Bulk SMS – how to send mass text messages
Bulk SMS means sending the same text message to many recipients at the same time through an SMS platform. It is used when you quickly need to reach customers, members or participants with, for example, offers, reminders or important information. For it to work, you need a clear sender, the right timing and the recipients' consent under the GDPR. In this guide we go through how to plan, write and send effective bulk SMS in practice.
Do you want a broad introduction to SMS as a channel? Read our complete guide on SMS marketing. Choosing a provider? See how to choose the right SMS service for businesses. Want to test first? The free account in Paloma has 5 SMS to try with.
How does bulk SMS to businesses work?
Are you addressing private individuals or businesses? Many people mainly associate text messages to customers with B2C. And there are certainly many ways to use SMS marketing toward consumers. But that is no reason for you who work B2B to dismiss SMS as a communication channel.
Read on and think about how your business could benefit from SMS.
Why use bulk SMS?
With communication and marketing by SMS you reach more people. Text messages do not get stuck in a spam folder; they reach the recipient and are usually opened right away. It is a personal channel, which is an advantage as long as you use it sensibly.
That is, you send relevant messages to the right recipients and avoid sending too often. With a good platform you can target what you send based on data, segment your customer base and follow up the results in real time.
If you use marketing automation, you can add SMS to your automatic flows. Email and SMS complement each other as channels. For time-sensitive messages, SMS sends are effective since we keep our phones close and often read texts right away.
Get through with everything from information about a canceled event to reminders about the last chance to take advantage of an offer. SMS has proven effective for getting customers to click links, complete purchases, answer surveys, leave reviews and follow social channels.
7 benefits of bulk SMS
- Hard-to-beat deliverability
- Visibility in real time
- A high open rate
- A high click rate
- A high conversion rate
- Easy to segment
- Personal communication
When does bulk SMS fit?
Use SMS when you have something of value to offer and a clear purpose. What do you want the recipient to do, know or feel? That applies in every context.
Personal and exclusive offers
Send favorable offers, preferably personal ones based on purchase history, interests and other data. SMS also works well for offers meant to reactivate customers who have not been engaged for a while.
Notifications and important information
Send notifications and important information. For example changed opening hours, updated agreements, a new law coming into force with a link to an article on the subject, order status or answers from customer service.
Reminders tied to a product or service
Remind people that it is time to restock consumables, book a new haircut or order service for the heat pump. Make it easy for the customer.
Confirming or reminding about a booked appointment
Confirm or remind about a booked appointment or a meeting. Here Hi *first name* works well.
Surveys and review requests
Ask the customer to answer a few survey questions or leave a review in exchange for a discount code. A real win-win that strengthens the customer relationship.
Attracting followers on social media
What does the customer get out of following your brand on social media? Tips that solve the customer's problems, industry monitoring that is relevant to the business, previews of launches, or offers and competitions that are only found there? You can also offer a discount code in exchange for the customer starting to follow you.
Information around events
Send updates by SMS to the participants before, during and after the event. Remind them when the event is approaching, give practical information about parking and food, and highlight program items a little while before they start. Follow up afterward with a thank-you and a request for feedback.
How do you create effective bulk SMS?
This is what you need to keep track of to create successful SMS campaigns.
Make it relevant
Aim the right message at the right target audience at the right time. Use the data you have collected and segment.
Make it exclusive
Remember value and purpose. Use the channel for that little extra, with unique messages. Do not reuse messages from other channels. For customers not to unsubscribe, they need to feel that they would miss something.
Keep it balanced
Do not send texts too often. With annoyingly many messages you risk not only unsubscribes but also damaged trust in the brand.
Be concise and clear
You have few characters to work with. Stick to one message and phrase it clearly with a call to action, that is, an encouragement to act. Keep discount codes short and clear:
Spring is finally here! You get 20% off the whole range of seeds, the offer applies today. Use the code SPRING to get the discount at checkout.
The customer should understand what applies and which step to take. Since only the beginning of the message shows in the notification, the first sentence is extra important. Avoid abbreviations: they slow down the flow and not everyone understands them.
Use short links
Keep links short, both to save characters and for the message to look good. There are several good tools for shortening URLs, often combined with UTM tagging for statistics in Google Analytics.
Personalize with care
One way to personalize text messages is to use custom fields: first name, town, company or job role. Opinions are divided on first names in texts. Some think it gives better engagement, others that it can come across as spam.
We do not think it is black or white. For confirmations and other informative communication you can use Hi *first name* without hesitation. For sales messages it may be wise to hold back. Test and see what works for your target audience.
Also keep in mind that names and town names vary in length. A long name can push you past 160 characters and you pay for one more message. So keep the number of characters down to leave a margin.
Check the text and link carefully
It is no fun to send a bulk send and then discover language errors, incorrect information or a broken link. It damages trust and becomes needlessly expensive if you have to redo the send. Also check that the landing page you link to is in order.
Ask for consent and make unsubscribing easy
To send marketing by SMS to private individuals, you need their active consent. At the end of every message the recipient should also be able to unsubscribe from future sends. More about the GDPR and the Swedish Marketing Act further down.
Give people a reason to say yes to SMS
SMS is personal, so give customers a good reason to say yes. Offer something in exchange when they register their mobile number: a discount, an e-book or a gift. If you run an online store, you can offer the discount in the shopping cart, which at the same time reduces the risk of abandoned purchases. If you have a physical store, a sign with a QR code at the checkout can work. If you work B2B and offer webinars, participants can opt in to SMS when they register or when you ask for feedback afterward.
Timing
The best time varies with industry, target audience and message. Some general tips:
For B2C: do not send during working hours, not late in the evening and not early in the morning. After dinner usually works well.
For B2B: send during normal working hours, not on weekends and evenings. Test different times and follow up the statistics.
Follow up
With a good platform you follow up every send in clear statistics, evaluate the campaigns and optimize continuously. Is it about quick notices to a smaller group? Read the guide on group SMS.
Rules for bulk SMS (the GDPR and the Swedish Marketing Act)
Active consent from the recipient is a requirement. SMS marketing is a form of electronic direct marketing, and that requires active consent before you send.
Marketing by SMS to children is prohibited. Marketing by SMS counts as direct advertising and must not be sent to children under 16. Companies that send text messages must also live up to the GDPR in how they handle personal data.
Read more in our guide on the GDPR, customer communication and marketing.
Bulk SMS combined with email
Let the channels work together. SMS and newsletters complement each other in more ways than one. Build the contact list for your text messages through your email contacts and encourage subscribers to opt in to SMS. Remember to tell them what they get out of it.
Marketing automation
If you set up automatic flows for email, you can add SMS for even better results.
An example: when an email send with an offer has gone out, a text message can automatically be sent to those who have not opened the email within five days. You catch those who missed the email, without nagging those who read it.
Another example: when a customer has clicked a certain link in an email, a text message can be sent automatically with an offer tied to the content. Data from both email and SMS is stored in the system and can be used to filter flows, segment contacts and score leads.
Send bulk SMS with Paloma
Paloma is a Swedish platform, built in Hedemora since 2003, where you send text messages to customers, members and participants directly from the browser. The SMS module can be used on its own or together with newsletters, events and marketing automation, with a shared contact list.
The free account includes 5 SMS a month with no time limit, so you can test without entering a card. The SMS module is included in Go+ from 695 SEK a month plus a price per SMS, with no lock-in period. All data is stored in Sweden. If you keep your contacts in a CRM or member system, you can connect Paloma to your other systems through an API, so that the recipient list stays up to date.
Choose recipients
Import your list or filter out the right group from the contact register. Unsubscribes are handled automatically.
Write and personalize
Set a company name or a mobile number as the sender, and add fields such as first name and links to the web or social media. An SMS holds 153 characters, a multi-SMS up to 918.
Send or schedule
Send right away or choose a time. Send a test to yourself first.
Follow up
See delivery and clicks in real time. If you also use the Marketing Automation module, SMS can be part of your automatic flows.
Frequently asked questions about bulk SMS
What is bulk SMS?
Bulk SMS means that the same text message is sent to many recipients at the same time through an SMS platform. It differs from sending from an ordinary phone in that you get your own sender name, scheduling, automatic unsubscribing and statistics per send.
How do you send a text message to many people?
You use an SMS tool where you import the recipient list, write the message once and send it to the whole list in a bulk send. The tool handles the sender name, unsubscribes and the delivery report.
Is bulk SMS allowed under the GDPR?
Yes, but you need the recipient's consent if it is marketing. Mobile numbers are personal data, so every send should have a clear sender and an easy way to unsubscribe. Marketing by SMS to children under 16 is not allowed.
What does a bulk SMS send cost?
Usually a subscription plus a price per SMS. The unit price is often between 0.50 and 1 SEK at smaller volumes. Messages longer than one SMS are split up and charged as several. Calculate based on your actual monthly volume, not just the unit price.
Can you send bulk SMS for free?
On a small scale, yes. Paloma's free account includes 5 SMS a month with no time limit, which is enough to test. For real sends to customer lists you pay per SMS, since unlike email, SMS has a real cost with the operators.
How many characters can a text message contain?
An ordinary SMS holds 160 characters, in Paloma 153 characters when the sender information is included. Longer messages are sent as multi-SMS, in Paloma up to 918 characters, and are then charged as several SMS. Swedish characters such as å, ä and ö fit in the standard character set.
Try bulk SMS with Paloma
Send text messages, newsletters and event invitations from the same contact list. The free account includes 5 SMS a month, enough to try it for real.
Create a free accountRead more about SMS for businesses
- The best SMS service for businesses – a comparison of Swedish alternatives. Six Swedish SMS services side by side, with prices, APIs and free accounts.
- SMS reminders to customers. How to reduce missed appointments and get important information through at the right time.
This guide is about bulk SMS: how to send the same text message to many recipients at the same time, when the channel fits, how to write effective messages, which rules apply under the GDPR and the Swedish Marketing Act, and how SMS can be combined with email and marketing automation. If you want to dig into the channel as a whole, you will find our guide on SMS marketing and the comparison of SMS services among our guides.