What if we told you that the most important piece to the SMS marketing puzzle is the type of service you employ?
No matter how genius your strategy is, you can’t carry it out with a less-than-ideal text message marketing software. Services with limited functionality, low-quality data harvesting, and poor customer support will only hinder your efforts. Not to mention, it wastes time and money.
The right text message marketing service will provide functions that help you create, run, and manage a campaign successfully.
But choosing the best platform can be complicated. You’ll find that many companies claim to offer all the SMS capabilities you need—however, not all services are created equal.
To help you choose the SMS platform ideal for your business, we’ve compiled a list of a few tested and tried text message tools.
Features to Look for in a Text Message Marketing Software
Before we get into some of the best SMS services, we must review the features you should look for. The following features not only help you craft an effective strategy but they provide enhanced performance in your customer communications.
Mass Group Texting
Mass group texting lets you send a high volume of texts. These messages include event announcements, polls, surveys, and promo codes. Therefore, opt for a text marketing service that easily lets you create messages and send them to your contact list.
App Integrations
App integrations streamline your tech stack and make it easier for businesses to get started with SMS marketing. With app integration, you can connect data from your text campaigns with your existing marketing tools and vice versa.
So, before you settle on text message marketing services, make sure they offer integrations for software you already use.
Autoresponders
With automatic replies, your customers don’t have to wait for a response. You can trigger messages based on keywords a customer uses in their text. Some examples include appointment confirmations, thank you messages, promotions and offers, and event updates.
Two-Way Messaging
Two-way SMS lets you chat directly with your customers in real-time. With this feature, you can provide support, close deals, and connect with your audience on a personal level.
Data Collection
You can’t execute a successful text marketing campaign without gathering data. When you collect information about your customers and your campaign’s performance, you can see what’s working and what’s not. This allows you to make adjustments and send more targeted messages.
Best SMS Marketing Platforms
Below are some of the top text message marketing services. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, and it’s meant to represent a wide variety. Each tool offers features made for different business types, sizes, and goals.
Without further ado…here are some SMS platforms to consider:
Klaviyo
Klaviyo is one of the most recognizable SMS marketing tools. It integrates more than 200 eCommerce tools and platforms, which helps businesses offer a more personalized experience for their customers. In addition, the platform gives you more ownership of your customer’s data and interactions, enabling you to foster long-term relationships.
Klaviyo’s SMS tool lets you send text message campaigns and automation for free for up to 50 profiles. After that, the platform offers competitive pricing that scales as your contact list grows.
A key feature of Klaviyo’s text message tool is multi-channel automation. This means you can seamlessly integrate email into your SMS marketing strategy. With Klaviyo, you also get a complimentary toll-free number, SMS two-way conversations, A/B testing, two-click message personalization, and top-notch text compliance.
Because of their seamless integrations, we recommend this platform for eCommerce businesses that want to engage their audience with text message marketing.
TextMagic
TextMagic is another tool that allows you to send notifications, alerts, and reminders through SMS. This platform can send bulk messages to your contact list or segment your audience. You can also send messages through web browsers or mobile applications.
Like Klaviyo, TextMagic provides smooth eCommerce integrations. Other integrations include (but are not limited to) Facebook Leads Ads, Mailchimp, Active Campaign, and Click Funnel. Therefore, importing customer data and enhancing your tech stack is straightforward.
TextMagic also offers two-way text, MMS capability, ready-to-send message templates, and team collaboration tools. However, what users enjoy the most about this text message marketing platform is its ease of use. The user interface is intuitive and doesn’t take much time to get used to.
TextMagic offers a simple and scalable pricing structure, so it’s great for smaller businesses who want to get into text marketing.
Twilio
Twilio is a cloud-based SMS marketing platform. It offers powerful segmentation and automation, along with seamless APIs and integrations. Some integrations include services like HubSpot, Shopify, Salesforce, and Zapier.
Twilio is unique from other text message marketing platforms on this list because it’s the most suitable coding experts. Professional developers and marketers can build robust customer experiences with a visual workflow builder.
This text message marketing software also allows you to craft automated campaigns, call centers, workflows, autoresponders, SMS surveys, and drip campaigns. You can also connect other communication channels such as email, voice, and WhatsApp.
Getting started with Twilio can be a bit of a learning curve for newbies or those inexperienced in SMS marketing. Therefore, we recommend Twilio for marketers and businesses with advanced marketing teams.
SimpleTexting
SimpleTexting is an excellent text marketing platform for beginners. The user interface is easy to learn, and users can create campaigns quickly without issues.
If you plan on sending mass message campaigns than segmented messages, then SimpleTexting is the right tool. This platform offers bulk SMS, scheduling, autoresponders, and two-way messaging. And when you’re ready to segment your messages, this platform support that too. SimpleTexting’s segmentation and automation tools let you send the right message to the right audience at the perfect time.
A standout feature is in-house custom integrations. SimpleTexting’s in-house developers can create whatever integration you need. You will also receive an account manager to guide you through building an effective marketing strategy. This type of assistance is perfect for business owners who are dipping their toes into the text marketing pool.
Although SimpleTexting is user-friendly, it isn’t the most comprehensive tool on this list. In addition, creating a complex and scalable application can be difficult despite its simple integrations. So, we don’t recommend SimpleTexting for businesses that are more experienced with text marketing.
SlickText
SlickText is another text message marketing service ideal for small businesses and newbies. The platform is easy to use and includes essential features like automation workflows, scheduling, and auto replies.
The learning curve for SlickText is low. The platform provides instructional videos and guides to help you get started. It guides you through importing contacts, setting up your account, and creating your first campaign. You’ll also receive a team of support staff ready to help you answer your questions. In addition, SimpleText delivers a simple consumer data, analytics, and reporting dashboard.
A standout feature is the contest function. The platform automates your contests and randomly chooses winners (so you don’t have to). With SlickText, you can send mobile coupons and track analytics after a customer uses the coupon.
SlickText also allows you to run your loyalty program from the platform. You can schedule messages in advance and reach your customers at the right time.
ProTexting
ProTexting is ideal for businesses looking to expand their SMS marketing. It’s packed with valuable tools that help brands engage with their current customer base and drive new sales.
Although the platform is slightly more challenging to use than others on this list, you will receive full support from the ProTexting team. This text message marketing service also comes with a learning center—which includes tutorials.
And as you become more comfortable with the platform, you can easily segment subscribers into groups, manage keywords, create drip campaigns, and integrate other marketing apps.
ProTexting is another text message marketing service that’s great for professionals. It gives you the chance to create a customizer user experience with code.
In addition, its dashboard provides intuitive visuals that help you understand analytics. For example, opt-outs and unsubscribers are displayed in red, and opt-ins and subscribers are shown in green. However, it’s not the most beginner-friendly interface.
Tatango
Tatango is an SMS platform that both newbies and experts can use. It lets you create simple messaging workflows, segment subscribers, insert merge tags for better personalization, automate replies, and analyze data.
This service is different from the others on this list because it was designed to handle high-volume messaging. In fact, Tatango can send up to 6 million texts per hour. Therefore, this platform is ideal for brands with a large customer base.
While Tatango is mainly geared toward nonprofits and advocacy groups, other industries can also take advantage of this platform. For instance, Tatango allows you to send promotional messages to your customers and track KPIs like open and churn rates.
Zingle
Zingle is a cloud-based SMS marketing platform that lets you communicate with customers on a 1:1 basis. Key features include contact management, message automation, collaboration tools, multi-channel integration, and advanced reporting.
This platform makes managing messages easier with a team inbox. So you can deliver a seamless support experience for your customers. And Zingle’s impressive AI technology deciphers message intent and offers the proper responses. Therefore, customers get what they want when they want it.
Zingle also connects with other apps, including WeChat, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp—giving customers many options for communicating with you.
Another great feature Zingle offers is advanced segmentation. You can group your contacts based on customized policies.
We recommend Zingle for customer-centric businesses that want to improve their customer support.
TextMarks
TextMarks is another text message marketing service that helps improve the customer experience. But, first, let’s talk about its usability. TextMarks is a massive draw for businesses because it’s simple to use. The user interface is straightforward to navigate. And its support reps provide helpful information and are available if you hit a rough patch.
After you’ve become acclimated (which won’t take long), you’ll quickly start using the platform to grow your contact list and send messages.
TextMarks also offers a lead generation tool to build a more extensive marketing network. Every time someone texts your brand’s keyword, their information is sent to you—which lets you generate new leads.
Another major draw is its enhanced security and privacy. The platform praises itself for encrypting your information. So you don’t have to worry about customer information being compromised.
TextMarks is ideal for businesses that want hands-on support and brands that send many promotional messages. But a drawback to this service is that it doesn’t offer two-way messaging.
Gleantap
Gleantap is one of the only text message marketing services designed for gyms and fitness brands. Like many other platforms on this list, Gleantap lets you easily create SMS marketing campaigns, including link tracking, auto-replies, multimedia embedding, and user tracking.
Our service also offers geolocation, allowing you to target audiences based on their geographic location. So, geolocation lets you do that if you want to send an offer relevant to users who live in your area. You can combine this feature with other demographic data to create more targeted and effective campaigns.
Another highlight is the custom dashboard. Users can easily access analytics on campaign conversions, user activity, engagement, churn rate, and retention.
Although Gleantap is user-friendly, our support staff is ready to provide assistance. Our team is available 24/7 and can guide you through creating and executing an SMS campaign.
Elevate Your Marketing in 2023
You have myriad choices when it comes to text message marketing services. Your chosen platform depends on your SMS marketing experience and business goals. For example, if you already know the basics of SMS advertising and want to expand, opt for a platform geared towards experienced users—like Twilio and ProTexting. For businesses looking to get into text marketing for the first time, beginner-friendly tools like TextMarks and TextMagic.
If you want to take your health and wellness brand to the next level, opt for Gleantap. It includes everything you need to foster relationships with your audience and cultivate a loyal customer base. Want to discover the benefits of Gleantap? Schedule a demo.
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