Trying to connect directly with users can be difficult. Part of that difficulty is discovering the right medium, whether email, social media or text message. With the increasing popularity of text message marketing the past few years, many companies have jumped on board while others are hesitant to try yet another marketing channel. The statistics, however, show that SMS marketing has the potential to boost your business and overtake both email and social media marketing as the best forum for reaching consumers.
The Impact of Email Marketing
Although text messages debuted not long after email became commonplace for the average user, the use of email for marketing purposes caught on long before text message marketing. Today, almost every company has some sort of email communication with clients. However, this also means that email marketing has to deal with oversaturation, as well as the tons of SPAM emails a typical person receives on a daily basis.
As such, email marketing has between 28 and 33 percent open rate on average. The click through rate is between six and seven percent. Interestingly, campaigns that send more emails tend to see a gradual increase in their open rate during the life of their campaign.
Do People Respond to Social Media Marketing?
As social media took off, brands became excited about the personal connection they could facilitate with customers, as well as the free organic reach. Facebook consistently alters its Newsfeed algorithm, as do the other social media sites. This often diminishes what posts users actually see. This means you might not be getting the reach you think you are, since your fans most likely do not see 100 percent of your posts.
The organic reach for Facebook posts ranges between 2 percent and 47 percent. This number is largely influenced by the number of fans you have. If you have fewer than 1,000 followers on Facebook, then you most likely average about a 22 percent organic reach rate. However, if your company has more than 100,000 followers, the organic decreases significantly to around 6.6 percent.
Twitter has also been found to have a two percent organic reach, but the company advertises that it can connect with 30 percent of their followers each week, compared to five percent for Facebook. Other social media sites, including LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+, have similar reaches.
The Power of Text Message Marketing
Text message marketing is the newest contender, and it has powerful statistics. It has a 98 percent open rate, with most people reaching the texts within just a few minutes of receipt. Coupons sent by text have a 10 percent higher redemption rate than email, and roughly 32 percent of subscribers respond to offers. It also has a high click through rate at 29 percent and has eight times the engagement rate of email marketing. These numbers demonstrate how powerful text message marketing is, surpassing the impact and reach of both email and social media marketing.
Although text message marketing offers you a better way to engage with consumers, the use of these different marketing channels does not have to be a competition. All three marketing channels work best when they are integrated into one larger marketing strategy. This allows you to benefit from the strengths that each of the channels provide while minimizing the weaknesses.
Ready to see how an SMS marketing campaign can boost your business more than email and social media? Try ClubTexting for free.