Not including Twilio in our list of SSPs (SMS Service Providers) would be like omitting James Bond from a list of noteworthy super spies. From its cost-effective, pay-as-you-go pricing scheme to its inclusion of WhatsApp messaging, Twilio’s SMS service sets the gold standard in advanced text-based marketing - if you know how to use it, of course. Luckily, there’s an SMS marketing agency on hand to help you make the most out of this messaging powerhouse. Spoiler Alert: It’s us. It was always us.
Again, there’s no denying that Twilio rules the SMS-verse, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the perfect SSP for YOUR business. So, let’s lay it all on the table and show why we think it might just be the base to your ball.
Right off the bat (see what we did there?), we’re super impressed with Twilio’s programmable messaging APIs (Application Programming Interface) and conversion APIs. Not only can you send transactional SMS, MMS, and WhatsApp messages with one API called MessagingX, you can drive two-way engagement with a single conversion API as well. These developer-friendly APIs come with built-in compliance software. That’s a lot of nerd-talk which basically means, “one platform, many possibilities”, and they help make sure that all of your SMS marketing campaigns are abiding by all applicable marketing laws.
Having control of your MessagingX API also means scalability is not an issue for your SMS marketing campaigns, with features like customer notifications and OTP verification that are built in to streamline operations. You’d be forgiven for thinking that Twilio’s SMS service is sounding too good to be true. Well, it almost is… except for a few caveats which mainly have to do with Twilio’s sheer size within the market…
While Twilio’s SMS service is more suitable for medium to large companies, it’s the undeniable leader in SMS marketing service providers. So much so, that any alternative platform is widely considered exactly that - a Twilio alternative… and that says a lot.
But let’s dig a little deeper and see how Twilio’s SMS service stacks up against the competition:
In a nutshell, Twilio is well aware of its status in the SMS marketplace and the lack of a free trial or beginner-friendly interface sends a clear message that this is for serious users only. You don’t expect Al Pacino to audition for a role, right? Same thing - Twilio (like Mr. Pacino) doesn’t need your approval. That said, with the right SMS marketing company at your side, you’ll see for yourself why Twilio dominates the arena with such confidence.
I’m In!For all its benefits, Twilio does seem to cater more to coders and tech experts - which is not great if you’re planning on marketing solo with little to no experience in ones and zeroes. That’s why we highly recommend you partner with an expert on this one. And by expert, we mean CodeCrew, of course.
So, what do you get when you partner with us on your Twilio adventure?
Oh, hmmm, let’s see…
We perform an initial audit to ascertain where your business is at and how we can turn your ROI into a supernova.
Our team of experts seamlessly integrate your Twilio SMS marketing campaigns into your existing email marketing program for optimal results.
We craft an SMS marketing strategy that utilizes both automated flows and campaigns.
Our copy crew conjures up sweet words to entrance your customers.
The design warlocks create the most stunning eye candy you’ve ever laid your eyes on.
Our coding elves ensure that each SMS feels like it was hand-crafted for each customer by their BFF.
We report back to you and advise on how we plan to achieve even better results moving forward.
Bottom line: Sit back and watch us work our Twilio magic.
The important thing is that you focus on growing your business knowing that your SMS marketing needs are in expert hands - especially when it comes to Twilio’s intricate clockwork of coding requirements.
Even Bond in all his suave stubbornness has the good sense to trust Q with all the technical details. So, be like James and let us keep our Goldfingers on your ROI’s pulse.
Stir Up My ROIYes, Twilio is an SMS aggregator. To break it down simply, an SMS aggregator is a link between businesses that want to send bulk SMS messages and the cellular phone networks that deliver the text messages to their users’ mobile phones. So, think of Twilio as the middleman between the cellular phone network and the mobile phone user.
It acts as a customer engagement platform that businesses in cooperation with over ten million developers worldwide to build personalized experiences for their customers primarily via SMS. Twilio's APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are software that helps developers connect customers to a whole host of APIs, from SMS to voice, email, and wireless communication.
Regardless of if your business is sending text messages from a phone or through an SMS API like Twilio, there is a small percentage of SMS messages that will never be delivered. This could be due to faulty phone numbers, sending an SMS to a landline, or network problems with the user’s cellular phone carrier.
With Twilio, SMSes are sent automatically through an SMS Gateway that consists of an application logic that is built to verify delivery and increase SMS Deliverability by filtering issues with sent text messages. Since Twilio’s API partners are very reliable in implementing read receipts, the SMS deliverability rate is approximately 100%. That’s very impressive!
Check out these 5 easy steps to creating an SMS strategy on Twilio.
Create a list of opt-in subscribers – Offer your subscribers some incentive in return for their consent like a promotion or discounts such as 10% off their next order for new SMS subscribers.
Develop a strategy for the entire customer journey – You can get super creative and target different stages throughout the customer lifecycle like awareness, consideration, conversion, loyalty, and influencer.
Personalize your content – Increase customer engagement based on their interests, birthday, on-site or in-app purchases, gender, and age.
Optimize your campaigns – For message optimization, try A/B testing and compare different visuals, copy, visuals, and offers to find out what your audience prefers.
Measure and report – After sending your SMS campaign, monitor the metrics like number of subscribers, sends, replies, opt-outs deliverability, conversions, click-through rate (CTR), and revenue.
There’s no doubt that Twilio has the power to reach millions of subscribers via SMS to generate sales and increase your subscribers list. However, sending bulk SMSes can be tricky if you don’t play by the rules. Here are some important do’s and don’ts.
All bulk text messages your business sends should identify your company name as the sender, except in follow-up messages that are part of an ongoing conversation. Twilio wants to keep track of your user name, your business name, and if the recipient has the option to opt out.
Twilio does not allow you to send text messages that are in any way related to alcohol, tobacco, drugs, gambling, or adult content. If you do, these text messages will get flagged and you’ll be booted off the platform indefinitely. No ifs, ands, or buts.
Keep all your text messages at about 160 characters. Once your SMS goes over 160 characters, mobile carriers can break up your text message into multiple messages. Don’t make this into a habit, as you’ll get charged for each additional SMS and this will affect your ROI. Yikes!
Be mindful of your texting frequency as sending out too many text messages from a single phone number could raise suspicion and get that number to be filtered, flagged, or suspended. The sweet spot to avoid getting flagged is to have 3 Toll-Free numbers or 5 local numbers at the same time. By using multiple phone numbers to send out bulk SMS, it will prevent mobile carrier violations.
A good rule of thumb is to send a small batch per hour and slowly increase that number over time (we know how exciting it can be to want to send out thousands of SMS all at once, but this can get you flagged). For instance: Send 20-25 per hour, wait 2 days, and increase that number to 30-35. Wait another 2 days and send 40-45. You get the drift. Remember: just as long as you’re not sending out more than 100 messages per phone number to NEW subscribers, you should be good to go.
