 47% conversion rate, while social media Ads (Facebook particularly) are said to have a 9.21% conversion rate.

Recommendation

Having examined the similarities and differences between bulk SMS marketing and social media marketing, the big question is, what marketing approach should my business use? Marketing is not one size fits all, the kind of business one is into would determine whether they should concentrate their energy on bulk SMS marketing or social media marketing. However, it is important to note that there is nothing wrong with using both methods; it can be an advantage to your business.

Consider social media as a billboard in a busy part of town, and bulk SMS as a personal or house-to-house marketing effort. Your door-to-door marketing would go a lot better, if your audience has seen your business on a billboard somewhere. These two forms of marketing work hand in hand. Social media marketing is instrumental for creating brand awareness, through social media, people become aware of your brand, and through bulk SMS marketing people begin to feel like part of your brand. Bulk SMS marketing is just a method of getting closer to your audience while social media marketing is a way of keeping your business in the subconscious of your audience. However, it is important to consider that while people go out of their way to seek social media content, SMS are delivered straight to the phone user.

Because bulk SMS marketing has a higher read and conversion rate when compared to social media marketing, the choice is clear. Concentrating on Bulk SMS marketing does not mean that businesses should neglect social media marketing as they are a formidable force when combined. Are you interested in using bulk SMS to market your business and you do not know how to go about it visit SmartSMSSolutions.com . SmartSMSSolutions has been providing bulk SMS marketing services for years for its client businesses, with our vast experience in SMS marketing, we can take your business to its peak. To learn more about our services, visit our website @ SmartSMSSolutions.com to create a free account and get started with us, or call 08035515868.