In today’s fast-moving world, your audience carries their mobile device with them everywhere. That makes text messaging one of the most direct, personal and high-impact ways to reach people. For schools, small and medium businesses (SMBs), and organisations that want to update users, engage customers or promote their service, a well-planned SMS marketing strategy can make all the difference.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to build a strong SMS strategy from the ground up—starting with the fundamentals, moving through execution, and ending with measurement and improvement.
Why SMS Should Be Part of Your Marketing Mix
- Text messages achieve remarkably high open-rates and quick responses. For example, one recent study reported that over 95 % of SMS messages are opened within minutes.
- Compared with email or many other channels, SMS allows you to reach contacts instantly—especially useful for timely updates, appointments, or limited-time offers.
- Because people guard their phone numbers closely, the fact someone has opted in means they are already engaged; this means your SMS list is often a high-value marketing asset.
For schools, this might mean sending reminders to parents; for an SMB it might mean promoting a weekend sale; for an organisation it could mean alerting members to an event.
But before you hit “send,” let’s walk through how to do it right.
Step 1: Define Your Goals and Use-Cases
Start by asking yourself what you want to achieve with your SMS campaign:
- Are you sending updates or alerts (for example: school closures, event reminders, appointment confirmations)?
- Are you sending promotions or marketing messages (for example: discounts, new product announcements, seasonal offers)?
- Are you aiming to build customer or member loyalty, encourage referrals, or drive sales?
Define 2-3 measurable goals for your first campaign. Example goals:
- “Increase attendance at next week’s event by 20%.”
- “Reduce appointment no-shows by 30%.”
- “Drive 100 extra purchases from a weekend SMS blast.”
Having clarity on your objective will guide your message content, timing, audience and how you measure success.
Step 2: Build and Segment Your Contact List
An SMS strategy is only as good as its subscriber list. Here are key steps:
- Opt-in only: Make sure every contact has given clear permission to receive your messages. This is not just best practice—it’s essential for compliance.
- Organise your list: Divide contacts into meaningful segments (for example: parents vs students, customers vs prospects, event attendees vs non-attendees).
- Capture list growth: Use methods like sign-up forms, QR codes, contests or incentives to collect mobile numbers.
- Clean & update your list: Remove duplicates, invalid numbers and people who have opted out. This improves deliverability and avoids wastes.
Segmented lists let you send more relevant messages (for example: “Hi {{Name}}, your appointment is in 24 hrs…”), which leads to higher engagement.
Step 3: Choose Your Message Type and Platform
When planning your SMS campaign, decide on the type of message and the platform you’ll use:
Message Type
- Transactional/Informational: Appointment reminders, account updates, shipping notifications. These are expected and well-received.
- Promotional/Marketing: Limited-time offers, discounts, new-product launches. These should be occasional and well-targeted.
- Conversational/Engagement: Two-way replies, surveys, feedback requests. These build relationships.
Platform Considerations (for your context)
Since you’re using Send Blaster Pro, you have options like bulk SMS (via Google Messages or carrier), WhatsApp Web, or iMessage for Apple users. Each has its strengths:
- SMS (green bubble) – widest reach and works for all phones.
- iMessage/WhatsApp (blue bubble) – richer feature set and works when both parties are compatible.
- Ensure the tool you use supports your message volume, personalization, scheduling and measurement.
Step 4: Craft Your Message Content
Here are key tips for writing effective SMS:
- Start with your brand name: People may not recognise the phone number instantly.
- Keep it short and clear: Stick to around 160 characters for standard SMS. Longer messages risk being broken into multiple parts or ignored.
- Include a single strong call to action: Tell recipients exactly what you want them to do (e.g., “RSVP by reply ‘Y’”, “Shop now – link”, “Confirm your appointment”).
- Personalize when possible: Use placeholders like
{{Name}}to make messages feel more one-to-one rather than mass blasts. - Value first: Offer something useful—info, benefit or convenience—not just sales pitch.
Example (for a small business):
“Hi Lisa, thanks for being a loyal customer. This Friday only – 20 % off in-store. Show this text at checkout. Reply STOP to unsubscribe.”
Example (for a school):
“SchoolName – Reminder: Parent-Teacher meeting this Thu, 6 pm in Hall. Please bring form signed. Reply ‘Yes’ to confirm. STOP to opt out.”
Step 5: Timing, Frequency & Delay
When you send your SMS matters:
- Avoid times when people are unlikely to engage (too early, very late, or during meals/late night).
- A good rule: send between 10 am-2 pm or 4-8 pm (recipient’s local time) for general audiences.
- Manage frequency: Don’t send too many messages too often. Over-messaging leads to higher opt-outs and spam reports.
- Use delays and safeguards: For “bulk sender” campaigns (e.g., >100 messages), build in short pauses between messages to maintain trust and avoid being flagged.
- Identify send windows when people are most likely to act (e.g., weekend sale early Friday).
Step 6: Personalization & Automation
To get more from your SMS campaign:
- Use custom variables (like
{{Name}},{{Date}},{{PromoCode}}). This makes each message feel tailor-made. - Automate follow-up or trigger messages where possible (for example: welcome message after opt-in, appointment reminder 24hrs before slot).
- Consider segment-based automation: send different content to loyal clients vs new sign-ups.
- Monitor responses and behaviour: if recipients reply, engage them. If a particular segment consistently ignores messages, reassess your approach.
Personalized and automated SMS improves engagement and keeps your campaign efficient.
Step 7: Compliance & Best Practices
Bulk SMS campaigns carry risks if compliance is ignored. Make sure you:
- Only message those who have opted in and clearly advised what they will receive.
- Always provide a clear opt-out option (for example: “Reply STOP to unsubscribe”).
- Be transparent about your identity (include brand name).
- Avoid sensitive or regulated content unless you’ve obtained the right permissions.
- Respect local laws and carrier rules (for example TCPA in the U.S.).
By following these, you protect your brand, maintain deliverability and build long-term trust.
Step 8: Measure, Review & Improve
After you send your campaign, don’t stop there:
- Track key metrics: delivery rate, open rate (if relevant), click-through rate (for links), conversion rate (for actions taken), opt-out rate.
- Compare results to your initial goals and ask: Did we hit our target? What worked? What didn’t?
- Analyse segmentation: Which group responded best?
- Test and optimise: Try different message wording, send times, call-to-action phrasing or segment types. A/B testing improves performance.
- Use feedback: If recipients reply with questions or complaints, incorporate that into your next message.
- Clean your list: Remove inactive contacts or those who never respond; this helps deliverability and reduces cost.
Step 9: Scaling Your SMS Strategy
Once you’ve mastered the basics, scale wisely:
- Gradually increase list size, but maintain personalization and relevance.
- Use multi-channel integration: combine SMS with email, social, push notifications or WhatsApp to reinforce your message.
- Automate more flows: e.g., welcome series, cart recovery, event reminder, loyalty reward texts.
- Explore advanced segmentation: by purchase history, location, engagement level or lifecycle stage.
- Monitor sender reputation: if your number gets flagged or blocked, your reach diminishes drastically.
Summary
An SMS marketing strategy is not just about sending bulk messages. It’s about connecting meaningfully, delivering value, and doing so in a compliant and measurable way.
For schools, colleges, SMBs and organisations, leveraging a tool like Send Blaster Pro gives you the power to send updates, promotions and messages from your own number—without complicated setups or third-party gateways.
Start with clear goals, build and segment your list, craft concise and relevant content, schedule your campaigns smartly, personalise and automate your messages, follow compliance rules, measure your results, and scale intelligently.
Follow these steps and your SMS program can become one of your most efficient and effective communication channels—reaching people where they really are: on their phones.
