One of the most common questions we receive about the value of text message marketing is, “I can post to Facebook and it’s free. What can SMS marketing campaigns do that my Facebook is not doing?”

This is an important one to address, because there are still a lot of misconceptions about Facebook out there.

The Facebook Misconception

First, we understand that many businesses are still trying to address a lack of social media presence. This is no small matter, especially for small- and medium-sized businesses. By all measures, a consistent social media presence is a good thing!

But many are left with the false impression that “making a post on Facebook” makes a notable difference in their marketing efforts.

Unfortunately, this is not the reality. The average organic reach for a post today is around just 6%, and still falling.

Facebook is a pay-to-play platform. If you want your potential customers to see your post, you’re going to have to pay up.

The Pay-to-Play Reality

The Facebook picture gets bleaker when we look at what those costs actually are- and, more importantly, what they get you.

When you log on to your Facebook page and look at anyone of your posts, there will be an option to boost that post- Facebook’s mechanism for paying to have it seen.

When you select that option, the default suggested price to boost a post is $20. That doesn’t sound too bad, until we look at the results.

Let’s look at the data to help you understand. On average, here are some facts to consider:

• To reach 1,000 users, you’ll need to spend $20.
• To reach 2,500 users, you’ll need to spend $50.
• To reach 5,000 users, you’re getting into the hundreds of dollars.

As a reminder, this is just for one post.

Costs Multiply With Re-Spending

I’ll explain the difference between paid and owned media later on. Social media is paid media, which means you’ll have to re-spend each time you want to get eyeballs.

As with most paid advertising methods, it takes money to move the needle. Pay-to-play becomes “pay each time you want to play.”

The Effectiveness of SMS Marketing Campaigns

The exciting news is that marketing doesn’t have to be that way! If you’re investing in growing your business, that investment should be clear, concise, and show results.

The Owned Media Advantage

There are a myriad of ways to grow your mass texting list, and taking full advantage of that list growth is one of the most ROI-centered activities you can use to grow your business.

The result of your efforts is owned media.

Owned media has long-term value that paid media can neither offer nor compete with. Your existing and potential customers are your business’ most important asset. With txtsignal, we help you build your list, because we know the value- it’s your list.

Think of the power in the ability to contact individually a group of people who you know are interested in you, and who have agreed to let you send updates, specials, alerts, and promotions. Now think of the power of being able to reach those customers right when you want to.

That leads us to an important distinction- precision of timing.

Precision of Timing is Key

Probably the most important distinction between social media marketing and SMS marketing campaigns is precision of time.

txtsignal, for example, provides date and time controls, so you have exact control over when your customers see your message.

When you post something to Facebook (or Twitter or Instagram), you have little to no control over when your intended recipient views/reads your message. Consider this: what good does a message posted on Tuesday (or, your slow day) afternoon for a dinner offer do if the person shows up on Saturday night? The answer: none. In fact, adding to a long wait is likely going to be a net negative.

So, the timing of a message is critical to the effectiveness of the message. Text message marketing provides you with the avenue to deliver your message at exactly the time that you want to drive to the desired effect.

Universal Availability

Your SMS marketing campaigns will work on for every phone made since 2005. Not just smartphones that can install apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or loyalty apps with “messaging”.

This is another distinct advantage of SMS marketing. There is no app to download. There is no service to agree to or sign up for.

Once you have engaged your customers, all you need is their number, and a keyword join process makes this super simple.

Text messaging has existed before Facebook was created and, as a medium, it will continue to be a valuable marketing medium in the future.

Noise vs. Signal

Finally, Facebook marketing and other social media marketing are set inside a whirlwind of activity. Every Facebook user is subject to a stream of activity- from heartfelt birthday wishes to annoying political diatribes to videos of cute, funny, or silly cats (and dogs, but lots of cats).

This is noise. Even if you deliver the perfect copy accompanied by delicious graphics, your marketing message is diluted amongst this landscape of often hectic activity.

As noted above, getting your messages into the stream of noise costs money, but getting your message actually noticed competes with pictures of cute babies and cats.

On the other hand, ask yourself: when your phone dings, do you take a quick look? Yes. We all do. It’s why this medium is so effective.

A text message is not noise. A text message is a clear signal.

Get it? txtsignal!

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Learn how txtsignal can help you build your audience and start sending them your signal today.