6 Best SMS Marketing Software to Create Amazing Campaigns

Reading time8 minutes
Jaqueline Corradi
Jaqueline Corradi
Content Manager

If you want to promote a brand, getting to know the best SMS marketing software will help you create more effective marketing strategies, and automate repetitive tasks. You can send SMS messages to several people simultaneously, make personalized calls to action, and more. 

You can talk directly with your target audience through SMS messages, this is a valuable asset to conquer goals such as increasing sales, driving traffic to a specific page, and getting subscribers to your newsletter. When well-planned, SMS marketing campaigns are an opportunity to build a strong relationship with your customers.

What Is SMS Marketing Software?

SMS stands for Short Message Service. Sending an SMS means sending a text message to a cell phone. The marketing sector has a branch focused on developing campaigns that use SMS messages as the main means of communication to interact with their audience. It's called SMS marketing. 

For example, you buy a t-shirt on the internet, and the online store sends you an SMS thanking you for the purchase and asking if you want to receive text messages notifying you when their products are on sale. That's a strategy to increase sales and conquer loyal customers based on SMS marketing. 

An SMS marketing software is a tool built to help put those strategies into practice. Instead of sending a message one by one to each contact, it's possible to automate the process. Besides, you can segment contact lists, define when a message should be sent, and integrate it with other marketing tools. 

Benefits of SMS Marketing

With so many options available to create marketing campaigns, why choose to invest in SMS marketing? There are several reasons for that, one of the most important is the fact that people don't need to have a smartphone or even access to the internet to receive and send SMS messages.

Therefore, your reach is bigger and, different from TV or Radio, you can measure the effectiveness of the marketing campaign with more precision. It's possible to track how many people opened the SMS message, and how many clicked on the link you sent.  

Efficient Audience Reach

According to a BankMyCell report, 7.33 billion people own cell phones around the world, which means 90.90% of the world's population. With just a few clicks, most of them can access SMS messages, which is very popular, and a service that cell phone users are used to. 

It isn't necessary to have an internet connection, or a smartphone, even the simplest cell phone models can receive and answer SMS messages.   

High Open Rate

SMS open rate is around 98%. 90% of these messages are opened within 3 minutes after received. This alone is a compelling reason to adopt SMS marketing strategies. 

Personalization

You have the opportunity to create personalized marketing campaigns, segmenting your target audience to address their demands and increase the chances of achieving your goals. It's possible to add the person's name in the message, a detail that makes the difference when the subject is customer experience. 

Tracking Capabilities

Another advantage of SMS marketing is you can measure the success of the strategies you implement. It's possible to track important metrics such as open rate, number of conversions, and number of subscribers. This way, you can identify what needs to be changed, and test different types of strategies.  

Cost

The cost of making SMS marketing campaigns is low when compared to paid advertising in different means of communication like TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines. It doesn't require producing high-quality images, for instance. 

All it takes is good planning, and writing short compelling messages. Besides, using one of the best SMS marketing software has an interesting cost-benefit ratio, and you can have a high return on investment. 

What Features the Best SMS Marketing Software Have

Having the proper tools to create a great SMS marketing campaign is decisive to be successful. This includes choosing the best SMS marketing software that suits your needs. But, to know what software you should use, you must pay attention to the features it offers. 

Easy to Use

The best SMS marketing software must be easy to use and not require any expert skill to enjoy the features provided. You and the marketing team should be able to quickly learn how to navigate through the platform.

Automation

Pay attention if the SMS marketing software of your choice provides automation features, enabling you to schedule messages to be sent and create triggers based on your target audience behavior. For instance, you should be able to set a thank you message to be sent when someone makes a purchase.

Reliability

Check if the SMS marketing software is reliable, you need to be certain they will offer an effective service and send all your messages. Take a look at the customer reviews, and verify its uptime levels too.

Scalability

Another important factor is if the SMS marketing software offers you the option to increase the number of messages sent. As your business grows, you may need to amplify your SMS marketing campaigns, and the service has to offer a proper infrastructure to support your needs.

Personalization

The best SMS marketing software should give you the option to personalize the details of your messages. Analyze if the platform enables you to put the recipient's name, and change the date too. 

Integration

If you use other platforms to manage your marketing and sales strategies, like CRM (Customer Relationship Management), and email marketing software, it will be much easier if you can integrate them with the SMS marketing software. 

Best SMS Marketing Software in 2023

1. Brevo

Brevo SMS marketing page

Brevo offers several solutions to help you improve customer experience, and it includes SMS marketing software. You can set up SMS messages in minutes, without any complication. Customize the messages as you wish to engage with your audience. 

Use the platform to track each message, and access key performance indicators like delivery and open rate. You can schedule when the SMS messages will be sent, and define trigger actions. 

Key features:

  • Easy to use
  • Customization tools
  • Automation 
  • Set trigger actions
  • Campaign reports

2. SlickText

SlickText home page

SlickText allows you to send SMS messages to your whole contact list at once with ease. All you need to do is log into the platform, write the text, and choose the list of subscribers. The message is received within seconds. 

You also can set up a keyword for your business, so when someone texts this word to your number, they will receive an automated message customized by you. When a person sends this keyword to subscribe to your messages, SlickText automatically adds them to your contact list. 

You can include emojis, images, and trackable links to the messages, and engage in one-on-one texting too. Automate your workflow and keep track of the campaign performance with the analytics dashboard.

Key features:

  • Mass text messaging
  • Picture messaging
  • Personalization tools
  • Automated workflows
  • Detailed analytics
  • List segmentation

3. TextMagic

TextMagic home page

With TextMagic, you can send bulk SMS  messages online, manage your contact lists, and create a virtual mobile number. You will be able to schedule the messages, and segment contacts, and your subscribers can send a message opt-out anytime they want.

Create sub-accounts for your team members, so they can have access to TextMagic features. It's possible to distribute SMS credits to all of them through the main account. You will also count on reporting and analytics tools to keep track of KPIs.

Key features:

  • Send bulk SMS online
  • Schedule text messages
  • Import mobile numbers
  • Sub-account for team members
  • Reporting and analytics tools

4. SimpleTexting

SimpleTexting home page

SimpleTexting is an SMS marketing software developed for small businesses. It provides a scalable solution to quickly send SMS messages to your entire audience, enable replies, create a number dedicated to your business, and manage your contact list. 

The platform is easy to use, you can trigger event-based messages, and personalize the text, for example, with the recipient's name. All of your team members can enjoy SimpleTexting features too, you have the option to create a phone number for each one or unify everyone under one inbox. 

Key features:

  • Easy to use
  • Send texts to large groups
  • Two-way messaging
  • Opt-in tools
  • Create event-based triggers
  • Personalize messages

5. Omnisend

Omnisend home page

Omnisend provides pre-built SMS automation workflows with texts for different types of situations, such as birthday, order and shipping confirmation, and cart abandonment. It's a quick solution to save you time, and you can schedule the messages.

You can also create your own SMS campaigns, and add gifs and images to the messages. Grow your contact base with the integrated forms, and enjoy the channel reports to keep track of the performance. 

Key features: 

  • Pre-built SMS automation workflows
  • SMS list building tools
  • 2-way SMS messaging
  • SMS channel reports

6. Podium

Podium SMS marketing page

If you are looking for a platform where you can launch an SMS marketing campaign in a few minutes, Podium will help you with that. It has message templates that you can use to create your texts and personalize them.  

You can target specific groups, trigger messages based on specific events, and automate repetitive tasks. 

Key features:

  • Easy-to-use
  • Message templates
  • Personalize the messages
  • Automate tasks

Choose the Best SMS Marketing Software for You

As you can see, using one of the best SMS marketing software can make your campaigns much more effective, and save you and your team's time. Analyze the features each one of these platforms offers, and select the one that is more suitable for your business.

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