SMS Marketing UK

What SMS marketing is good for

A text is short, personal and usually read quickly. That makes SMS good for time-sensitive messages: a flash sale ending tonight, a table free this evening, a delivery arriving tomorrow, an appointment in the morning. It is poor for long stories, detailed product ranges or anything people need to scroll through.

dijitul marketing runs SMS from £75 a month + VAT. That covers planning, writing, scheduling, automation and reporting. Message credits are bought from the SMS platform (Klaviyo, Brevo, Twilio-based tools and others) and are separate from our fee, so you can see exactly what you pay per send. Most clients use SMS alongside email marketing, keeping texts for the moments that matter most.

PECR rules for marketing texts

The ICO's guidance on PECR regulation 22 treats texts the same way as email. For individual subscribers, including sole traders and some partnerships, you need specific consent before sending a marketing text. The only exception is the soft opt-in, which applies when:

• you got the number from the person during a sale, or negotiations for a sale, of a product or service;
• you only text them about your own similar products or services;
• you gave them a simple way to refuse when you collected the number; and
• you offer an opt-out in every message.

Bought-in lists of consumer mobile numbers are not covered. From 5 February 2026, the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 also allows registered charities a similar soft opt-in for supporters who expressed interest, for messages that further their charitable purposes (SI 2026/82 on legislation.gov.uk). The same Act raised maximum PECR penalties to 17.5 million pounds or 4% of global turnover, so getting this right matters.

Sender IDs, opt-outs and character counts

A few technical details catch businesses out.

• Sender ID. Texts can come from a mobile number or from an alphanumeric sender ID of up to 11 characters, such as your brand name. A branded sender looks professional but cannot receive replies.
• Opt-out. PECR requires a valid way to opt out in every message. If you use a branded sender, 'reply STOP' will not reach you, so we use a short opt-out link or a number that accepts replies.
• Message length. Under the GSM 7-bit alphabet a single SMS holds 160 characters; longer texts are split into parts of 153 characters each. Add one emoji or a curly quote and the message switches to Unicode, where a single part holds only 70 characters. Platforms charge per part, so we write to fit.

Service texts versus marketing texts

Not every text is marketing. An order dispatch notice, an appointment reminder or a password code is a service message and does not need marketing consent. Add 'and get 10% off your next order' to it, though, and it becomes marketing. We keep the two separate in your platform so a customer who has opted out of promotions still gets the reminders they need.

Appointment reminders are often the quickest win for clinics, salons and trades. Automated texts the day before, with a link to reschedule, cut the admin of chasing people by phone. Back-in-stock and price-drop alerts work well for shops, as long as people asked for them.

Timing, frequency and measurement

Texts interrupt. We set quiet hours so promotional texts are not sent late in the evening or early in the morning, and frequency limits so a customer on both an automated flow and a campaign does not get two texts in a day.

Every link is shortened and tagged with UTM parameters so SMS traffic shows separately in GA4. Your monthly report shows messages delivered, clicks, orders or bookings, cost per message, and opt-out rate. A rising opt-out rate is the clearest sign you are texting too often, and we will dial it back before it becomes a complaint.

What you get

• A consent audit of your existing mobile numbers and where they came from
• Opt-in forms and checkout wording for SMS that meet PECR
• Sender ID set-up and an opt-out route that actually works
• Monthly SMS campaigns, written to fit in a single message where possible
• Automated texts such as order dispatched, appointment reminders or back-in-stock
• Quiet-hours and frequency rules so texts arrive at sensible times
• A monthly report on delivery, clicks, conversions and opt-outs

How it works and what it costs

Google Ads management from £150 a month, social media management from £125 a month and email marketing from £95 a month, all + VAT. Ad spend is separate and paid to the platform. No long contracts.

1. Free review

   We look at your current ads, social, email and analytics, or your plans if you are starting out, and tell you plainly what we would change.

2. Plan and price

   You get a written plan with targets, budgets and a fixed monthly fee before anything starts.

3. Set up properly

   Tracking and consent first, then campaigns, audiences, content calendars or email flows, all in accounts you own.

4. Run and improve

   We manage it every week: search terms, bids, creative, posts and tests, cutting what does not pay and doing more of what does.

5. Report in plain English

   A monthly report on leads, sales and cost per result, not vanity numbers, with what we will do next.

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