Text Blast Service

What are Text Blasting Services?

A text blast, or “SMS broadcast,” is basically a type of mass message sent via SMS. It’s a method of sending a single text to a huge group of people simultaneously (without the “Reply-All” chaos or compliance headaches of group text).

A text blast service, like Clerk Chat, is the software or platform that makes sending that message simple, cost-effective, and efficient. Rather than having to type or copy/paste a message to thousands of contacts manually, you can use your SMS broadcast service to send the same message to everyone in your contact list in seconds.

There’s a good chance you’ve been on the receiving end of a text blast already. If you’ve ever received an “emergency notification” from a school, a promotional message about a product launch from a retail company, or an alert about an event, you’ve been hit by an SMS blast. Basically, text blasting software gives companies an easy (and more cost-effective) way to send one message to a lot of people at once.

There’s no group-text issue, where everyone can see each other’s responses (every text initiates a new conversation). Plus, your software will allow you to adapt elements of your broadcast to your specific needs quickly.

For instance, with Clerk Chat, you can use templates to quickly create different types of texts (promotional or informational messages, for instance) that maintain brand consistency. You can also track the delivery rates and metrics of all those texts and ensure they reach the right audience with dynamic cohorts. You can even use scheduling tools in a mass texting service to ensure your message reaches your contacts at the right time.

The Core Features of SMS Blasting Software

There a lot of different SMS blasting software options available today, all with different features, pricing structures, and so on. On a basic level though, any enterprise SMS solution designed for text blasts should include a few critical features:

• Mass Messaging: The obvious feature every SMS blast platform needs, is the ability to send a single message to lots of recipients at once. Notably, though, some text blasting services give you more freedom than others. With certain platforms, like Clerk Chat, you can send messages to unlimited contacts, while others place limitations on the number of messages you can send (and how long they can be).
• Contact Management: The contact management tools in an SMS blast platform are what help you keep track of all your contacts, and ensure you’re sending messages to the right people. A good platform should include segmentation features, so you can categorize customers based on things like their demographic data, behavior, and previous purchases (leading to more personalized and compliant messaging).
• Scheduling Features: Not all text blasts need to be delivered instantly. Your software should allow you to “schedule” messages to be sent at a specific time (like the morning of a product launch, or first thing on a Monday morning before your customer heads to the office).
• Personalization Options: No one likes generic broadcasts. Just because you’re sending messages to lots of people at once, doesn’t mean you can ignore personalization. A good bulk SMS sending service will include features that allow you to personalize each message (like dynamic fields that allow the system to plug in a customer’s name from a CRM, or information about a previous purchase).
• Compliance Management: Adhering to regulations like the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is a must. Strong SMS blast software should make compliance easy, tracking opt-in and opt-out information, monitoring consent, and even giving you the tools you need to quickly set up 10DLC campaigns.

The Advanced Features of a Modern Text Blast Service

All the features mentioned are crucial - but they’re also pretty standard among text blasting services. A really revolutionary platform will give you even more. For instance, Clerk Chat includes features for:

• Automation: Don’t just schedule texts, automate entire workflows and campaigns. WIth Clerk Chat, you can set up triggered messages based on customer actions or pre-defined schedules, and build entire message flows with just a couple of clicks.
• Real-time Analytics: Get insights into what’s really working for your company fast, with immediate data on delivery rates, open rates, recipient responses, and more. That way, you can adapt quickly, and save money on your campaigns.
• Integrations: Integrations between your text blasting software and your existing tools are incredibly valuable. Integrations with a CRM system mean you can infuse each text with up-to-date client data. Integrations with your ecommerce system means you can share real-time order updates with clients.
• Two-Way Messaging: Why just broadcast messages when you can engage in real conversations? Two-way messaging ensures that customers can actually respond to your messages. With Clerk Chat, you can even use AI-powered texting bots to answer questions or guide customers to the right product automatically.
• Artificial Intelligence: Speaking of AI, intelligent tools in your text blasting software can handle more than automating responses to FAQs. They can help you analyze your data, qualify leads, update CRM profiles and cohorts, adjust your messaging strategy for different segments, and more.

Clerk Chat even goes beyond standard SMS, allowing companies to experiment with MMS, RCS, OTT apps like WhatsApp, and even integrations with other communication platforms.

The Benefits of an SMS Blast Service for Businesses

So, why bother with SMS blasting in the first place? Why not just send your audience hundreds of emails? You could, but email, and other communication channels just can’t keep up with the power of text. 90% of people today ignore calls completely, and the majority leave emails to gather dust for weeks in their inbox.

A text blast gives you a far more reliable, effective way to reach your audience quickly. Whether you’re investing in text marketing for small business growth, or you just need to get urgent messages out to your audience, SMS blasting benefits from:

In this section, the benefits of using text blast services are discussed, highlighting high open rates, immediate delivery, enhanced engagement, and cost-effectiveness.

• Higher Open Rates: SMS messages have an average open rate of around 98%, compared to about 20-30% for email. That means virtually everyone you contact is bound to open your message - even if they don’t respond, they’re seeing your content.
• Strong Engagement: 91% of customers say they actually want to receive more texts from brands. How often do you hear customers saying they want more emails? Text messages drive genuine engagement and conversions. In fact, the average conversion rate for texts is between 21-30% - up to ten times higher than email’s conversion rate.
• Quick Delivery: When you need to get a message to someone fast - say an alert about your school shutting down for the day, or a message about a limited time sale, nothing is more efficient than text. SMS reaches customers anywhere, instantly, regardless of whether they have an internet connection or not.
• Cost-Effectiveness: Compared to a lot of traditional marketing channels, SMS is extremely cost-effective, particularly with the right SMS blast service. You can send thousands of messages for a fraction of the cost of a full digital marketing campaign. Plus, SMS can help to upgrade your existing marketing efforts. For instance, using retail SMS combined with social media and content marketing seriously boosts your ability to reach customers.

Text Blasts vs Other Communication Methods

Ultimately, a text blast campaign will always deliver incredible open rates, high levels of engagement, and strong results - when it’s used correctly. There are times when SMS blasting doesn’t make sense.

For instance, if you’re investing in SMS customer service - exploring a new way to support your customers, you don’t just want to broadcast information to them. You’ll need to ensure they also have a way to respond to, and communicate with you. That’s why it’s usually a good idea to choose an SMS blast service that also supports two-way messaging.

If you’re running a comprehensive promotional campaign and you want to draw attention to a lot of products at once, or share a significant amount of information, SMS falls short again. You might use your ecommerce texting software to share an update about a launch or a product going on sale, but you’d probably switch to email for longer messages that include a lot of photos and details.

But it’s worth remembering that SMS has a lot of benefits over other communication methods too. They’re less likely to be ignored than phone calls and emails. They allow you to share instant information with customers on their phone, without asking them to download a proprietary app. Plus, they don’t need customers to be “logged on” to the internet - like social media, or web-based content campaigns do.

You should turn to SMS blasting when you want to:

• Deliver time-sensitive information fast
• Reach a broad audience without relying on app installations or internet connectivity.​
• Share short, snappy messages