How to Apply AIDA Copywriting Formula to SMS Marketing?

Over the years, copywriters have developed their own techniques for creating copy that is effective, engaging, and tailored to get the best possible results. These techniques have paved the way for formulas that are tried, tested, and proven to work effectively for all styles of content.

There are a lot of different formulas that copywriters swear by, but one of the oldest and most effective around is AIDA:

A = Attention

I = Interest

D = Desire

A = Action

AIDA is perfectly designed to keep readers engaged from the first sentence of the copy to the last. It tailors’ blogs, articles, and any style of online content to grab the attention of the reader, get them interested in the topic, create a sense of desire, and then lead them to the desired action.

The benefit of the AIDA formula is that the end result is one that most marketing and advertising campaigns are trying to achieve. When used correctly AIDA can lead to an increased return on investment in marketing, it can attract new leads, and get people talking about a brand.

In many ways, AIDA is the perfect accompaniment to SMS marketing, but just how can you apply it to your marketing campaign?

Using the AIDA Formula in SMS Marketing

Applying the AIDA formula to SMS marketing is not too dissimilar to using it in any other written content, with the exception of the text being much shorter. A blog or article can be thousands of words, but a text message in general capped at 160 characters.

With text marketing, the formula needs to be somewhat stripped back to pack the biggest punch possible in the smallest amount of space. If you manage to master the formula, then there is no reason why you can’t grab the attention of your leads, get them interested, create desire, and get them to act, in every text you send.

To learn how to apply AIDA to your SMS campaign, you need to break it down, and address each individual part of the formula; here’s how you can do it…

 
1. Attention
You only have 8 seconds to make an impression, so it’s got to be a good one.

Every good piece of copy starts by capturing the attention of the reader. This is what gets your audience to open your text and read past the first line. To guarantee attention, you need to make sure that your text is relevant both in timing and to the exact audience that you’re targeting; informing your leads that there is a sale happening at a store 100 miles away and it finishes in 3 hours is not going to capture their attention.

To grab a reader’s attention, think about who they are and what they want. You can use a headline to capture their attention, a video, or an image, but whatever you use it needs to be bold and instantly enticing.

Example:

Get 75% off all our products!

 
2. Interest

Once the hurdle of attention has been conquered, the platform is yours to make sure that your audience stay interested. You need to back-up your claim in the headline and make sure that it continues to be as interesting as you originally made it out to be.

You can introduce a problem that relates to your audience or share exclusive information. Unlike long written copy there’s no space in a text to go into a long story, which can actually be a benefit to you, as it caters to the readers who skim content, picking out the important bits of information.

Tools like SMS coupons can be a great addition here to interest your audience. The use of online coupons is on the rise and is expected to follow the same trend as bargain-hungry consumers look for the best ways to save money.

Example:

Get 75% off all our products!

Exclusive deal available for one day only

 
3. Desire

Now that you have the attention and interest of your audience, it’s time to make them want what it is that you’re offering. Desiring something is very different to being interested, it’s the tipping point between ‘want’ and ‘need’, so your next line needs to create the sense of need.

The desire is the ‘take-away’ from the text and the thing that will be deliberated over. Creating a strong desire will stick your message in your audience’s mind, so it’s important to think about what they will desire the most.

Example:

Get 75% off all our products!

Exclusive deal available for one day only

Includes our famous ‘double-chocolate chip ice cream’

 
4. Action

The final part of the formula is turning a desire into an action; you’ve done all the hard work, now you just need a strong close to make sure that your desired action is completed. However, it doesn’t mean that the last step is an easy one.

A well-written and personalized call to action can boost your conversions by 202%, making it one of the most important elements of any piece. It should be clear, instructive, and where possible, create a sense of urgency. With interest and desire already created, the ending line just needs to make things straightforward for the reader.

Example:

Get 75% off all our products!

Exclusive deal available for one day only

Includes our famous ‘double-chocolate chip ice cream’

Get your hands on the deal now!

Using the AIDA formula in your SMS marketing is one of the best ways to increase conversion rates and maximize the value that your leads get from each message. The style can easily be altered for each style of marketing message, whether you’re offering a deal, providing information, or trying to keep your customers updated on the latest changes with your business.

Always remember, successful AIDA copywriting means that every part of the formula should be just as important as the last!