Are your thumbs blistering from sending and replying to hundreds of messages to promote your business? If you’re not taking advantage of automated text messages, it's time to consider starting now.

More businesses are shifting toward automated workflows, and SMS is no different. An automated SMS text message is a preset message that's triggered when predetermined conditions have been met. These conditions are set on the back-end and are operated via an SMS automation tool.

In this article, we'll expound on what automated text messages are, how they work, and how to use them for your business.

We’ll also address commonly asked questions regarding SMS automation.

What Are Automated Text Messages and How Do They Work?

Automated text messages are preset texts that are automatically sent when planned conditions are met.

These conditions are set in advance through SMS automation software, and are scheduled to be sent at a specific date and time.

How Does SMS Automation Work?

An automated SMS text message is sent using SMS automation software. This provides back-end access to the user where they can set-up rules and conditions. These will tell the software to send a message when customers type in a specific keyword of your choosing.

However, many businesses don’t send an automatic text message through their regular phone number. Instead they use shortcodes.

What is a Shortcode?

A shortcode is a special phone number that can be used for two-way business texting. You may have noticed some organizations promoting their events in the following way:

| "Message 'RUN' to 6070 to sign yourself up for the Marathon Race 2022"

In the above example, “RUN” is the keyword and "6070" is the shortcode. By sending "RUN" to the number listed you’d be automatically replied to by a pre-written text. This can be a simple response, like congratulating someone on becoming part of an event, or presenting a complex scenario in asking a series of yes/no questions.

What are the Benefits of using an Automated Text Message?

Automating your text messages like this can save time by running mass text campaigns for customers. Rather than messaging everyone one by one, you can quickly respond to texts and have individual interactions with your customers.

It also helps keep your customers interested, since text messages have a whopping open rate of 99% with 34% of messages being read within the first 5 minutes.

This is a better way to reach more customers than other promotional methods like email marketing, which has an average open rate of around 30%.

How to Use Automated Text Messages For Your Business

Automated text messaging is being leveraged by many business owners around the world. Consumers today want a personal relationship with brands they love.

Automated text message technology is a great way to provide your customers with instant information. It’s a win-win for both customers and businesses to provide a direct channel for two-way communication.

Below we’ll discuss how to set up automated messaging for your business, and how to use text message marketing to achieve your marketing goals.

How Do I Set Up Automated Messages?

You can get started automating your SMS marketing campaign in just 5 simple steps.

1. Pick an Automated Text Message Software

Selecting a good text messaging automation software is important to ensure the best results from your marketing efforts. We recommend Salesmsg as your go-to software to send automated text messages and manage all SMS marketing campaigns.

After signing up for a free 14-day trial, you can utilize its automation features by selecting keywords and shortcode to create an SMS automation campaign.

2. Upload Your Contacts

After signing up for an automated texting service software, you need to add your contact list. These are the numbers of customers who have already given permission to receive promotional messages.

With Salesmsg, you can segment your contact groups and assign your team members an inbox.

3. Select Keywords and Shortcode to Start an SMS Marketing Campaign

To start texting potential customers, you'll need a marketing list. You can’t send texts to people who haven’t given permission, so you’ll first need to set up shortcode to start conversations with your audience.

The most effective way to start collecting phone numbers is to create a keyword campaign. You'll set up a keyword that customers can send to your selected shortcode, which will enable them to opt-in for your SMS service.

4. Set up Your Automated SMS Text Message

After someone messages you, they will get an automatic reply. You can set up an automated response to the keyword you selected by adding certain conditions and rules. 

Most SMS messages automation tools will give you options to customize your message. Examples are adding the name of a contact in your message, offering a discount, or even adding images through the use of MMS.

Spend time writing your SMS/MMS message well. Sending bulk texts in automation can be pricey, so make sure texts convey the information clearly and don’t contain any misinformation or spelling mistakes. First impressions matter, and a typo can be the difference between a potential subscriber and lost sale.

5. Schedule Your Automatic Text Message

Now that you’ve set up your automated text messages, you can schedule them in advance. You don’t have to worry about forgetting to send a message or replying to a conversation, automation will handle that for you. It will send messages in bulk to a large number of contacts on the exact date and time you set.

You can also set up recurring messages or reminder alerts to keep your customers engaged and retain their attention. There are cases where it may be necessary to set up reminders, such as reminding customers that their subscription is about to expire or that a sale is about to end.

These types of messages have been proven to boost customer retention, which can lead to more subscriptions from your promotional offers.

How Businesses Can Use Text Message Automation

By now you know how to set up an automatic text message for your campaigns. Here are some examples of how many successful businesses use an automated texting service to streamline their marketing efforts.

1. Opt-in SMS Automation Campaigns

Setting up SMS campaigns such as abandoned carts, offering promotions, or even an automated birthday discount can be great for people to sign-up for future offers. Opt-in SMS automation campaigns are most often being utilized by organizations who have set up competitions or lucky draws.

This is a great way to pool more people in to become part of your marketing campaign. If you’re hosting a competition and want people to participate without lots of manual effort, automated text messages are ideal.

2. Delivery and Pick-Up Messages

If you’re running a business that ships products, you'll benefit from running an automated SMS campaign. Customers are eager to receive their delivered packages and may question whether it was received by the shipment company.

To clear any of these doubts, you could set up automated customer texts that trigger whenever someone places an order for delivery. An example might be something like:

"Hi, your order for “Black Premium Coffee Table” is ready to be shipped! Respond 'YES' for more shipping notifications."

3. Reminder Alerts, Updates, and Confirmation Text Messages

SMS is a great way to convey important information since most mobile phone texts are read within the first 5 minutes of being sent. To retain your audience, you need to send instant updates and reminders to keep your contact list updated.

Here’s some examples of different types of automatic text messages you can set up:

Reminder Alerts:

“Hey Michael, we wanted to remind you that your domain is about to expire in one month. Renew it now to ensure uninterrupted services.”

Updates:

“Your email has been successfully verified. You can sign-in to your account using this link..”

Confirmation:

“Your order has been confirmed and our rider is on the way. The total bill will be $11.59. Thank you!”

4. Business Off-Hours Automated Response

Sometimes customers contact you after business hours. Although you cannot interact with them physically, you can use an automated SMS text message. This will ensure they get a response.

It’s a great way of engaging with your customers regardless of business hours. Here’s a good example:

“Hi, thanks for contacting 'The Glam Hotel.' If you are:

• Booking a room, please visit our website at [URL]
• Scheduling an appointment: reply to this message with your date and time.

For any additional complaints and questions please contact us at: [Number] during business hours between 8am - 2pm. Thank you.”

5. Conducting Customer Surveys and Collecting Feedback

Customer surveys can get expensive and time-consuming. If you want to reach a larger number of people to conduct a customer survey, you can set up automatic texts. These are helpful in collecting instant feedback from customers and ensuring you receive replies. An example would be:

“Hi Larry! Thanks for using our streaming subscription. Please let us know your experience on a scale of 1-5 (5 being very satisfied). Looking forward to your response!”

6. After-Sales Support

Setting up an automatic text message or having a chatbot can help with after-sales support. Once a user buys your product, they may message you about issues they come across. You should set up automated messages based on the most common queries so people can quickly find solutions to their problems, such as:

“Thank you for contacting Computer Systems Support. Reply with the number listed below that corresponds with your problem:

1. Computer isn’t turning on
2. Constant overheating and loud fan
3. General bugs and glitches 
4. Slow speed and lagging
5. Screen calibration and color issues

If you have another complaint that isn't listed, kindly leave us a message at [Email] and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”

What are the Benefits of Automated Text Messages?

Automated texts can be a game-changer for marketing. Businesses should take advantage of the following benefits:

1. Better Communication with Customers

With an automated text message you can communicate with your customers in real-time. By sending instant messages to their number, you're communicating with them directly on a personal level. This helps your customers be more comfortable and is convenient for both parties.

2. Automation Saves You Time & Money

Without automation, you'd need to hire additional teams, create PPC campaigns, and manually send personalized replies to customers. This would be time-consuming and could extinguish your marketing budget.

By automating messages, you eliminate these obstacles. With automation software like Salesmsg, you can bulk-send thousands of messages and set up automated responses and alerts.

3. Boosts Customer Retention and Keeps Your Subscribers Engaged

A customer may not come to your store or want to contact your sales team every time they need to ask something. Setting up automatic SMS messages will regularly remind customers of your services and boost retention rates. They’ll always know of your latest offers, services, and promotions.

Although they may ignore your initial messages, consistent text messaging will catch their eyes over a period of time.

4. Automated Texts Can Be Sent Anytime

You can schedule texts in advance and respond to your customers even when you're closed. If you’re not physically available to respond to customer queries, you can set up an automated response to cater to your customers' needs.

This is also useful for multinational businesses that offer services in countries with different time-zones. You can respond to most questions, even in your sleep.

How Much Do Automated Text Messages Cost?

Cost is a crucial factor to consider before setting up campaigns. The cost of sending automated texts depends on your business and its intended use of SMS marketing tools. The more contacts to which you send automatic text messages, the more it will cost, which can add up quickly. Fortunately, many subscription services offer plans for businesses that send many texts, which can help reduce the overall cost.

On average, a business may spend $0.02 - 0.05 per text. MMS texts that contain multimedia may cost more. Before creating an SMS automation campaign, it might be best to contact your service provider about business plans to ensure you're getting the most bang for your buck.

Is it Safe to Automate Text Messages?

Automated texts can be a huge helper for businesses, but there are common problems business owners run into when setting it up. Generally, you should avoid the following with text message automation:

• Don’t send automated texts that are too long or have "fluff."
• Avoid over-complicating your texts. Don’t include too many conditions or rules that will annoy the receiver and cause them to opt-out.
• Don’t sound robotic. Have a natural conversation with your consumer.
• Avoid including sensitive information.

Takeaway Points and Final Thoughts

Setting up automated text messages for your business will help you streamline your marketing efforts. SMS is a great way to reach more customers and doing so manually can be time-consuming and costly. Automated texts work!

Automating your texts can be beneficial for your business in many ways. It can help you instantly communicate with your customer, boost retention and engagement, and will lead to a better user experience overall.

What Service should I use for Automating my Texts?

Try automating your texts for free with Salesmsg. It's your best bet!