SMS marketing alternatives for businesses in Malaysia: blasting messages via social messenger

Latest update in 2023: all SMS messages with URLs will be blocked by Malaysian Telcos

Businesses in Malaysia are now recommended to use social messaging channels instead of SMS for bulk message marketing, as Malaysian Telcos, including Maxis, Digi, Celcom, Unifi, and more are beginning to block all SMS messages with URLs to protect users from phishing, according to the latest 2023 update released by MCMC Official (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission). 

As call-to-actions (CTAs) can increase the conversion rate by up to 120%, having links in your broadcast messages plays a significant role in providing target users with actionable steps. Since links can no longer be attached to SMS marketing messages in Malaysia, brands can consider using SMS marketing alternatives for broadcasting promotional messages.

Jump to the section about top SMS marketing alternatives for businesses in Malaysia.

SMS marketing is a widespread tactic used by most businesses in Malaysia. Since email marketing only yields an open rate of around 24% in Malaysia while messages get an open rate of almost 98%, SMS message marketing naturally became the popular option. However, as time passes and social media dominates the crowd, consumers tend to prefer using social messaging apps, including WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, Instagram DM, WeChat and more. Thus, to meet the changing customer needs, businesses in Malaysia must not stop at SMS marketing but instead keep up with the trends on social media, such as incorporating some WhatsApp marketing strategies.

What is SMS marketing

SMS marketing, or text message marketing, is a form of mobile marketing where businesses use SMS (Short Message Service) to send promotional messages, updates, and offers to their customers' mobile devices. It involves sending targeted text messages to a list of phone numbers that have been collected through opt-in methods, such as online sign-ups or customer interactions.

SMS marketing vs. broadcasting on social messaging apps

One of the top SMS marketing alternatives is broadcast campaigns via social messaging apps. The comparison can be summarized as follows:

SMS marketing and broadcast campaigns on social messaging apps have many similarities, including their efficiency for direct and immediate communication, higher open rate, and multimedia capabilities. 

Nonetheless, blasting bulk messages through social messaging apps allows you to use interactive features such as chat buttons and chatbots that can encourage users to engage with your brand. This means that it is more cost-effective and saves manpower for more complicated tasks.

Furthermore, if you use broadcast campaigns on social messaging apps, you can incorporate the message blast with social media ads, reaching out to your followers more effectively. In other words, the leads gathered will be of a higher quality as those who see your ads and take the initiative to message your brand are more likely to make a purchase. 

Other than that, sending broadcast messaging through social platforms increases the chance for word-of-mouth marketing as messages can be shared with their friends and families easily. 

There are also various types of links, such as product catalogue links and in-chat payment links that you can send to your customers to provide a seamless in-chat purchasing experience.

Now that URLs can’t be included in the SMS marketing campaign messages, it gives businesses more reason to switch to social messaging apps, such as WhatsApp Business, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and more.

Moreover, mass marketing messages on social messaging apps also have similar requirements to SMS message marketing:

• Character limit for message content

• Opt-in consent from customers

Since the prerequisites for social media messaging campaigns are almost identical to those of mass SMS marketing, incorporating these social messaging campaigns will only be beneficial.

Top SMS marketing platform alternatives to attract Malaysian customers

Since the benefits of bulk SMS marketing are similar to blasting messages through social platforms, businesses in Malaysia can consider marketing through the following SMS marketing alternatives:

SMS marketing alternative #1: WhatsApp marketing broadcast

WhatsApp marketing broadcast is just like bulk SMS marketing, except that the messages are sent through WhatsApp. With end-to-end encryption, the privacy of conversations is protected. Besides, WhatsApp requires businesses to blast messages using templates that are approved by Meta. If a shortened link or an URL that does not belong to the merchant domain is embedded, the message will not be approved and blasted to customers.

Also, to apply for a verified green tick on the WhatsApp Business profile, merchants will need to submit their business registration certificate supported by other official documents. Once your WhatsApp account is identified as one belonging to an official business, you can gain user trust as you send promotional messages.

As for interactive chat buttons, there are two types of buttons you can attach to your message blast:

• Quick reply buttons: preset responses used to trigger automation based on keywords 

• CTA buttons: a CTA used to redirect customers to your website or landing page

Quick replies are mostly utilised for understanding the customer intent with a chatbot, allowing them to engage easily without typing out all the words. Each message can have a maximum of 3 quick reply buttons.

On the other hand, there can only be one CTA per message, driving users to targeted pages. For example, you can attach a catalogue link for them to browse through your latest products or send a payment link to remind customers of their abandoned carts. that redirect them to your website or landing page.

More about WhatsApp chat buttons:

98.7% of Malaysian respondents chose WhatsApp as their favourite messaging app.

How to broadcast WhatsApp messages for free

Step 1: Create a WhatsApp Business account

Learn to create a WhatsApp Business account from our blog guide.

Step 2: Import chat history and contacts

Find out how to back up your chat before switching devices.

Step 3: Create a WhatsApp broadcast list

If you’re on the free WhatsApp Business App, you can only send a broadcast to 256 contacts. 

Step 4: Draft and personalize your broadcast message content using variables on WhatsApp Template Messages to captivate your audience

Step 5: Schedule your broadcast campaign to send messages to your customers at optimal times

Step 6: Monitor the performance of your WhatsApp broadcast with campaign analytics

Learn more about how to send broadcast messages to an unlimited number of users on the WhatsApp Business API. Need to blast messages to more than 256 customers? Check out the conversation fees for WhatsApp Business API.

3 ways to get customer opt-ins on WhatsApp

Similar to SMS direct marketing, WhatsApp blast message campaigns require opt-ins from your contacts. For your potential customers to take the initiative and approach your brand via WhatsApp, you can use the following tips:

1. WhatsApp QR code to collect leads

By including a WhatsApp QR code on your event brochures or website banners, you can encourage leads and contacts to scan the QR code and get automatically directed to send your business a WhatsApp message.

2. WhatsApp CTA buttons on your social media pages

On your Facebook Page or Instagram Business account, you can set up the CTA button as WhatsApp, so that users can talk to your business on WhatsApp with just a click.

3. Lower costs with free entry points for click-to-WhatsApp ads

Although you will need to pay WhatsApp conversation fees for your bulk message campaign, you can get free entry point conversations by using click-to-WhatsApp ads. In other words, if a potential customer messages your brand by clicking on your click-to-WhatsApp ads on Facebook, this user-initiated conversation will be free of charge. Normally, a conversation is subjected to a 24-hour window limit; however, this free user-initiated conversation will last for 72 hours. 

For example, EcoWorld generated a 6.5X ROAS and collected more high-quality leads using WhatsApp Business. They also managed to achieve:

• 15,000 link clicks to their WhatsApp Business account

• 69% of potential customers who expressed interest

• 21% of high-quality leads for follow-up

SMS marketing alternative #2: Facebook OTN and Message Tags 

Other than WhatsApp broadcast messages, you can also send Facebook Messenger broadcast messages as an alternative to mass SMS marketing. However, to collect opt-ins from customers, you need to use a feature called Facebook One-Time Notifications (OTN) or Message Tags. 

Facebook OTNs and Message Tags are introduced by Meta for businesses to collect opt-ins from users while protecting them from being spammed. With a third-party platform like SleekFlow, you can use Facebook OTNs on a ready-to-use interface instead of using your own developer resources. 

Find out how to send promotional messages in bulk on Facebook Messenger for free.

SMS marketing alternative #3: Telegram marketing broadcast

Telegram, another popular messenger in Southeast Asia, has over 500 million monthly active users in Malaysia. You can use Telegram Channels or Telegram Bot to send messages in bulk just like how you would with automated SMS reminders. 

For Telegram Channels, you can broadcast one-way messages to users by adding them to the channel you created. It works like an announcement board and can be publicly found by all Telegram users.

For bulk message campaigns via Telegram Bot, you will need some coding knowledge to incorporate it. Alternatively, you can use a third-party platform like SleekFlow, where marketers can set up bulk messaging campaigns with an easy-to-use interface.

How to get started with social media broadcasts in Malaysia

If you’re struggling to decide which social messaging app to use as your SMS marketing alternative in Malaysia, the good news is that you don’t have to choose! On SleekFlow, you can incorporate an omnichannel strategy and blast messages through various messaging channels from time to time. When customers reply to the messages you blasted, or even if they switch channels halfway through, you can still engage with them within the same inbox and access their complete customer profile right next to the chatbox.

As an official WhatsApp Business Solution Provider (BSP), SleekFlow can offer professional assistance for your WhatsApp broadcast campaigns. Template messages for various industries and use cases are also available when you draft messages for your bulk message campaigns. 

Furthermore, you can set up a chatbot or automated chat flow to instantly interact with users who replies to your message blast. This means that you can retain user attention and avoid missing out on customer messages, making it a great alternative to SMS marketing in Malaysia.