About five years ago, marketing managers focused heavily on social media. The quick nature of this approach led to high engagement and better conversions. But if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Recently, Facebook and other major platforms have altered how they reach fans. In the past, most of your fans would see every post in their newsfeed. Now, it’s as low as 10%, and sometimes even less. What a disappointment.
Taking this all into consideration, here are 5 reasons why text marketing trumps social media marketing in 2015.
1. Segment and target individuals with the simple click of a button.
Paid advertising solutions on popular social media platforms allow you to target people based on age, location, lifestyle, purchasing habits, preferences, etc. This is great; however, if you’re not looking to invest in a pay per click campaign, you’ll get left behind. Your organic content struggles to even make it to the newsfeed, so if you’re solely relying on social media for info sharing, you’re missing out. With text marketing, you can easily segment your list, and target specific campaigns to subscribers who will find them useful.
2. Your ROI is beyond impressive.
When comparing the return you receive to your original investment, with text message marketing it’s dollars to dimes. Some text marketing providers even offer a free plan for all beginners. So basically, you invest no money upfront, and rake in the financial benefits over a long period of time. In order to touch base with a comparable reach, social media encourages you to invest in paid advertising solutions.
3. You don’t have to compete with other marketing messages.
If you send a text message, chances are your subscribers aren’t receiving 20 similar messages from your competitors. If they are, then you really need to rework your angle, my friend. But unfortunately, with social media, your paid and organic content may potentially sit below or above a competitor’s message. How lame is that?
4. According to the Pew Research Center, 90% of the population owns a cellphone.
Guess what? You don’t have to own a smartphone to receive a text message. Even basic mobile phone users receive text messages, and this currently is at least 90% of the population. With SMS marketing, you can reach those individuals who aren’t necessarily social media savvy. Taking these numbers into consideration, you can potentially touch base with the majority of your target audience.
5. You are 100% in control of who receives your messages.
If you segment your list, and operate according to best SMS marketing practices, you will be 100% in control of who sees your text marketing campaigns. But, with social media, you can’t control your initial organic reach, and how your content gets shared from that point on.
Although social media marketing is still a great solution, marketers are slowly losing control of this method. Organic reach and engagement levels are solely determined by the platform, and not the private user.