SMS marketing campaigns are a big deal.

You can use them for promotions, events, appointments, subscriber acquisition… you name it, SMS marketing campaigns can be used for it. In addition, they’re highly lucrative as the mobile phone is the most-used device by consumers, and is used more times a day than any other channel or device.

To help inspire your own SMS marketing campaigns, we’ve gathered some great – and not so great – examples we’ve seen from this channel.

sms marketing subscriber acquisition tactics

One of the best ways to use SMS marketing is to acquire new subscribers, which is what this example from Pizza Hut is doing.

There are a number of items the brand gets right with this promotion.

• They use their other channels to acquire SMS subscribers: displaying advertising and email marketing.
• The branding is on point, from the text-in word “pizza” to the millennial slang copy.
• It states the value – or What’s In It For Me – clearly: deals sent to your phone.

Another example of an SMS marketing campaign for subscriber acquisition is this one from Qdoba.

Qdoba also has ideas worth stealing for your own SMS marketing campaigns:

• Subscribing to SMS updates puts you in a club – you’re set apart as a VIP, getting stuff other customers aren’t.
• The text-in word is brand appropriate and easy to remember: “Q”
• New subscribers get free stuff. (Free stuff is always good.)

sms marketing campaigns: spell it out

SMS marketing campaigns don’t have to be fancy to be successful. In fact, the simpler, the better in most cases. This example hits the nail on the head. It includes all the appropriate must-have information and it sounds like there’s a professional human on the other end… except for that last line.

It’s a mystery why the brand didn’t spell out “to” and chose to instead use the confusingly juvenile “2” instead. Would one character have made that much of a difference? We don’t think so.

show me the opt-out

When you consider the target audience is teen girls, this next brand’s SMS marketing campaigns should come as no surprise. The brand does an excellent job of promoting its sales and discounts in a genuinely charming and fun way.

Uh-oh, though. There’s no way to opt out of these SMS marketing campaigns? That’s a big no-no. This brand has the potential to be slapped on the wrist for not adhering to the required language.

KISS (keep it simple stupid)

SMS marketing campaigns should have copy that’s short and sweet. For some marketers, this challenge seems to be too much to manage, as in this example. Two messages to say an event is canceled is excessive, unnecessary and unwarranted considering the channel.Kudos to the brand for including the correct opt out information, though it could be spelled out a little more clearly how exactly the unsubscribe works.

please, no spam

Seriously, though. Sending unwanted SMS marketing campaigns – meaning people have not explicitly opted in for them – is 100% against the rules. To put it plainly, it makes people mad. And mad people will go to the powers that be to get you in trouble. Believe it, because it’s already happened quite a few times when it comes to SMS marketing.

You might have the most optimized, well-written SMS marketing campaign ever, such as this example. But sending it to someone who hasn’t asked to get it – which is what happened with this example – is against the rules.

conclusion: don’t be afraid of sms marketing campaigns

We’ve all been there. We don’t want to try something new because we don’t know enough about it, we might break it, we might ruin the already good thing we have going. Don’t let these lame excuses stop you from experimenting with and implementing SMS marketing campaigns.

If you don’t improve, you’ll fall behind. And no one wants to be there. These examples should encourage you in your own SMS marketing execution. Use the good, avoid the bad, and always follow the rules.

And if you need a kick-a$$ SMS marketing platform, look this way. We’ve upgraded our email marketing platform with intensive SMS marketing capabilities so everything you’re dreaming of doing can get done. Reach out to see how it works!