By Samuyl Joshi
SMS marketing is a user reach method where enterprises send marketing, promotions, member operations, and event notifications to target users via mobile communication networks.
Compared to email and social media ads, SMS is characterized by short reach paths, broad user coverage, and fast information delivery.
For cross-border e-commerce, App, gaming, online education, and fintech overseas enterprises, SMS remains an important part of the overseas user operation system.
However, SMS marketing is not simply "importing a batch of numbers into a platform and bulk sending SMS."
A truly effective SMS marketing strategy needs to consider simultaneously:
📌 Core Principle
Send the right content to the right user through the right channel at the right time.
For enterprises with a large number of overseas users, SMS has a very obvious advantage:
It does not depend on users installing a specific app, nor on users continuously opening a social platform.
As long as users have a usable mobile number, enterprises have the opportunity to establish direct reach via SMS.
Common SMS marketing scenarios include:
💡 For these scenarios, SMS can serve as an important complementary reach channel alongside email, WhatsApp, and Push.
Many enterprises are accustomed to bulk sending directly when doing SMS marketing.
The problem with this approach is obvious:
Users receive SMS but don't know why they received it.
Example [ABC] All products 20% OFF today. Buy now: XXX
For newly registered users, existing customers, high-value customers, and inactive users, the value of this SMS is completely different.
A more reasonable approach is to establish user segmentation.
| User Type | User Characteristics | Recommended SMS Content |
|---|---|---|
| New Registered Users | Just completed registration | Newcomer offers |
| Active Users | Frequent recent visits | Event reminders |
| Abandoned Cart Users | Added to cart but not paid | Limited-time offers |
| Inactive Users | Long time inactive | User reactivation |
| High-value Users | Frequent purchases | VIP benefits |
| Existing Customers | Completed multiple purchases | Repurchase offers |
📌 Complete Strategy
User Tags → User Segmentation → Content Matching → Precise Reach → Data Analysis
Rather than simple bulk sending.
An excellent marketing SMS doesn't need to be complex.
It usually needs to address four questions:
📝 Template Formula
Brand Name + Core Benefit + Time Limit + CTA + Opt-out Method
Example：[ABC Store] New customer offer: Get 20% OFF your first order. Offer ends Sep 5. Shop now: XXX. Reply STOP to unsubscribe.
This type of SMS has a very clear information structure.
When users receive an unfamiliar SMS, they first need to judge:
Who sent this?
Therefore, enterprises should reasonably use brand names or compliant Sender IDs based on the carrier requirements of the target country.
Don't make users face a completely unfamiliar sender identity.
The core of marketing SMS is not to introduce the company's history, but to tell users:
What value does this SMS have for me?
Common Benefits
⚠️ But promotional information must be genuine and valid, avoiding exaggerated claims or misleading urgency.
Marketing SMS is best with only one main action.
✅ Recommended
❌ Avoid
Website + App download + Facebook + WhatsApp + multiple product links
💡 The more complex the information, the more likely users are to abandon the action.
Sending time is an important factor affecting SMS marketing effectiveness.
But note:
⚠️ There is no single best sending time that applies to all countries.
If an enterprise simultaneously targets the US, UK, Southeast Asia, Middle East, and other markets, it cannot simply send uniformly according to China Beijing Time.
📌 Recommended Method
User Country → User Timezone → User Behavior → Local Sending Time
For example: if the user is in the US, marketing should be scheduled according to US local time, not China headquarters time.
Event Preview → Event Start → Approaching End Reminder
Inactive users are not suitable for daily promotional SMS.
User Inactivity → Reactivation SMS → User Behavior Assessment → Secondary Reach
If the user has become active again, subsequent reactivation SMS should stop.
💡 This is the difference between marketing automation and simple bulk SMS sending.
When enterprises operate in overseas markets, the most common problem is:
⚠️ Using a set of Chinese marketing logic, directly translating it into English, and then sending globally.
This usually doesn't work well.
International SMS marketing should at least consider:
Use based on target market:
Schedule sending based on the user's country and timezone.
Different countries have different:
user habits.
Different countries have different requirements for marketing SMS:
may have different requirements.
Therefore, overseas SMS marketing is not simply "domestic SMS + international numbers".
For overseas enterprises, SMS marketing compliance should be planned before marketing activities begin.
Rather than discovering after SMS sending that:
⚠️ Delivery rates suddenly drop, complaints increase, numbers get blocked.
SMS marketing regulations vary across countries and regions; enterprises need to confirm separately for target markets.
In markets such as the UK, direct marketing SMS is subject to rules like PECR; enterprises need to focus on user consent, specific exceptions, and opt-out mechanisms.
Therefore, in an international SMS marketing system, it is recommended to at least establish the following mechanisms:
Enterprises should record users' marketing authorization information, including:
Only then can a complete user authorization chain be formed.
Marketing SMS should provide a clear and simple opt-out method.
Reply STOP to unsubscribe.
After users opt out, they should automatically enter the enterprise's:
Suppression List / Do Not Contact List
Avoid subsequent marketing systems selecting these users again.
This is a very common pitfall for enterprises doing overseas SMS marketing.
⚠️ "Millions of overseas mobile number databases" do not mean these users have agreed to receive your marketing SMS.
More numbers do not mean higher marketing value.
✅ What is truly valuable is
numbers with clear sources + legal authorization + user behavior data.
If an enterprise conducts international SMS marketing long-term, rather than focusing only on SMS unit price, it should pay more attention to the platform's overall capabilities.
A mature SMS marketing platform typically needs:
Ultimately Forming
Marketing System + Communication Platform + Data Analysis
An integrated system combining all three.
This is a very common misconception in SMS marketing.
Example：Sent 1 million
Delivered 980,000
The result looks good.
⚠️ But if ultimately there are only 500 orders, what really needs optimization may not be the channel.
Enterprises should establish a complete marketing funnel:
Example
💡 Only then can enterprises truly judge: whether SMS marketing is actually making money.
Don't rely on feeling to decide which SMS is better.
You can test the following variables:
A
Get 20% OFF Today
B
Save 20% Before Midnight
A
Shop Now
B
Claim Your Offer
A
10:00
B
18:00
A
20% OFF
B
$10 OFF
📊 Comparison Metrics
Delivery rate → Click rate → Conversion rate → Opt-out rate → ROI
💡 Through continuous testing, enterprises can find SMS marketing best practices truly suitable for target markets.
For overseas enterprises, the SMS marketing process can be standardized as:
💡 This process helps enterprises gradually upgrade from "bulk SMS sending" to true user lifecycle marketing.
SMS marketing is a digital marketing method where enterprises send promotional, event, member benefit, and new product information to target users via mobile communication networks.
It is recommended to use: Brand Name + Core Benefit + Event Period + CTA + Opt-out Method. Focus on highlighting user benefits and reducing irrelevant information.
There is no unified answer. Enterprises should test based on target country, user timezone, user behavior, and business scenarios, rather than using a unified time for global sending.
Focus on: user authorization, opt-out mechanism, Sender ID, national regulatory requirements, carrier rules, content filtering, sending frequency, data protection. Requirements may vary by country and region; compliance assessment for specific markets is needed.
Verification codes are typical transactional SMS with the core goal of completing user identity verification. Marketing SMS is mainly used for: user promotion, event promotion, user reactivation, and member operations. The two differ in content, sending strategy, compliance requirements, and business goals.
It is recommended to optimize from five aspects: precise user segmentation + localized content + appropriate sending time + stable international SMS channel + continuous A/B testing. Don't only increase order numbers by increasing send volume.
If an enterprise is looking for an international SMS marketing platform, it is recommended to focus on the following indicators:
Whether it covers target countries and major carriers.
Whether it has stable carrier connections and reasonable smart routing capabilities.
Whether it supports: HTTP API, SMPP, Webhook, Delivery Report. Convenient for integrating with existing business systems.
Whether it supports: Sender ID management, template management, blacklist, opt-out, content review, country-level sending rules.
Whether it can show: delivery rate, failure reasons, click data, user behavior, country-level data.
When international SMS has issues, whether it can quickly locate: country → carrier → channel → error code → specific SMS.
💡 This is more important than simply comparing "how much per SMS".
For enterprises that need to conduct international SMS marketing, overseas user operations, and global business reach, a stable communication infrastructure is an important part of the marketing system.
YaningAI provides international communication capabilities around enterprise overseas scenarios, helping enterprises connect with overseas users, and integrating SMS communication capabilities into existing business systems through APIs, smart routing, channel management, and data monitoring.
Enterprises can use international SMS for actual business needs:
From "sending an SMS" to further building a complete overseas user reach system.
If your enterprise is expanding into overseas markets, or is solving issues like unstable international SMS delivery, overseas marketing SMS not reaching users, channel quality differences across countries, Sender ID registration, SMS API integration, etc., you can start by assessing target country, SMS type, and expected send volume.
Make SMS truly a part of your enterprise's overseas user growth, not just a message sending interface.
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