SMS Marketing Best Practices for African Businesses

SMS marketing in Africa is uniquely effective. Open rates exceed 95%, and the majority of messages are read within minutes. But effectiveness depends on execution. Poorly timed, irrelevant, or overly frequent messages will get you blocked and reported. Here are the best practices that separate successful SMS campaigns from spam.

1. Get Explicit Consent

Before sending any marketing SMS, ensure the recipient has opted in. This can be through a sign-up form, a keyword-based opt-in (e.g., "Text JOIN to 12345"), or during account registration. Store consent records with timestamps. Multiple African countries are strengthening data protection laws, and consent is the foundation of compliance.

2. Time Your Messages Right

The optimal sending window varies by market and audience, but generally, business hours (8AM-6PM local time) produce the best results. Avoid early morning and late night. For African markets spanning multiple time zones, segment your recipient list by country and stagger sends accordingly.

3. Keep Messages Concise

A standard SMS is 160 characters. Going over this splits your message into multiple segments, which costs more and may arrive out of order. Write tight copy that delivers the value proposition and call to action within a single segment whenever possible.

4. Personalize When Possible

Addressing the recipient by name and referencing their recent activity (last purchase, cart contents, appointment date) significantly improves engagement. Ping supports variable substitution in templates, making personalization straightforward even at scale.

5. Include a Clear Call to Action

Every marketing SMS should have exactly one call to action. "Shop now at myshop.co.zw" is better than listing three different things the recipient could do. Clarity drives conversion.

6. Provide an Opt-Out Mechanism

Always include a way to unsubscribe: "Reply STOP to opt out." Honour opt-outs immediately. Not only is this legally required in many jurisdictions, but it also protects your sender reputation with carriers.

7. Monitor and Iterate

Track delivery rates, click-through rates (if using links), and opt-out rates for every campaign. A/B test message copy, timing, and offers. Use Ping delivery reports to identify carrier-specific issues and adjust your approach.