Definition, Useful Tools & Best Practices 2024

Feeling your promotional email getting lost in the overcrowded inbox of your customer email? Or tired of seeking the attention of your customers? Well, you are not alone.😞

This has been the case for businesses worldwide, but there is a perfect solution. 

Let me introduce the savior “SMS blast.” SMS blast is the process of sending the same message to a large number of audiences at the same time. 

While many are familiar with this term, many may be new. But don’t worry, this guide is here for your aid. Within this guide, you will get a better understanding of SMS blast, its features, use and application, tools and best practices for using it. 

So, let’s get started and explore the world of SMS blasting. 😀

What is an SMS Blast?

An SMS blast, also known as a text blast or message blast, is a method of sending a single text message to a large group of recipients at the same time. This type of message can contain links and may also include images, but it always contains simple and effective messages.

SMS blasting is a great method for businesses to send one-off campaigns, emergency alerts, and promotional messages efficiently. It is often viewed as one of the best marketing methods rather than a normal communication channel.

Why are Text Blasts So Effective?

From the ever-growing list of phone users to its ability to capture attention, text blasts are effective for many reasons. For instance, according to GSMA, over 5.4 billion people globally are subscribed to a mobile service, which is expected to increase yearly. These stats alone indicate how big the audience is when it comes to text blasting. 

Furthermore, compared to other forms of communication, such as emails, SMS has the highest and quickest open rate, with a whopping 98% of messages being opened within a minute of being sent. Text blasts are also so effective because they can capture the attention of the recipient and generate a response much quicker than other typical communication channels. 

In addition to that, it’s incredibly cost-efficient. Now, let’s leave the stats aside and look at some real-life examples to get a better idea about what a text blast looks like: 

• Clothing brands: Let’s look at H&M as an example of a clothing brand. H&M repeatedly uses SMS blasts to announce flash sales and exclusive discounts to its subscribers. This type of SMS can include different types of promotions, such as text indicating 30% off selected items for a limited time. This creates a sense of urgency among the recipients, leading to an overall increase in sales. 

• Health Clinics: Many health clinics use SMS blasts to reach out to their patients and remind them of their upcoming appointments. For example, a dental clinic sends reminders a day before appointments, which reduces missed appointments by 50%. This not only improves patient attendance but also optimizes scheduling.

• Sports brand: For the example of a sports brand, let’s look at one of the leading brands, Nike. Nike utilized SMS blasts to inform customers when popular items were back in stock. By sending a quick text to subscribers, they created urgency and drove immediate traffic to their website. This campaign helped to increase sale rates for those specific items within hours of the alert.

Use and Applications of SMS Blaster

Message Blasts (SMS Blasts) hold the power to reach out to a huge number of people with just a few clicks. Therefore, the use cases and applications of this can vary from user to user. Some may use message blasts as a way to communicate with their team, while others may prefer them for promotions; the opportunity with message blasters is huge. 

So, here are some of the most common uses and applications of SMS blaster to offer you a better idea of how you can use it:

• Promotions: Nowadays, it is common to have your phone by your side all the time. Captivating this common thing, brands can use message blasters to send out various limited-time promotional offers, discounts, and announcements. This not only informs the customers but also helps the brand create a sense of urgency showing direct results in overall revenue.

• Customer Engagement: Customer engagement is necessary for businesses of every scale, and message blasting is one way to do so. Businesses can use message blasters to send timely personalized messages to customers, building stronger relationships. Furthermore, message blasters are also ideal for collecting customer feedback through surveys and polls.

• Employee Communications: SMS is the best way to communicate, especially in case of urgent matters. As employees are flooded with emails these days, an email indicating urgent matters may go unread. This is where message blasting can be beneficial. By using an SMS blaster, you can easily communicate with all your team members about urgent updates or information in one go.

• Event Reminders: Missing an event is not something people like, especially if it’s related to something they are looking forward to attending. In this case, there is no quicker way than SMS from keeping them informed about the details to reminding them. Using an SMS text blast service to broadcast a message into the hands of everyone will be your most effective method of communication.

• Alert and Notifications: One of the best uses of SMS is altering and notifying. Whether you are sending emergency alerts or weather updates to important notifications, the message blaster is effective in reaching recipients. Message blasters can also be used by schools, hospitals, and government agencies for timely communication altering different important notifications.

How to Send an SMS Blast to Reach Your Audience Fast?

Sending an SMS blast has different benefits, so knowing the proper way to send an SMS blast is crucial. Here is a proper breakdown of the ways you can follow to send an SMS blast to reach your audience fast:

1. Choose an SMS Marketing Service

You must choose a reputable SMS marketing software with the latest features that suit your needs. Ensure that the platform you choose provides user-friendly interfaces, fast delivery speeds, and lower error rates. Some popular options include EZ Texting, SlickText, and SimpleTexting. 

2. Register a Textable Number

After choosing the proper service provider, you will need to register an easy-to-remember testable number. This number can be a dedicated number provided by the service or your existing number converted into a testable number. Always remember that this number will solely be used for SMS blasting only. 

3. Build Your Contact List

The most crucial part of the SMS blast is building a strong contact list. This can be conducted through various methods, such as website sign-ups, in-person, and service calls. But only send SMS to people who’ve agreed to receive them. 

Note: Complying with regulations, such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), is important when building a contact list.

4. Segment Your Audience

Segmenting your audience depending on various factors, such as locations and preferences, is crucial for proper and fast SMS blasting. The customer segmentation on such various factors allows you to offer more timely messages with proper personalization to specific groups, increasing overall engagement rates and your delivery speed. 

5. Compose Your Message 

Composing a message with an easy-to-read tone and clear meaning is the key to reaching your audience faster and effectively. Therefore, you must always compose a clear and engaging message with proper personalization. But remember that SMS messages have a character limit of up to 160 characters, so make sure to convey your message clearly and directly. 

Key Features to Look For in a Text Message Blast Service

There are many SMS blast service providers out in the market offering different features and functionality, so choosing the right one based on features can be a hassle. 

Therefore, to make it easy for you, here is a list of some of the key features to look for in a text message blast service: 

• Personalization: Personalization is crucial in text message blasting. It lets you send messages to recipients, inducing their names or other relevant data, increasing engagement rates. 

• Automation: Always look for services offering automation capabilities, such as scheduling messages in advance or triggering them based on specific events. This not only saves your time but also ensures messages are sent at the right time.

• Speed and reliability: This is the most crucial feature you must look for as messages must be delivered at the proper time with the right speed and accuracy to a huge number of recipients. This ensures that messages are delivered timely to the right audience. 

• Two-way SMS: This is one of the crucial features you must consider, as it helps you engage with recipients, easing their frustration, which is often the case during one-way communication.

• Analytics and reporting: Look for a service provider that includes features of analytical and reporting tools. This feature helps you to get a better insight into the rates of the delivery, opens, and engagement rates to plan the next campaigns.

Top 5 SMS Blast Services

Choosing the best SMS blast service provider can be a hassle as a large number of service providers are available in the market. So, here are the top 5 of the best SMS blast service providers that you can try:

1. EZ Texting

Found in 2004, EZ Texting is a text marketing company that offers the easiest, fastest, and most reliable SMS marketing services. Whether you are growing or already established business, EZ Texting is the perfect message blaster for you. 

With this platform, you can experience many message blast features such as mass texting, text automation, two-way messaging, and much more. Furthermore, this platform also leverages the power of AI to offer you the best overall SMS service. By having this tool in your hand, you are sure to skyrocket your SMS blast campaign. 

☑️EZ Texting Top Features

• Mass Texting
• Conversational Texting
• Text Automation
• AI Compose
• SMS Integrations & API

💲 EZ Texting Pricing

• Launch: $25/ Month
• Boost: $75/ Month
• Scale: $125/ Month
• Enterprise: $3000/ Month

2. SlickText

SlickText was started in 2012 and has since become one of the top names in text message service providers. This platform is packed with many advanced features crucial for SMS blasting such as SMS automation and mass texting services. 

SlickText is also an outstanding and easy-to-use platform, making it easy for you to navigate. Furthermore, a free mobile app is also available for you to track the success rate of your SMS blast campaign and many more, regardless of your location. Overall, this platform is one of the best when it comes to SMS basting.

☑️SlickText Top Features

• Text Surveys 
• SMS Autoresponders
• Mass Text Messaging 
• SMS Short Codes
• SMS Rest API

💲SlickText Pricing

• 500 texts per month: $29/month
• 1,000 texts per month: $49/month
• 2,000 texts per month: $79/month

Note: Increased message volume requires additional payment.

3. Textmagic

Textmagic is a proper business text messaging service provider packed with notifications, alerts, reminders, and SMS marketing campaigns. This platform offers many rich features, such as mass texting, toll-free texting, and two-way messaging, for operating a successful SMS blast campaign.

Additionally, this platform enables you to connect with your favorite tools, such as CRMs, Google Calendar, and much more, via Zapier. This makes it easy for you to store your customers’ data, such as phone numbers, to enable successful SMS blasting. 

☑️Textmagic Top Features

• Mass texting
• Toll-free texting
• 10DLC texting
• Two-way SMS chat
• SMS marketing campaigns

💲Textmagic Pricing

• 100 SMS: $4.90 (Additional features incur extra charges)

4. SimpleTexting

Officially launched in 2010, SimpleTexting is a cloud-based texting service provider that offers top-notch SMS and MMS services utilizing the latest features. It is the ideal choice for small to medium-sized businesses that are looking to connect and run a successful SMS blast campaign.

With this platform, you can get hands-on features such as mass texting, automated text messaging, and group texting. Moreover, you can integrate this platform with 1000+ different platforms to simplify your work process and operate successful SMS blast campaigns. 

☑️SimpleTexting Top Features

• Recurring texts
• Scheduled texts
• API
• Web forms
• Text-for-Info Keywords

💲SimpleTexting Pricing

Note: Higher message counts mean higher costs.

5. Textedly

Textedly is one of the best platforms for offering text messaging services. This platform offers everything companies and organizations need for mass communication across mobile phone devices. Businesses can easily send 10 or 100,000 bulk SMS and MMS mobile text messages.

From conversation Triggers to auto-reply texts, with this platform, you will get all the crucial features needed for blasting messages. By having this platform, you are a few steps away from increasing your overall revenue with SMS blasting. 

☑️Textedly Top Features

• Mass Group Texting 
• Webforms
• Conversation Triggers
• Text Keywords
• Auto reply texts

💲Textedly Pricing

• Basic:$26/month
• Bronze:$38/month
• Plus: $69/month

Note: To send a higher volume of messages, you’ll need to upgrade your plan.

Best Practices for SMS Blast Campaigns

SMS blasts are one of the most effective ways of generating proper ROI. But implementing it and waiting for the magic to happen isn’t ideal. Therefore, you must follow and implement different practices to get your desired results.

Here are some of the practices you can follow to unleash the true power of your SMS blast campaigns:

• Timing: Timing is an important aspect of running successful and effective SMS blast campaigns. You must always schedule blasts at optimal times when recipients are most likely to engage, such as during lunch hours. Also, remember to avoid sending messages too frequently to prevent annoying subscribers and causing opt-outs.

• Categorize Your Audience: Dividing your subscribed audience is one of the best practices for running a successful SMS blast campaign. By dividing your audience depending on different factors, such as interests, behaviors, or demographics, helps you to target a specific audience at a specific time. This also makes it easy for you to customize your message, increasing engagement.

• Craft Effective Messages: No one wants to receive a long message with many grammar errors, especially when it comes to brands. Therefore, you must always keep your message concise with proper calls to action and personalization. This makes your message easy to read and engage with. Also, these types of messages are more likely to get positive responses. 

• Test Your Message: One of the best practices for SMS blasting is checking and testing your message before sending it. The last thing you don’t want to do is deliver a message with grammar mistakes and broken links. This not only affects your SMS blast campaign but also creates a bad brand image. So, always remember to test your messages among your team members before sending them to recipients. 

• Get Permission and Comply with Regulations: Sending messages to random recipients who haven’t given you their permission can lead to a series of legal problems. So, always obtain permission from the recipient before adding them to your SMS blast list. You can do this by including clear instructions in every message and also ensuring you are complying with relevant SMS marketing laws and regulations.

• Track Performance and Optimize: Tracking how your SMS blast campaign is running is an effective practice. By monitoring key metrics such as open rates and click-through rates, you can better understand what went right and wrong. Therefore, track and optimize your overall SMS blasts to improve your overall SMS campaigns.

✅ Check Out: Ultimate Guide to SMS Compliance

Conclusion

SMS blasting, when executed strategically, can be a game-changer for your businesses, no matter the type of sector it may be. By understanding its definition, leveraging the right tools, and adhering to best practices, you can create compelling campaigns that drive engagement, boost conversions, and strengthen customer relationships. 

So, remember to compile with the laws, get the recipient’s permission, follow the practices mentioned in this guide, and let the power of SMS blast offer pave your way towards the success side.

FAQ

Is SMS blasting legal?

Yes, sending text blasts is legal. However, it’s important to note that you can only send them to people who have willingly opted in to receive them.

What is the best SMS blasting app?

The best SMS blasting app are EZ Texting, Textedly, and Textmagic. These apps are rich in features, easy to use, and meets your requirements.

How much does an SMS Blaster cost?

Depending upon the number of text you send the cost can range from $0.01 to $0.05 per message sent. 

Can you integrate SMS blasts with other marketing channels?

Yes, you can integrate SMS blasts with other marketing channels to create a more cohesive and effective marketing strategy. But this depends upon the service provider you are choosing.

How to stop SMS blasts?

To stop receiving SMS blasts, you can follow these steps based on best practices and options available:

• Reply with “STOP”
• Use the Unsubscribe Link
• Contact the Sender Directly
• Block the Number
• Report Spam
• Use a Third-Party App