Why You Should Use SMS Marketing For Your Club Or Association

The first SMS (Short Message Service) was sent in December 1992 and said, “Merry Christmas.” This is only mildly more exciting than the content of the first email, which was “QWERTYUIOP.”

 

 

Seriously, if one of you out there is about to invent some new form of long-distance communication, can you please think of something funny or mysterious to send as a first message? Might I suggest, "We are discovered, flee,"? It's mysterious, intriguing, and worrying, and it will make the inevitable gap between your first and second message on this new piece of technology seem deliberate and eerie.  

Anyway, text messages have come a very long way since their humble beginnings and are now used for everything, from talking to friends, sharing news, political campaigning, marketing, and so much more. By now, I'm sure people have become engaged and divorced via text messages. 

Today, however, we are just going to be focusing on text messages' ability to work as a great form of marketing and communication for your club or association. 

What Is Member Jungle’s SMS Marketing Module?

Member Jungle provides valuable marketing tools to help you communicate effectively with your members and the wider community. Chances are you already know about our Email Marketing Module, but you may not know about the Member Jungle SMS Marketing Module. 

Text messages are a fantastic way to improve your marketing impact, often reaching people more reliably than emails. Text messages are also great for communicating. 

The SMS Marketing Module is part of the Standard, Premium, and Ultimate Member Jungle packages and an optional extra for the Essentials package.

So, let's look at a few great reasons to take full advantage of this module to maximise your organisation's marketing and communication.

SMS Marketing Is More Effective Than Email Marketing

Emails are the typical way that we do bulk marketing to large groups of people like club or association members. It is certainly how my club communicates with me; I get monthly emails from my club, keeping me updated on what events are coming up this month and reminding me to register for those events. 

However, I often forget to check my emails and have gone quite close to missing events I’ve wanted to attend because I didn’t see the email when it first came in, and then it got buried by new emails by the time I checked. 

On the other hand, while writing this article, Telstra texted me to let me know I have an upcoming auto-payment scheduled. I don’t need to know this; it’s automated. I’m not checking my phone, but I still saw it because it interrupted my music and lit up my screen. My point is that anything that interrupts Joe Talbot yell-signing at me is going to get my attention in a way a simple email won’t. 

 

 

I’m not alone here; SMS marketing has statistically much higher open and click-through rates than email marketing. Email Marketing averages a 20% open rate and a 2.5% click-through rate, though this varies based on industry. On the other hand, SMS Marketing averages a 98% open rate and between a 19-39% click-through rate; again, this varies based on the industry. 

To clarify, a click-through rate is the percentage of people who open a message and then click on a link within that message. 

So, suppose you send an email to 1,000 members. In that case, you’d expect an average of 200 people to open that email and an average of five people to click on a link within that message. With SMS marketing, you’d expect an average of 284 people to click on a link. Now, I’m the first person to admit I’m bad at maths, but I’m sure that 284 is more than five. 

As I’m sure you know, Member Jungle does have Push Notifications, which are a very effective way of quickly notifying members of information. However, they will only work if your members haven’t disabled them and have the Member Jungle app installed on their phones. 

The point is that SMS Marketing is one of, if not the most effective form of bulk communication as long as it’s used appropriately.

SMS Marketing For Club & Associations Is Great In A Time Crunch

We touched on this earlier, but it's worth emphasising that SMS marketing reaches people directly on their phones. This makes it incredibly effective for both marketing and critical communication. Need a last-minute push for event sign-ups? Or a vital update on the morning of an event? Text messages deliver information quickly and reliably.

Think about it: an event cancelled due to sudden rain. How many people will check their email while driving? Not many. Push notifications are great, but they depend on app usage and enabled settings. A quick SMS to registered attendees is the most dependable way to get the message through.

The same goes for a final push for event registrations. While email marketing is perfect for pre-event promotion, an SMS campaign a few days before can significantly boost attendance numbers.

SMS marketing is extremely effective and great when you really need to contact your members and can’t wait for a less effective way of communicating. 

Why SMS Marketing Can’t Be Your Only Form Of Marketing

I love coffee; it is my absolute favourite drink; I never feel more effective at my job than when I’m sipping a cup of coffee. I also quite enjoy alcohol. For me, then, the perfect drink really is an espresso martini; it will wake you up, give you a buzz and keep you going for hours. If all I ever consumed for the rest of my life were espresso martinis, I would die very happy. Unfortunately, I’d die very happy next Tuesday when both my heart and liver mutinied and clawed their way out of my rotting body.   

My point here is, everyone’s favourite word, moderation. I know I’ve just spent the last few hundred words talking about how great SMS marketing is, but it’s important to note that SMS marketing should only be used sparingly. In fact, much like an ice cold espresso martini, it is more effective in moderation. 

There are a couple of key reasons for this.

Firstly, is the potential for intrusiveness. While occasional text messages from your club are generally acceptable, frequent texts can become disruptive. Getting the occasional text from a club or association is fine, but if I were getting three texts a day, I’d probably throw my phone into the nearest volcano, or at least block that number, whichever felt more proportional at the time. 

 

 

Secondly, SMS messaging is more expensive than email. At Member Jungle, hosting the SMS service incurs higher costs, which are reflected in our pricing. For instance, while your package may include a certain number of free messages, purchasing additional ones reveals the difference. 10,000 marketing emails cost $100 AUD, whereas 500 marketing SMS messages cost $70 AUD. This significant cost difference means that relying solely on SMS for your marketing would be financially impractical for most clubs or associations.

Therefore, due to both cost and potential disruption, SMS marketing should be reserved for specific, high-priority communications. Email and push notifications should be used for the majority of your marketing efforts. However, SMS is the most effective tool for time-sensitive or critical messages.

Here are some recommended use cases for SMS marketing:

• Urgent Event Updates: Instantly notify members of cancellations, location changes, or time adjustments.
• Last-Minute Event Reminders: Send a quick nudge to boost attendance just before an event.
• Weather-Related Alerts: Inform members of field closures, practice changes, or event postponements due to weather.
• Quick Volunteer Requests: Mobilise your community for urgent volunteer needs with a simple text.
• Membership Renewal Reminders: Send polite reminders for membership dues. This can be done after your standard membership renewal emails have gone out to encourage a few extra late comers over the line. 
• Flash Sales/Limited-Time Offers: Announce special deals or discounts that create a sense of urgency.

Other Ways To Communicate More Effectively With Your Members 

So, that was a quick overview of why you should be using SMS Marketing and what you should be using it for. However, there are plenty of other ways you can continue to improve communication with your members. 

Check out, How To Improve Your Club’s Communication With Its Members, for more ideas on this.