15 Basic SMS Marketing Best Practices (as Told by Experts)

Maybe your team has already launched SMS campaigns but the results haven’t matched the level of ROI or engagement you expected.

Or maybe you’re exploring how to integrate SMS into your broader marketing ecosystem, but you’re unsure how to do it in a way that scales effectively.

The question is…

How can you execute SMS marketing in a way that drives results across channels, segments, and teams without adding friction?

I spoke with SMS marketing experts who’ve turned SMS into a high-performing channel for engagement, retention, and revenue.

Based on those conversations, here are 15 best practices to help you build smarter, more effective SMS campaigns at scale.

Whether you're refining a mature program or building out SMS for the first time, these strategies are the foundation of enterprise-ready messaging.

SMS marketing best practices

1. Run SMS A/B tests on CTAs, times, formats…

For mid-sized and enterprise teams, A/B testing goes beyond being curious. It’s about creating a feedback loop that continuously improves campaign performance at scale.

By testing variations in message format, tone, timing, and even sender identity, you can identify what drives the most engagement and conversions across different customer segments.

After speaking with Brandy, here is what she told me:

“We conducted an A/B test in which we sent texts from a brand name versus a person’s name. The version that came from ‘Maya @ [Brand]’ received nearly twice as many responses. I’ve found out that simple personal touches in SMS may completely change how people engage.” –Brandy Hastings, SEO strategist at SmartSites

For larger teams managing multiple campaigns or departments, centralizing these learnings and systematizing what works is key. Once a winning format is identified, use your SMS platform’s automation features to deploy it across relevant workflows and audiences.

2. Tell people how they can opt out

Even when your unsubscribe rates are low, making opt-outs obvious helps build trust, keep your messaging list healthy, and reduce support tickets from customers looking for a way out.

Here’s an example:

You can also include an unsubscribe link in your text message, allowing your customers to click and unsubscribe from your campaigns.

3. Get their permission first

For mid-sized and enterprise teams, permission is not about courtesy. It’s about legal risk management and audience trust. All opt-ins should be explicit, trackable and compliant with current data regulations across various markets.

Multiple opt-in channels should be leveraged, but ensure that every method funnels into a centralized database with consent logs.

At scale, manual tracking won’t cut it. Use tools that automatically record opt-in timestamps, method of consent, and user preferences. This reduces legal exposure, keeps unsubscribe rates low and ensures you are engaging with those who want to hear from you.

I spoke to Sam from Mobile Text Alerts, and here is how they do it: “We collect customers’ phone numbers by asking them to provide them within our app after they sign up for an account. There are a lot of other ways that people can opt in - one of the most common ones a lot of people do is ‘text to join,’ where people can just send in a text message to be automatically subscribed.”

Check out this example:

4. Follow compliance rules (best practices related to compliance)

Compliance has to be baked into the architecture of your SMS program, including how consent is captured, how customer data is stored and how messages are delivered across different jurisdictions.

Privacy should be respected by default. Be transparent about how user data will be used at the point of collection, not after. Depending on what countries you’re texting, adhere to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the CAN-SPAM Act, the GDPR, and the California Consumer Privacy Act.

A culture of compliance within your staff will make it easy for marketing teams to go along with respecting customer privacy and sending SMS campaigns that comply with regulations.

Following the rules not only safeguards customers’ needs but also protects your brand as you build trust with your audience.

5. Be consistent in your SMS marketing (especially at the beginning!)

The message needs to shift from consistency (i.e. frequency alone) to structured cadence, value delivery at scale and brand alignment at different touchpoints.

Use templates and pre-approved content blocks so teams across regions or product lines can maintain brand voice.

Customers will trust your brand and become loyal to you if they consistently get great value content from your brand. Keep delivering valuable, relevant, and unique content consistently to educate, nurture, and engage your customers.

And align SMS with email, social media and product experiences to prevent brand fragmentation.

6. Automate with Zapier, in-app automation, or an API service - but keep it personal

Use automation tools like Zapier or API solutions to streamline workflow, but every message should be anchored in context, behavior or customer data.

Through automation, you can group your contacts and schedule your texts. But alongside automation, make sure your SMS campaigns are highly personalized. Here’s what Sean Clancy says:

“I’ve observed how businesses often rely too heavily on automated SMS campaigns, which can sometimes hurt engagement. At SEO Gold Coast, we have seen much better results when we add a personal touch to our messages. For example, rather than sending a generic promotional message, we used customer behavior data to send SMS reminders for services they had previously shown interest in. These tailored messages felt like a personal reminder, not just another advertisement, which led to a 20% increase in conversions for those customers.” –Sean Clancy, Managing Director at SEO Gold Coast

Personalization should feel intentional and not templated. Use dynamic fields, segment-specific flows and behavior triggers to make mass messages feel like 1-on-1.

7. Send messages in early mornings or late afternoons

Create a performance-based SMS send time matrix for different segments. Let engagement data of each customer guide the timing and not general assumptions of the customers’ data.

This is what Jason, founder of Hello Electrical, has observed when running his campaigns:

“Sending SMS messages during peak times, like early mornings or late afternoons, when people are most likely to check their phones, can make a significant impact. We’ve found that sending SMS reminders 24 hours before an appointment has cut down on no-shows by 22%, keeping our schedule running smoothly.”

Set auto responses, integrate AI/chatbots and direct replies to the right team. For enterprises, fast follow-up isn’t optional but is part of the customer experience.

8. Create data-informed content your audience will love

Use audience data but go beyond past purchases. Layer in browsing behavior, location, and engagement history to shape hyper-relevant messages.

Give your customers relevant, valuable, and unique content that builds trust, educates, engages, and drives conversions.

For example, since you have their direct contact, you can send them alerts about a product launch, early access, and special discounts that would be particularly relevant to them. Use simple, easy-to-understand language that customers can engage with and get the message with ease.

And create a modular content library by audience segment. This lets your teams personalize at large scale without rebuilding from scratch every time.

9. Use a text messaging service that doesn’t add a lot of hassle for you

To reach more customers, you need a tool that can handle large-scale texting and give your customers a great experience (without being a pain to set up and manage!).

Look for providers with enterprise-grade support. Think dedicated account managers, uptime guarantees and deliverability optimization.

Here are some of the features our platform offers:

10. Use strong CTAs in your text - and track the metrics

Use trackable, purpose-driven CTAs tied to specific outcomes.

Monitor CTRs, opt-outs and conversions (not just opens), to refine both the message and intent.

11. Keep growing your subscriber list through pop-ups, lead magnets, text-to-join, and incentives

Centralize all opt-in strategies. Make sure all lead generation channels are feeding into a unified, clean SMS list.

Brands use different strategies to grow their SMS marketing subscriber list. I spoke to Sam from Mobile Text Alerts about this; here is what he said:

“Currently, the people we text are primarily current users of our product, and we just ask them in a simple in-app pop-up to provide their phone number. It’s a simple and non-intrusive way to grow our SMS list.”

Some thoughts for medium-to-large businesses:

1. Run targeted, time-bound campaigns with segmented incentives to attract high-intent subscribers.
2. Use lead scoring to qualify SMS signups. Not every contact is worth nurturing via text. Prioritize based on behavior, source or lifecycle stage.
3. Compliance is still very important here.

Here are some more basic ways to grow your SMS subscriber list:

• Include the SMS subscription link in your email list
• Offer incentives for your products in exchange for signing up
• Have an SMS subscriber sign-up form on your website
• Provide customers with a QR code that they can scan and easily join your list
• Ask your customer care team to inquire if customers need SMS updates during checkout and after purchases
• Use site popups to get customers to sign up for your SMS subscriber list
• Use social media ads to promote your SMS subscription
• Engage customers through chatbots and program the chatbots to ask people to subscribe

12. Talk about your brand in your SMS - and provide obsessive support to grow brand loyalty

Standardize SMS brand tone across teams. Have brand voice guidelines on your messaging platform so that no matter the team, they all speak with one voice.

Don’t assume that your subscribers - especially the new ones - know all about your brand. Make sure your messages both provide real value to the readers and tell them what your brand is all about. Let your subscribers know the value they will get from subscribing to your list.

Also, use workflows to route SMS to the right internal team. (This could help void bottlenecks and increase customer satisfaction.)

And link SMS to broader brand moments such as campaign launches, seasonal promos etc., to avoid operating in silo. Integrated messaging reinforces trust and recall.

13. Segment your customer list based on these customer behaviors…

Your target audiences are in different stages of the buyer journey.

So build segmentation into your data infrastructure. Sync behavioral data from product usage, CRM, and web analytics to keep segments dynamic and not static.

Here’s what Katie, Sales Director at BirdieBall, says:

“Another thing that’s been a game changer is segmenting our customer list. Instead of blasting everyone with the same message, we divide our customers into groups based on their behavior. New customers might get a welcome offer, repeat buyers get product recommendations, and people who haven’t engaged in a while get a nudge with a special deal. When we targeted people who hadn’t bought anything in a few months with a re-engagement offer, we saw a 30% response rate. It’s about being relevant and sending the right message at the right time.”

And here is what Sam from Mobile Text Alerts told me:

“We have a lot of segments we’re able to use, most of them based on user activity within our platform. For example, if someone has used most of what’s allotted in their trial account, we send them a text message encouraging them to upgrade.”

You can segment your audience based on behaviors and preferences like:

• How they engage with content
• Communication preferences
• Websites they visit
• Actions they’ve taken on your site
• Purchase history

It almost goes without saying, but demographics can also be a useful way to segment customers, for example:

• Age
• Gender
• Location

“One tactic that’s consistently yielded strong results for us is segmenting our lists based on urgency and sending highly targeted texts. For instance, when we have a new property listing or a price reduction, we reach out via SMS to folks who’ve shown interest in similar listings, often seeing click-through rates above 30%—compared to under 10% for equivalent email blasts. The real magic has come from personalized follow-ups paired with timely calls to action (‘Schedule a showing this weekend’ or ‘Reply YES if you want more photos’). This two-way approach generated a 22% increase in viewing appointments last quarter, simply by making our outreach quick, personal, and actionable.” –Mark, founder of Gator Rated

But you may want to move beyond surface-level traits. You can consider layering transactional data with engagement recency, content affinity, and churn signals to trigger timely, relevant messages.

And segmentation can even be cross-functional, so align lifecycle stages and segment logic between marketing, product, and CX teams to avoid duplicate or conflicting messaging.

14. Use SMS in your post-purchase follow-up

You can automate post-purchase touchpoints like delivery updates, care guides, review requests; triggered by order status and customer type.

And SMS is an often-forgotten way to engage with your customers in these post-purchase strategies.

“We have begun utilizing SMS messages for post-purchase follow-ups, mostly requesting reviews and sharing product care instructions. It felt more personal than emails, and the response rates increased drastically. In just one month, we collected 60% more reviews than with email due to SMS.

SMS has proven to be a useful tool in not only increasing visibility but also improving the customer’s overall experience. Customers showed a greater appreciation towards the follow ups which also improved our return rates. It is a win-win when SMS is used to enhance the customer journey instead of solely focusing on conversions.” –C. Lee Smith, Founder and CEO of SalesFuel

The possibilities when it comes to post-purchase SMS are limitless...

For example, you could tie post-purchase SMS to retention metrics - and then you could track return rates, repeat purchase cycles, and NPS to measure the impact of your follow-up flows.

Then you could personalize by product and purchase history. A generic “Thanks” won’t always do. Use SKU-level data to send relevant, helpful follow-ups that shows you actually know the customer.

15. Add some simple personal touches

Use placeholders with care. Beyond names, you can personalize by recent actions, location, or purchase history to create relevance without overstepping.

Understanding your customers better helps personalize your SMS marketing campaigns, address their pain points, and show and provide an actionable solution to their challenges. After speaking with Brian, here is what he told me:

“A tip that we follow closely is personalization. Like a newsletter campaign, people tend to be more engaged when you use their actual name, 'Hi Brian....' It feels more direct and authentic. Again, similar to most newsletter campaigns, we always offer clear opt-outs. You want to create trust when using such a direct channel.” –Brian Kroeker, President at Little Rock Printing

Personalization can be as simple as that.

Or you can create more complex SMS workflows based on customer behavior or demographics (see the “segment your customers” section above). You'll do that by embedding personalization rules into your SMS platform. Set conditions that auto-adapt messaging based on customer behavior, so it scales without feeling robotic.

Try these SMS marketing strategies

Here are some simple SMS marketing strategies you can get started with:

• Let customers know of new product releases
• Get feedback from customers - it will help to improve the value you deliver and how you engage with them.
• Get reviews about your products from customers

For a bit more advanced plan of action, you could try this...

1. Group strategies by objective e.g., drive engagement, collect insights, boost retention.

This could help teams align tactics with business goals.

2. Tie each strategy to a workflow.

For example:

• Product releases → SMS linked to segmented launch lists
• Feedback → Triggered post-purchase with smart routing to internal teams
• Reviews → Incentivized follow-up flow with tracking

3. Add performance benchmarks.

Enterprise teams in particular need to know what “good” looks like. For example, average response rates for feedback requests or CTRs for new product alerts.

Ways to create a successful SMS marketing campaign strategy

Send simple, status-based updates.

Send short, timely updates but integrate them into a broader customer experience loop that builds trust.

Short SMS updates like “project milestone reached” or “review now live” could help keep customers informed and engaged. Automate these messages as part of a larger customer journey, then consider following up with review requests, satisfaction ratings, or next-step offers to help you stay top-of-mind.

Here is what Chris of TheBestReputation says:

“One of the most effective strategies we’ve used is sending short, status-based updates—letting clients know when their negative links have been suppressed, when a new press mention goes live, or when review activity spikes. This not only improves transparency but also builds trust and retention.” –Chris Hinman, Founder, TheBestReputation.com.

Don’t treat SMS like a broadcast channel.

Refine your SMS campaigns by setting clear intent for each message and integrating SMS with CRM data to ensure timing and relevance are personalized, not just contextual.

Here is what Michael from Ink Digital says:

“The key is restraint and relevance. SMS isn’t a broadcast channel; it’s personal. You’re landing in someone’s most direct digital space, so the messaging needs to be useful, brief, and actionable. We always recommend aligning SMS with the wider customer journey, using it to nudge action or reinforce a key moment in the funnel, like abandoned checkouts or appointment reminders.” –Michael Ryan, Founder & CEO, Ink Digital

Types of SMS marketing campaigns to send

• Transactional SMS marketing campaigns. These SMS marketing campaigns offer transaction-based information to customers about their interactions with your business. These can be notifications about a shipment of an order, reminders, product launches, etc.
• Promotional SMS marketing campaigns. When it comes to promotional campaigns, SMS is an effective channel for exclusivity and urgency. Tailoring promos based on purchase history or preferences could help keep messages from feeling like spam.
• Conversational SMS marketing campaigns. These are two-way automated or manual SMS conversations between the customer and the business. This is a simple human (or human-like - AI SMS chatbots are a viable option) conversation to give customers a personal experience.
• Loyalty & Retention SMS Campaigns. These messages target repeat customers with rewards, birthday offers, referral incentives, or early access to products. They help increase customer lifetime value and brand attachment, especially as your customer base grows.
• Event-Driven or Seasonal SMS Campaigns. These are time-sensitive campaigns tied to holidays, local events, or key shopping seasons (e.g., Black Friday, Valentine's Day, end-of-quarter). Using SMS for these initaitves can help boost visibility during competitive periods.

Important KPIs to track for SMS marketing

• Delivery rate
• Open rate
• Click-through rate
• Unsubscribe rate
• Response rate
• Conversion rate

When possible, shift from just monitoring to benchmarking and optimizing each metric.

For example, don’t just track delivery or open rates, analyze what affects them (timing, frequency, segmentation). Growing businesses can tie response and conversion rates to revenue metrics, and A/B test message content to see what truly drives performance.

FAQ for SMS marketing best practices

1. Why use SMS marketing?

SMS marketing offers direct, high-conversion engagement at scale; which is perfect for reaching segmented customer groups quickly, driving time-sensitive actions, and supplementing other channels like email with real-time updates.

2. How often should one send SMS campaigns?

Start with 1–2 texts per month (typically no more than 1–2 per week maximum), but let customer behavior guide you. Monitor engagement and opt-out rates to find the optimal frequency that drives action without overwhelming your audience.

3. What mistakes should a marketer avoid when running SMS marketing campaigns?

• Avoid copy-pasting email content into SMS. You can run the same campaign across the two platforms, but adapt the tone and length according to each platform.
• Watch message frequency; even at scale, 1-4 well-timed messages per month can be more effective than frequent pings.

4. What key elements make your SMS marketing campaign successful?

• Compelling CTA that aligns with customer’s buying journey
• Goal of your campaign
• Relevant message that addresses the customer's pain point
• Messages integrated with your CRM and automation tools for relevance and timing

Want to do SMS marketing the right way?

When approached and done in the right way, SMS marketing can drive the best results for your growing business.

These SMS marketing best practices can help improve your engagement and build loyal fans who become your customers and even advocate for your brand to others.

To deliver great results at scale, you need the best SMS marketing software to help run your campaigns. Book a free strategy session now to see if it would be a good fit for you.

Author bio

James Nguma is a B2B SaaS and eCommerce content marketer who has worked with brands like Cincopa, OneIMS, LeadAngel, and 2Checkout. He creates long-form blog posts, ebooks, and case studies that educate, engage prospects, build trust, and drive conversions. Connect with him on LinkedIn or visit his website.