Maybe you don’t know it but text marketing for restaurants is widely used; even by big brands like McDonalds. Do you want to know how they used SMS marketing in their last campaign? Would you like to understand how and why they did it? Read on to learn how!
McDonald’s (Smart) Way of Using Text Marketing for Restaurants
In November 2022 McDonalds launched a campaign on social media in which people could opt-in by sending a text message to a specific number. “Text me if u want in on a life-changing opportunity this is not a drill 707-932-4826.” That was the catchy phrase they chose to promote the campaign on all their social media platforms.
When users texted the number, they received an automated SMS message to opt-in as well as an agreement to privacy terms and conditions. That text was followed by another one with an introductory message and a request to add users’ contact number and time zone. After subscribing, users received another message about McDonald’s “soft drop”, which included a grainy photo clue.
Source: Nation’s Restaurant News
Analyzing McDonald’s SMS Marketing Campaign
Let’s analyze and understand what McDonald’s marketing team did on this SMS campaign.
Instead of using a text keyword, they decided to go for a long code as a way for people to opt in. Long codes are the typical 10-digits phone number that have one big benefit. Long codes use a single number for both phone calls and texting. That means that McDonalds could use that number to both receive text messages and phone calls.
After opt-in, users received an automated text message. In this case, it seems like they used a basic form of automation: two follow-up messages after opt-in. Those messages can be personalized to request specific information you can use to better target your messages.
In this case, they asked for the time zone in order not to send messages that bothered the subscribers. They were actually explicit about that because the message said they asked for the time zone “so i don’t text you in the middle of the night lol”; which is a basic good practice in SMS marketing.
Marketing text messages can also be customized to include images; like the grainy photo clue McDonalds used to surprise their subscribers. This can be done through a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). MMS can include photos, animated GIF files or even videos.
SMS Marketing is Far From Being Dead
If a mega brand like McDonalds can successfully use text marketing for restaurants as part of their overall marketing efforts, so can you. Trumpia’s texting software offers all the tools the big M used in their SMS campaign, and so much more. We have one of the most complete lists of features in the market; far more than what most of our competitors offer.
We also have Workbench, our automated text message workflow builder, that allows you to do even more complex automation than the one described in this article. Our drag-and-drop UI is so intuitive and easy to use that neither you nor your marketing team need to have coding experience.
If you want to know more about Trumpia and our texting software, call or text 1-888-707-3030.
Did you like this article? Learn more about SMS text marketing for restaurants here!
