Top 3 Myths About Text Marketing Busted

By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter.  

Want a taste of the truth? Neil Patel sits with Podium to bust the most prevalent myths about SMS marketing.  

SMS marketing is the most convenient, low-cost and effective way to reach your customers, so why aren’t more businesses using this strategy? With new marketing methods come a host of myths that hide the ways this strategy can help your business. SMS marketing, as a new, and according to Podium, preferred way for you to interact with your customers, is no different. 

Podium recently sat down with Neil Patel, co-founder of NP Digital and Ubersuggest, to bust some myths in their recent report, The Ultimate Guide to SMS Marketing. Read on for a look into the eBook to learn fact from fiction when it comes to marketing to your customers through text messaging.  

Myth #1: Text messages don’t work as a marketing tool.  

We live in a world where consumers are swamped with marketing materials all day. As a consumer yourself, you know just how much of traditional marketing you see every day and how desensitized you have grown to it. Research shows that consumers aren’t as receptive to traditional marketing methods as they used to be. 

That is why SMS messaging, as a quick, direct and personal form of advertising is so effective. According to Podium, businesses have an opportunity to get 98% of their communication seen on the same day they send it with text, as texting has a 209% higher response rate than phone, email, or Facebook.  

“Your customers are begging you to text them,” Neil says. 40.5% of consumers report being “likely” or “very likely” to switch to a different business because they offer text messaging to communicate. SMS messaging lets you bring your business to your customers wherever they are.  

Myth #2: My business is too small for SMS messaging 

This myth is particularly insidious because the opposite is true! Local businesses have a unique advantage of being inherently more personal and having a greater level of trust with their consumers. “People in the community see and have a relationship with the people who run these businesses, so texts feel more like they’re coming from a friend and less like advertising,” explains Neil.  

According to the 2021 Local Business Messaging Trends report consumers are 21% more likely to opt-in to local businesses’ text promotions over major chain or big-box retailers. All of these factors uniquely poise small businesses to gain more business, and more revenue with well-timed personalized promotions.  

Myth #3: Collecting opt-ins is too forced 

One of the hardest things about maximizing your marketable SMS list is collecting opt-ins. The key to this process is to make it highly accessible, with entry points available at every possible step of the customer journey.  

“What I love about Podium’s suggestions is the idea of collecting opt-ins through channels you’re already familiar with in addition to getting creative with your collection methods," says Neil. “Your current customer journey is already full of valuable touchpoints that you can use to build your opt-in list quickly and organically.” 

You’ll find that there are a number of touchpoints in the buying process where collecting opt-ins is even expected. You can see the full list of touchpoints in the eBook, but notable ways of integrating opt-ins include: 

• Website touchpoints: These touchpoints are often the first to capture a prospect’s attention. You can use things like online sign-up pages, Banners, pop-ups, prompts, website chat and reviews to convert leads into customers on your website. 

• Hybrid touchpoints: Gather opt-ins wherever and however you operate with things like QR codes, a sign-in station or a textable keyword.  

Download the full report 

Ready to bust more myths? Read the full version of 7 Text Marketing Myths complete with tips and insights from Neil Patel on how to optimize your text marketing. SMS marketing isn’t a one-way channel, but a whole world of possibility once you find the right messaging tools. Learn about how you can integrate this strategy into your business today! 

Learn more about Podium in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit www.podium.com.