Why Messaging Channels Are Crucial to Your Omnichannel Marketing

Pop quiz: When was the last time you checked your phone? If it was within the last few minutes, you’re not alone.

In 2021, Americans checked their phones an average of 344 times a day (or approximately every 4 minutes). 

Per day, Americans tally 3 hours and 19 minutes looking at their phones, and 36 minutes of that is on calls and texting, while a further 1 hour and 29 minutes is spent on social media apps. 

So if people are on their phones that much, it makes sense to add SMS and other messaging apps to your omnichannel marketing plan, since you will reach your customers where they focus a great deal of time. 

What Is Omnichannel Marketing?

An omnichannel marketing strategy “seeks to provide  customers with a seamless shopping experience, whether they're shopping online from a desktop or mobile device, by telephone or in a brick-and-mortar store.” 

Research by Omnisend found that companies that had three or more channels had a purchase rate that was 287% higher than companies with one channel. 

Omnichannel is similar to a multichannel marketing strategy. Both include traditional print ads, email marketing and also SMS messaging, as well as posters, billboards or other traditional marketing materials. 

The key difference between omni- and multichannel marketing lies in the focus. Omnichannel is focused on the customer, while multichannel is more focused on the product or service. 

The intention of omnichannel marketing is to interact with as many people in as many ways as possible to capitalize on conversions. 

A sales clerk in a retail store, a customer service rep on the phone, an AI-powered chatbot or live agent on Facebook Messenger can all make personalized recommendations, cross-sell or upsell, or resolve issues quickly; a seamless interaction for your customers, no matter how they are shopping. 

Reaching Your Customer Base

Messaging apps allow you to reach your target audience across many channels while providing a cohesive experience.

A 2022 survey by EZ Texting found texting with a business is the communications tool of choice for consumers. 

The Twilio US 2022 Messaging Engagement Report (linked earlier) found that Boomers and Gen X prefer text to any other form of communication, while Millennials and Gen Z prefer email and social media ads to SMS, although it was close. 

If you tie your marketing efforts to your target demographics, you know where to focus your energy and attention. 

For example, 77% of people who use Facebook are aged 30 to 49, 51% are 50 to 65 and 34% are 65 and older. In contrast, Instagram users see 67% aged 18 to 29, and 47% aged 30 to 49. 

The good news is that almost 100% of users aged 45 to 54 own a smartphone. 

When a campaign includes SMS in the omnichannel campaign, it is 47.7% more likely to end in a conversion. 

There’s an App for That

A key tenet of omnichannel marketing is to reach your customers where they are, including social media. Enabling conversational commerce with chat and text messaging is one way to accomplish that. 

Instant messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram Messenger, WeChat and others are used by millions of people daily to chat without incurring SMS message costs. 

In 2022, for example, 2 billion people used WhatsApp monthly, and 2.9 billion people used Facebook Messenger. 

So, how do you add messaging apps to your omnichannel marketing mix? Here are some ideas …

Marketing

If you are trying to sell your products or services, build excitement about your brand and increase your brand loyalty, then apps such as Facebook or Instagram are the place to do it. 

You can demonstrate your products, create short videos, encourage customers to share unboxing videos, and interact with your subscribers. 

As an ecommerce brand using the right messaging platform, you can enable checkout via messaging, so a customer can complete a purchase from the chat or the social media platform. 

When it comes to SMS (text message) marketing, companies are beginning to adopt it and seeing its value versus other channels like email. 

Ninety-five percent of SMS messages are opened within 3 minutes of receipt, compared to email, which only has an open rate of approximately 17%. In addition, SMS has an ROI of 2,755%. 

For more marketing ideas, check out 3 Reasons to Explore SMS & Facebook Messenger for Your Ecommerce Marketing.”

Customer Service

When it comes to customer service,  a website, social media or SMS chatbot can provide an immediate response, which is helpful if a customer is looking for quick assistance during business hours, let alone at midnight on a Tuesday. 

Email is great, but there is often a delay in response time. SMS, for example, is customer-centric, and can provide an efficient and personalized experience for your customers.

You can offer customer service in any messaging app. However, one advantage of using SMS versus social media chat for customer service is that the SMS channel is under your control. You are not at the mercy of another application. Customers have provided their opt-in and phone number to you, and have provided written consent for its use. 

The other advantage is even the most basic cell phone plan includes text messaging and some form of data plan, whereas social media apps require access to the internet. 

For more, see: 3 Reasons SMS Is a Valuable Customer Service Channel.

Final Thoughts

Omnichannel marketing campaigns increase your chances of reaching your target customer base where they spend most of their time. Adding messaging channels into that strategy can increase your conversion and ROI exponentially. 

For more, download our whitepaper: How to Implement Conversational Commerce on Messenger & Instagram Messaging.