Top 3 Mistakes in Mobile SMS CampaignsAnd How to Avoid Them

Stanford Persuasive Technology LabWesley Leung, Andrew Martin, David Ngo

Want Help Designing for Behavior in Your Project? Sign up for a call at bit.ly/slidecalls

Imagine You Need to...

Persuade people to donate $...With One Text

Hard, but not impossible.

Just watch out for a few mistakes starting with...

People aren't responding. It must mean they don't care!

...Or maybe they do, they just don't know how to respond

Mistake 1 

A Stanford Mobile SMS Campaign aims to solicit donations from students for social issues in Somalia

Mistake: Campaign sent out mass texts addressing topics that seem important such as vision, goal, etc...but failed on the call to action

 

 Case Example

Solution: Make your message clear for what you want people to do.

"Help Somalia! Text #YES to donate"

 Case Example Solution

Not testing early or quickly enough

...Take baby steps. Fail fast and fail early

 Mistake 2

Mistake: Client started by building out the entire system for their implementation, including marketing strategies, software for delivering texts, and more.

 Case Example

Solution: Run crummy trials first.Start with studying the responses you get through small tests. Text manually & iterate on early mistakes

 Case Example Solution

Not triggering behavior

...Sometimes people need a little reminder

 Mistake 3

Mistake: Without a trigger, students were unsure when to donate or why. They read email flyers, but simply forgot to donate.

 Case Example

Solution: Make sure there is a clear Call to Action to trigger your audience to do what you want.

For example, launch events to frame your campaign. Physically being there is a strong motivator. If that is not feasible, make a Facebook event for your cause.

 Case Example Solution

In Summary...

1. Design a simple, laser-focused text that clearly tells the user what to do

2. Have a call to action to Trigger your audience

3. Test early and quickly with Crummy Trials

Need Help With A Project?

Call us for free help!

Would love to chat for 15 minuteshttp://bit.ly/slidecalls

Follow the Director of the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab @bjfogg