1.Text messages have a high open rate
Text messages are simply read more often than e-mail messages. According to a Nielsen study, 97% of text messages are read within 15 minutes of being sent. Even the most successful e-mail marketing campaigns fall far short of this number. A Silverpop study reports that the top email marketing campaigns have an open rate of around 35.7%. For the average email campaign, the open rate is only 19.7%. If you have an important message to deliver to your attendees, send it through a text message. It’s much more likely to be read.
2.Text messages reach attendees regardless of the type of phone they have.
Smart phone, feature phone, android, or iPhone—it doesn’t matter when communicating by text message. Anyone who opts-in will receive your text messages. According to a Nielsen mobile study, only 53% of mobile users in the United States have a smart phone. This means 47% of mobile users have a multimedia or feature phone. Mulltimedia and feature phones lack many of the advanced features of a smartphone. If you’re relying on e-mail, social media, or apps to reach your attendees, you may be alienating a large percentage of your attendees. Many people still do not have the ability to check these channels on their mobile phones.
3.Text messages allow you to communicate in real time.
Send out alerts and announcements as things are happening. Has a session moved to a new room? Is a speaker running late? Let your attendees know! The more they know, they happier everyone will be. If you only post this information to social media, many attendees will never see it. Even if an attendee follows you through social media, they may not check your Twitter or Facebook page until it’s too late. When you send a text message, you know it will be delivered to everyone right away.
Sources:
The Mobile Marketing Review: Mobile Statistics
B2B Email Marketing: Email open rates average 19.7% last year
Nielsen: The Mobile Consumer: A Global Snapshot
