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According to a recent 2024 SMS Marketing Report, 79% of consumers have now opted in for SMS marketing—a notable 11% increase from 2023. Among them, 85% are Gen Z!
Whether it’s sharing product launches, promoting ecommerce sales, or sending reminders about events or abandoned carts, SMS marketing is the way to connect with these digital-first generations.
But here’s the big question: How do you ensure your SMS campaigns actually hit the mark? That’s where A/B testing comes in.Â
By testing different variations of your messages with specific audience segments, you can pinpoint what resonates most. The winning version becomes your blueprint for future SMS campaigns, boosting engagement and conversions.
In this article, we will explore the top strategies and ideas for A/B testing your SMS campaigns in 2025. But first, let’s break down what you can test to fine-tune your messaging.
Here are the top seven elements of a text message you can set up A/B test experiments for:Â
‍Experiment with different writing styles, such as formal vs. informal language or varying levels of detail in the message content.Â
You can also A/B test your calls to action (CTAs), discount amounts, limited-time offers, exclusive deals and offers, or emojis.
The spacing between your message body and CTA may also affect engagement. For instance, some text messages with links in the middle may not be spaced adequately, leading to the link being disabled altogether. This can dramatically affect the click-through rates and lower the effectiveness of your SMS campaign.
SMS messages primarily need to deliver information quickly. However, in some cases, you may need to be more descriptive to convey the right value.
You can test different length variations in your text messages. For instance, you can promote a flash sale with a one-liner and a link; however, you may need a longer message to cover a new product launch or to showcase exclusive collections.
As seen in emails, personalization can also significantly impact engagement. Test this by using a customer’s first name, for example, “Hi Mona!” instead of using a generic greeting like “Hello!” You can also personalize by adding past purchase details or tailored recommendations.
In some cases, your SMS may need a visual component to entice target buyers to purchase.Â
This can be especially instrumental for eCommerce businesses. You can use a still image in your text message (making it into an MMS) or a GIF to see how it impacts engagement. You may also try out an emoji puzzle or trivia and compare the engagement rates to a standard text message.
Your brand's tone of voice shapes its perception among your ideal prospects. You must maintain consistency while experimenting with casual, professional, or playful styles. You can also use memes and puns and gauge audience reactions to find which tone of voice fosters lasting connections.
Moving the CTA link to the top, middle, or bottom of your SMS can also significantly affect conversions. You should test different variations to determine where to place the links in your SMS.
You can also test whether sending potential customers to a different landing page impacts your engagement and conversion rates.
Here are the top six A/B testing strategies and ideas for creating high-converting SMS campaigns in 2025:
Calls to action (CTAs) are the most important element of any marketing message. These direct people to take actions that benefit a business, such as signing up for an email list, participating in a community discussion, or simply making a purchase.
To test CTAs, you can try different methods:
CTAs should always be concise, actionable, and relevant to the content of your message.
SMS is a plain text message limited to 160 characters. But if you include images, GIFs, audio clips, or videos, the same text message can be enhanced into an MMS. It allows businesses to use up to 1600 characters to communicate what they want to convey to their audiences.
Brands can experiment with different versions, maintaining the text's simplicity on one side while adding photos or visuals on the other. Humans love visuals, which means adding an image, a relatable GIF, or a video can significantly impact engagement. You must monitor the results closely to see which variation your audience responds to the best. Â
You can also test with different variations of the multimedia element, as illustrated below.
When timed correctly, your SMS messages can have a greater impact. Would you value a conversation with a brand when you are busy spending time with your family? That’s unlikely.Â
Thus, marketing communications must be delivered at the right time so they don’t get ignored and fail to provide the intended results. To determine the optimal times for your marketing initiatives, you need to consider your target audience's age, occupation, preferences, time zones, and lifestyle.Â
You can A/B test your SMS campaigns by timing them at different times (for example, mornings or evenings) or different days (such as weekdays instead of weekends).Â
You can also time event-based triggers, such as cart abandonment, to re-target customers and check whether an SMS sent 15 minutes after cart abandonment is more effective than one sent 30 minutes later. Testing messaging frequency can also help you create more high-converting SMS campaigns.Â
Set up SMS marketing automation flows and vary the number of texts you send monthly to select customer groups to evaluate which workflow performs best.
People are less likely to click on a link when they are unsure of the source of the text. Mentioning your business or organization’s name is an important aspect of SMS compliance.Â
You can mention your brand in the following ways:
You can also test sender information by including the company’s name at the front, middle, or bottom end of your copy.Â
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Another way to test sender information is to try sending your SMS campaign from a local number, like a 10DLC, to see if it increases the open rate more than a short code.
Ever wondered what type of discount gets customers hooked? Studies show dollar-off deals are top favorites, with percentage-off discounts not far behind. But here’s the twist—some customers might value long-term promotions over quick deals.
To find what clicks with your audience, try A/B testing your offers. For instance, see if a 15%, 20%, or 25% discount drives more engagement. Or test the impact of urgency by comparing a 24-hour flash sale with a 48-hour limited-time offer. Does urgency spur more action, or do longer windows perform better?
Offering exclusive discounts is yet another way to drive conversions. You can A/B test variations, where you provide an exclusive offer to consumers who shop from the link in your SMS against one that doesn’t offer the same exclusivity.
Both welcome series messages and post-purchase messages are super important factors that impact brand recall and keep the customers attached to the brand. However, optimizing these communications is imperative.
You can A/B test messages for the welcome series by experimenting with personalized greetings, interactive content, flash sales, VIP specials, and more. Additionally, you can try different SMS lengths and tones. Businesses can also send out various versions at different times or days to figure out what works best.
For post-purchase sequences, you can try a variety of post-purchase messages, including thanking your customers for their orders, asking for order delivery feedback and updates, and sending a follow-up offer for the next purchase. You can also use emojis to add eccentricity. Once you determine which marketing strategy keeps them feeling valued and motivated to return, you can double down and iterate for the best results.
Here are seven best practices to help you design high-converting SMS campaigns that improve your sales numbers:Â
1. Obtain Explicit Consent From Text Recipients: Make sure to obtain written consent, store consent records, provide a clear opt-out option, and clearly state the purpose and frequency of SMS-es before you start your campaign. Sending messages with consent can also improve your message open and deliverability rates for future campaigns.
2. Segment Your Audiences for Better Targeting: Segmenting your audiences and targeting them with personalized text messages can have a marked impact on engagement.
You can segment your target audience based on:Â
You can also send specific texts targeted to prospects in different stages of the buyer’s journey (for example, new subscribers, repeat customers, or inactive contacts) or set up event-based triggers for your SMS campaigns (for example, birthdays, anniversaries, social events, and other milestones).
3. Test One Variable at a Time: Introduce only one variation per A/B test so that the results clearly depict which element impacted your campaign’s performance. You must also ensure that you test versions A and B simultaneously so that timing doesn’t affect your results.
4. Ensure Adequate Sample Size: For accurate results, make sure you are testing your A/B test on substantial sample sizes. You can also use statistical methods to avoid drawing incorrect inferences from inadequate data.
‍5. Optimize For Mobile-Friendliness: Your SMS recipient will view your text message on a mobile phone, so optimizing for mobile-friendliness is paramount. Make sure that your text size is easy to read, navigate, and understand.Â
 6. Extend Test Durations: To obtain the best results, running your SMS campaigns for a significant amount of time is important. While there is no correct duration, you must ensure that most of your target recipients have the time to act on your text message.Â
 7. Track Relevant Metrics Thoroughly: Optimization is an ongoing process. To refine future SMS strategies, make sure to track key performance indicators (KPIs) like open rates, click-through rates, and conversions based on your marketing goals (boosting awareness, improving conversions, etc.).
A/B testing can be a game-changer in your SMS campaigns!Â
Knowing how prospects and customers interact with your text messages, which CTA leads to the most clicks and conversions, whether they appreciate the use of emojis or not, or if they prefer receiving your texts on a weekday as compared to the weekend—all of this information can be crucial to the success of your SMS campaigns.Â
This is where smart text marketing software like Convertway’s cutting-edge SMS marketing tool comes in. This software comes with personalized automation flows, smart segmentation features, and targeted SMS campaigns for a global audience that can help you engage your target prospects like a pro!Â
Convertway also provides easy-to-use subscriber opt-in tools that offer incentives to capture website visitors and compel them to subscribe as soon as they arrive at your landing page, growing your potential buyer list by 10X.Â
Leverage Convertway to maximize your SMS marketing efforts—get started with their free trial today!
Sapna Singhal is a Freelance Content Writer who specializes in writing data-driven blog posts around B2B Marketing and SaaS. She has over 5 years of experience in content writing and marketing. When she's not writing, you can find her chit-chatting with her sisters or reading books!
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