When it comes to digital marketing, it’s like pitting Steph Curry against LeBron James. Text marketing is like Steph Curry, quick, efficient, and consistently hitting the mark with precise messaging. On the other hand, email marketing is more like LeBron James, versatile, able to handle a variety of content, and a powerhouse in its own right. It’s like comparing a car to a motorcycle, both have advantages and can get you where you need to go, but they have different speeds and styles. Well, this tug-of-war has marketers and advertisers divided, desperately vying for the title of the most captivating and effective way to connect with their audience while small businesses and big corporations have their mindset on which of these marketing tools have the best ROI to stack up their numbers. So, whether you choose text or email marketing, make sure you’re shooting for that slam dunk in your business.
Email Marketing: What Is It?
Email marketing is a digital marketing strategy that involves targeted promotional messages or informational content to existing or potential clients via email. It allows businesses to communicate directly with their audience and build relationships with customers. Enterprises use this tactic for various purposes, such as promoting products or services, announcing special offers or events, educating customers about new developments, or simply staying in touch with subscribers. With personalized and segmented emails, businesses can deliver relevant content to specific groups of recipients, increasing the chances of engagement and conversions. Additionally, it provides a cost-effective and efficient way to reach a large number of people, track performance through metrics, and make data-driven improvements to campaigns.
Text Marketing: What Is It?
Text marketing is yet another digital marketing strategy that refers to sending promotional text messages or alerts to customers via texting notifications. It is a targeted and direct form of communication that allows businesses to reach their audience instantly and at a personal level. Organizations use this approach for many objectives, such as promoting new products or services, sending out exclusive discounts and offers, or providing important updates and notifications. With the rise of smartphones and the increasing use of messaging apps, text marketing has become an effective and popular method for businesses to engage with their customers and drive sales productivity.
Key Facts to Know When Using SMS and Email Marketing
Want to have successful marketing campaigns? Here’s a guideline of meaningful things to keep in mind when developing and performing your marketing messages to your targets:
Consent
Whether it is text or email, people consider these two aspects of communication to be very personal and the most important thing is to feel secure. Permission is crucial as it allows businesses to engage customers more confidently and provides a route toward building a closer relationship with them. There are many ways to acquire consent from clientele; something as simple as a post-purchase email subscription or inviting clients to text a keyword to sign up for your newsletter can do the trick.
Frequency
Once you have established a connection with your customer, the main goal is to keep it!
Keep in mind you can lose a relationship with your clientele with just a push of a click. Let your customer know you are there to fulfill their needs without becoming intruding with constant messages throughout the day, especially at inconvenient times such as late-night notifications. Research shows an email every ten days is a great way to avoid getting labeled as spam; As far as text messages, you can be a little more engaging but don’t push it – remember, maintaining balance is essential.
Content
When choosing marketing content you must be very strategic about what you’re offering to obtain the best results. Here’s where the guidelines differ big time because of the platform’s nature of operation.
Text messages must be precise and brief – it’s called ‘short message service’ for a reason. Usually, the standard length for an SMS is 160 characters, so it is crucial to limit your content to that range. Welcoming messages or promotional & exclusive deals should be the target.
On the other hand, emails can be far more extensive – you can cover a large range of material. You can include sections of a website or newsletters; interactive experiences such as expandable catalogs/inventory, purchases within the email, and client reviews.
Differences Between Text & Email Marketing
Choosing the correct marketing channel can be tricky – customer’s preferences and expectations fluctuate almost daily and coinciding should be the top priority. You can find key differences between email and SMS marketing within significant factors such as the following:
Cost
There’s no doubt these two marketing strategies can be cost-effective compared to other means of advertising; nevertheless, they have differences.
Text messages are usually more expensive than emails due to their limited length and phone carrier prestige; however, email customization that includes features such as innovative templates and automated sending can also add costs to the scale.
Financially speaking, both assets have shown to be reliable, yet regarding the return on investment (ROI), research shows text marketing takes the lead by almost twice the numbers.
Open & Click-Through Rate
Fortunately for the SMS corner, the email will take another blow and admit second place again. Statistics reveal the average open rate for text message marketing campaigns is an overwhelming 98% compared to the 20% rate for email – meaning people are about five times more likely to check their texts instead of their emails.
Additionally, SMS messages have a higher click-through rate due to their compact and easy-to-read format – this means that text messages have a much higher response rate. It usually takes 90 seconds to read text messages compared to the much larger amount of time to browse through an email.
Design
Finally, the email marketing campaign gets a break and takes some leverage in this bout. Since character limitations are no concern, emails can be way more customizable and innovative than text messages. Email service providers have developed very creative software so that you can personalize your content through design templates, interactive features, visual aids, and in-depth material to captivate your attention.
When to Use Text & E-Mail?
As you develop your next marketing campaign, here are a couple of tips to help you decide which communication channel works at a specific time:
- If you want to reach your customers in a more personal – direct manner, text messages are much more reliable. You need very creative and catchy chat designs with friendly and straight-to-the-point information. You can add your customers’ names and send links to surveys, appointment confirmations, product sales, or special offers. Research shows it is best to send a text message around noon on Saturdays and late afternoon on Sundays – as clients will be more relaxed and willing to spend more money on weekends. Remember, make every message count!
- When the main target is to inform and expand, businesses have marked email as their preferred method. Companies and customers receive more than a billion emails per day worldwide – as they are not time sensitive and have almost unlimited space. Marketing emails should be used to build brand awareness/clientele, reward customer loyalty and enhance engagement with clients. You can include newsletters, product updates, and website previews in your email list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Email or Text More Professional?
Texting has a casual tone, whereas emails have a formal output and businesses commonly utilize them for marketing their offerings. Texts are used for quickly relaying brief messages that require immediate attention, while emails do not necessitate an immediate response.
Is E-mail Marketing Dying Why or Why Not?
Email advertising is still thriving and thriving – and it will remain so for the foreseeable future! In reality, email advertising is an effective method to promote your brand or company, boost your income, and capitalize on more conversions.
Which Is Safer Text or Email?
Sending text messages provides an added layer of security, guarding against the chance of someone listening in or gaining unauthorized entry to the data. Moreover, these text messages are usually safeguarded within secure server systems hosted in colocation data centers, making them a headache for third-party hackers or potentially harming individuals.
Who Gets the Big Win?
Text messaging and email marketing are both powerful tools to reach your audience and drive engagement. SMS has a higher open rate compared to emails, ensuring that your message gets seen by more people. Additionally, texts typically have a quicker response time, allowing for immediate action from your audience. On the other hand, emails are great for delivering more detailed information and content. Moreover, emails are easily customized and personalized to cater to individual preferences.
In conclusion, both text messaging and email marketing have unique advantages – it ultimately depends on your specific marketing goals and target audience. By considering the open rates, response times, and content delivery capabilities, you can determine whether to use text, email, or a combination of both.
