How to Increase Website Traffic with SMS Messaging
There are a lot of reasons to use SMS messaging. One of the best ones is to use SMS messaging to get people to your website. Or to get them to your website again.
Here are a few ideas on how to reach out to anyone on your opt in list that’s already made a purchase from you, shown interest in your products or services, or signed up for special deals. But before I get to some examples remember to follow good SMS messaging protocol:
Keep it short, relevant to the receiver, and always include opt out instructions.
The body of the SMS message should include a shortened URL that gets them to your website so you can market to, or inform, them again. Without further ado, here are just a few suggestions when to use a URL in a SMS message:
- Send them to a special offer page – the landing page could include discounts, buy one get one free offers, or special deals limited to text message customers
- Send them to a video – for customers who’ve already purchased from you, think about sending them to a how to video on your website for the product they just purchased
- Provide a quick link to restock supplies – send a reminder to them to purchase refills or accessories for a previously purchased product and include a direct link to the refill or accessory.
There are endless variations on the theme here, but the idea is to get them back to your website so you can keep yourself fresh in their mind. Also while they are visiting, they may find something else to purchase. At the very least they will be thinking about your brand.
Bear in mind also that the landing page you send people too has to be mobile-friendly. You are not going to get many visitors responding to your SMS message from any device other than a phone so make it good!
You can also make it a little more fun if you’ve got the budget. I signed up for special deals from a cinema. This summer they’ll send a SMS message each week that directs me to a special page on their website with a “scratch-off” discount ticket. I rub my finger over the ticket on the screen and my discount or free code appears. But the destination for the URL in your message doesn’t have to be that fancy – just be sure it is a direct link to something useful, not your home page. Have you used SMS messages to get people to your website? If so leave a comment sharing how you got on.
Related Articles
Do This One Thing and You’ll Improve Your SMS Marketing ROI
SMS marketing is not quite like most other marketing. You have such a limited space to get your point across, just 160 characters, more or less. It’s not unlike having to create a print advert for a small space, but somehow it can seem more intimidating. That’s why sometimes it seems like marketers forget one basic rule about writing offers: Always lead with the offer! Sounds simple, right?
3 Reasons Why SMS Marketing Is Perfect for the Holiday Season
Everyone knows the holiday season is a peak time for making sales and marketing. Predictions are that the UK will spend £73B in retail stores before the season is over. Find out three reasons you’ll want to use SMS marketing to get those shoppers into your store.
Attention! The mCommerce Summit is Happening Now
Mobile Marketer is holding the mCommerce Summit: State of Mobile Commerce 2016 today in New York City. And you'll get to find out what happens when I get back and write about it next week. But today, I'm going to give you a sneak peak at what I'm seeing in New York at this moment. Before I do though, be sure to check our fastsms Twitter feed throughout the day. I'll be sharing the best tidbits as they come up in each session as they happen.
How to Increase Retail Foot Traffic with SMS Marketing
Here's a great real life example of how a retailer used text messaging to offer out a discount voucher to customers who had visited their store. Their approach is simple and intelligent and very focused on one segment of their customer base, those who had recently visited a store.
Do Your Customers Trust You?
I think for much of the last decade, people used the Internet and then mobile devices, without giving too much thought about what they were doing. Or more accurately, what other people were doing with their information. But then came Edward Snowden in 2013 who revealed governments were collecting and using our personal data in ways we hadn’t imagined.
How to use SMS for Highly Targeted Marketing
While brevity might be one of the keys to good advertising, perhaps the most important is to make sure your message reaches the right people. The goal of targeted marketing is not to bombard so many people that some will inevitably listen, but rather to target and nail down your core demographic.
How to Use SMS Marketing to Counter Retail Fatigue
Uncertain economic times and an ever-extending holiday retail season is apparently making Brits less excited about the “usual” sales. But don’t worry, find out how SMS marketing can help you boost sales even in the face of retail fatigue.
mCommerce Summit 2016. Wine, Red Noses, and Mobile Marketing?
Imagine this: Someone wears a red nose, wine glasses filled before noon, and everyone’s talking about mobile marketing. That was the Mobile Marketing’s 6th mCommerce Summit in NYC last week. I’ll get to the red nose and wine a bit later. First I’ll share some takeaways about mobile marketing from the presenters by sharing it with you the way I saw it.
5 SMS or Mobile Facts You Need to Know
So many of us are used to having our mobiles around nearly 24 hours a day that it’s easy to forget it’s still a growing industry. And though SMS has been around for over two decades, the ways we use it and people’s willingness to use it continues to grow. So for this blog I picked out five facts about mobile and SMS that really make the case that SMS for business has come of age. Let’s see if you agree.
7 Tips for a Successful SMS Marketing Campaign
SMS marketing is still one of the most effective marketing channels available to businesses but is often overlooked in the pursuit of newer, more digitised technologies. When you include SMS marketing as part of the marketing mix, you're in a far greater position to increase engagement with your campaign, helping you generate a greater return on your investment. As with all channels, there are certain ways you can ensure your campaign is more effective, by following these simple steps.