The Difference Between Email and SMS Autoresponders: Part 1
One of the great things about email marketing is the ability to send pre-prepared emails to your list automatically. Everyone who uses email has seen them, even if they don’t realise it. Many common uses are for registration confirmations, order confirmations, and customer support responses (“We got your request and we’ll get back to you soon!”). There is also a whole world of email marketing built around autoresponders. But I’ll get to that later.
While you may be familiar with email autoresponders (especially if you’re in marketing) you may or may not know you can set up a similar function with SMS messaging. In concept, it works the same way. But there are some differences in how they are used which I’ll cover here.
What's the Same?
Both types of autoresponders are triggered by an action taken by the recipient. Usually for email, the person has provided their address to you for some reason. They signed up to get a special offer, your newsletter, or other information. In SMS, autoresponders are usually triggered by a keyword sent to you in a text message. It could be a reply to a message you sent, or it could be an initial text to you from a new person not yet on your list.
In both cases, you craft a message that gets sent automatically when the person contacts you. What the message is depends on what the person signed up for or contacted you about.
Here are some examples for both email and SMS autoresponders:
Confirmation messages – These can be for any request such as subscription sign ups, orders, or support requests.
Informational – Content such as tips, purchase related information, or e-courses (sequential content delivered in chunks designed to teach).
Engagement – Asking your subscribers to connect or comment via reply or on social media is another good use of an autoresponder.
If you are familiar with email marketing (as a marketer or as a recipient) you’re probably wondering how you can do some of these via SMS. Well, that gets us to some of the differences. Even though it’s possible to do all of these with SMS, how you do them is, or can be, different.
Come back for part 2 in the next blog to see how to put SMS autoresponders to work for you.
Related Articles
Event Promotion : Use SMS Marketing to Fill Empty Seats
If you run paying events - music, drama, sport or even fine dining, training courses or workshops, you'll know the hardest seats to fill are the last few and they are also the most profitable if you can sell them. SMS is an immediate and compelling means of event promotion that can shift those last few places.
How SMS Messaging Benefits Every Level of Education
Schools up and down the country are working tirelessly to increase the opportunities available to young people. But, with budgets being cut, these are tough times for many education providers. One of the biggest challenges facing head teachers, class teachers, and office staff is how to find cost-effective means of effectively communicating with the parents and carers of their pupils. That's where SMS text messaging comes in.
Using Keywords with VMNs and Shortcodes (Part 1)
Keywords are important in SMS marketing. In order to use them, you have to have two-way messaging. But does it matter if you have a VMN or shortcode? Yes, and no. In principle, they are the same. But practically there are differences. Find out all about them in this blog.
3 Best Types of CTA for SMS Marketing
One mistake some marketers make is assuming people will know what to do when they read an SMS message. After all, they’re short and to the point right? How confusing could they be? On the other hand, when writing every other form of marketing they know that calls to action need to be clear. So, just because you don't have much room, it doesn’t mean you get to leave out your call to action! Saving space and being brief is important though, so take a look at three of the best SMS marketing CTAs you can use.
5 Ideas for Your Easter SMS Marketing Campaign
Recruitment Industry Grows With Technology – And SMS Messaging
Recruiters today don’t need to wait for people to find and apply for jobs on the internet. They can simply send a text message out to their database with a new opening and watch the applications stream in. They can save time too, by sending updates to prospects via text message letting them know when their applications are received or processed.
9 Tips for SMS Marketing Success in the New Year
Do This One Thing and You’ll Improve Your SMS Marketing ROI
SMS marketing is not quite like most other marketing. You have such a limited space to get your point across, just 160 characters, more or less. It’s not unlike having to create a print advert for a small space, but somehow it can seem more intimidating. That’s why sometimes it seems like marketers forget one basic rule about writing offers: Always lead with the offer! Sounds simple, right?
SMS Marketing for the Beauty Industry
In the 21st century, it’s easy to lose track of all the technology needed to make you the biggest profit and improve your reputation. With our simple SMS services, you can drag your business into the modern age with relative ease, reducing missed appointments and increasing your bottom line.
