What Is SMS Marketing?

SMS is an acronym for Short Message Service, a text messaging service that allows you to send short messages with a 160-character limit to a mobile device, or in your case, multiple mobile devices at once. SMS is a fast and direct way to reach your customers instantly, as most people have their phones with them all the time and read their texts immediately. SMS has a high open rates — almost 90 percent! — with most messages being read within the first few minutes of receipt.

When Should You Use SMS?

We’ve all annoyingly been the recipient of one too many text messages from an overzealous friend, family member, or business. While SMS is great for sending time-sensitive information, such as last-minute changes to the farmers market hours, special deals and promotions, or a flash sale, don’t overuse it. You can use SMS messages to send reminders to your customers about upcoming market dates or to notify them when a new vendor joins the market, but it shouldn’t be an everyday thing, or you’ll get left ‘on read.’ Keep it short, sweet, and infrequent to maintain that high open rate.

Wait … Then, What Is MMS Marketing?

MMS marketing, or Multimedia Messaging Service, is a type of mobile marketing that combines traditional text messaging with images, videos, audio files, and other multimedia content. With MMS marketing campaigns, businesses can add more excitement and power to their messages, making them more likely to capture your target audience’s attention. MMS messages are typically sent through your same SMS service carrier and allow businesses to deliver compelling media-rich content that encourages engagement and drives conversions.

The success of an MMS campaign hinges on the creative elements used in the message. To make sure your message stands out, you should consider using high-quality visuals along with engaging copy. Additionally, you should also personalize your message for email users so that it’s relevant to the recipient and they can easily identify who it’s from.

MMS marketing is a great way to get customers’ attention, boost already high engagement rates, and encourage people to take action. It is a powerful tool that allows businesses to create truly unique experiences for their customers that go beyond traditional SMS campaigns. With creative multimedia content, your farmers market can ensure your customers will stay engaged and have an enjoyable experience interacting with the market.

What Is Email Marketing?

Similar to texting, email marketing is a method of sending a message to a group of people. It allows you to reach a large number of customers at once with more detailed information than SMS. Email marketing allows you to build and maintain relationships with your customers by providing them with valuable content. In other words, SMS gets a quick message out, while email marketing lets you send content they need to read and mull over when they have a little more time.

When Should You Use Email Marketing?

Email marketing is great for sending long-form content, including:

• Email newsletters
• Detailed updates about new products or vendors
• Event promotions and other promotional emails
• Share stories and photos of your vendors and customers
• Recipes for those ‘how-do-I-cook-this?’ veggies (we’re looking at you, kohlrabi!)
• Links to blog posts and podcast episodes
• Special offers and discounts
• Surveys to gauge customer satisfaction
• Announcing special events

Additionally, your email newsletter should remind everyone of your name, address, and hours. Having that information readily available is helpful to your clients.

So, SMS vs Email Marketing?

Honestly? Both. Well, all three, if you are including MMS. There are pros and cons of SMS and email marketing. 

SMS Marketing

Pros: SMS messages have a 98% open rate, meaning that almost everyone who receives a message will read it. That’s crazy good. Text marketing is a great way to send timely information and last-minute updates, such as changes to market hours or new produce arrivals

Cons: SMS messages are limited in length (160 characters), and the average person may find them intrusive if sent too frequently. 

MMS Marketing

Pros: MMS messages are longer than SMS (up to 1,600 characters) and can include images, audio, video, or PDF attachments. This gives you the opportunity to get creative with your messaging and really stand out from the crowd. Think: a video of someone slicing open a ripe melon or a pdf of 3 recipes for how to cook that pesky kohlrabi. (Yes. Yes, we have issues with that bulbous vegetable).

Cons: MMS messages typically have a higher opt-out rate than SMS since they take up more space on a person’s mobile phone. In other words, use sparingly, or maybe save those vids for your social media page.

Email Marketing

Pros: Email marketing campaigns allow you to send more detailed information about your produce, such as recipes and nutritional information. You can also segment your email list and send targeted messages to specific groups of customers.

Cons: Email campaigns have a lower-than-average open rate and click-through rate than text messages (around 20%) and can be filtered into a spam folder if not optimized correctly.

Ultimately, the best marketing channel for your farmers market will depend on your specific goals and the preferences of your customers. Developing a social media marketing plan that uses all three is truly your best move.

Best Practices

Regardless of which channel you choose, there are a few best practices to keep in mind when it comes to digital marketing.

• Get permission from your customers before sending them text messages or emails
• Keep your messaging short and engaging for the best results
• Segment your audience for targeted messaging for increased customer engagement
• Provide value to your customers through educational content or promotions.
• Keep track of your response rates
• Try A/B testing to determine the most effective way to reach your particular customers

Top SMS Service Providers

Communicating with your customers and vendors is crucial for the success of your farmers’ market. And what better way to do this than through SMS? We learned that SMS (and MMS) can help you instantly connect with your audience and keep them updated, but with so many SMS providers out there, it can be overwhelming to choose the right one. Here’s a few options:

ProTexting

ProTexting is an efficient and straightforward SMS provider that provides a variety of features for your farmers’ market. It provides automation options, subscriber segmentation and also allows you to build custom templates. ProTexting also has exceptional features such as SMS polling, voting options, and even sweepstakes. Use promo code ‘KaleAbility’ for 10 percent off your first month at ProTexting!

DialMyCalls

DialMyCalls is another great option for farmers’ markets that need an easy way to stay connected with their customers and vendors. It can send hundreds of thousands of messages at once, and it also provides powerful analytics tools to track response rates. It’s even integrated with major social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and more so you can stay connected wherever your customers are. You also have the ability to personalize messages with variables like your customer’s name!

TextMagic

With TextMagic, you can easily send bulk messages to your customers and vendors from anywhere at any time. It also offers a platform where you can track responses, organize your contacts, and schedule messages. Additionally, it has a feature that enables you to create personalized messages and includes images, making your messages more engaging.

Choosing the right SMS provider is critical for effective communication with your customers. With any of these top SMS providers, you can quickly and easily connect through affordable, instant, and highly effective messaging.

Top Email Service Providers

FAQs – SMS vs Email Marketing

1. How does SMS marketing compare to email marketing? SMS marketing tends to have higher open rates than email marketing, often because receiving a text message is usually more immediate and personal. However, email marketing allows for more content, including graphics and links, and can be more effective for detailed communication or storytelling.
2. Which is more effective: SMS or email marketing? The effectiveness of SMS versus email marketing can depend on your specific audience and goals. SMS might be more effective for urgent or time-sensitive messages, while email can be better for detailed information and nurturing customer relationships.
3. Can SMS and email marketing be used together? Absolutely. Many businesses find that using a combination of SMS, MMS, and email marketing can help them reach different segments of their audience more effectively and cover all bases in their communication strategy.
4. What are the costs associated with SMS and email marketing? Costs can vary widely depending on the platform used, the volume of messages sent, and other factors. Generally, email marketing can be more cost-effective at scale, but SMS might provide a better return on investment due to its high engagement rates.
5. What are the legal considerations for SMS and email marketing? Both SMS and email marketing are regulated by laws like the CAN-SPAM Act for emails and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act for text messages in the U.S. Businesses must ensure they obtain proper consent from recipients, provide opt-out options, and comply with all other relevant regulations. Your email and SMS service providers can provide you with more specifics.