Local advertising forms an important part of any overarching marketing strategy, and SMS marketing is ideally suited to the task.

Text message marketing is low cost and boasts an open and read rate that dwarfs that of traditional email and social media. It’s also simple to set up and easily customisable to complement any of your other marketing channels. Large and small businesses can benefit from reaching out via SMS.

Here are some easy ways that you can use SMS marketing to give your local advertising reach and ROI a boost:
 

Customise Campaigns for Customers

One of the major advantages of text marketing is that it’s easy to tailor content to suit each individual customer. The result is content that’s more relevant and engaging for your customers. By requesting certain information from mobile subscribers when they opt in, you can create subscriber groups along different demographics - including their location. This enables you to send targeted messages to users within different regions - ideal when you have multiple locations to promote. 

Further groups can be based on subscriber age group, gender, interests, relationship status and more. You can then create offers tailored to each group, whether it’s a special offer available in a store in their area or a promotion on a product you know they’ll be love. Customers are more likely to stay signed up to your mobile list when the content they receive is genuinely useful and relevant to them.

SMS Calls to Action

A simple SMS call to action can be added to all your local ads, making it easier than ever for customers to take action when they see your advertising. Add a short code and snappy keyword to all your ads so people can get in touch easily while your it’s fresh in their minds.

This is where SMS really excels, because so many of us have our mobiles in our purse or pocket all day long, we can take action right away, even when we’re on the move. Try adding a texting call to action to your existing local advertising channels, including:

• Billboards/posters

• TV/Radio spots

• Print ads

• Online ads

• Flyers

• Direct mail

Avoid Over-Texting

By splitting your subscribers up by demographic you run the risk of including them in more than one group - meaning they could end up receiving multiple texts, and more than they want to receive. Be mindful of this and keep track of how many messages you’re sending to avoid duplications.

Focus Locally

Because SMS feels innately personal, it’s the ideal marketing channel to use to reach out and be part of your local community. Think community, not business, and invite local customers via SMS to events and workshops, as well as letting them know how they can help out local charities that your business supports.