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?
How to Avoid Failing at SMS Marketing
For many businesses it's often a knee-jerk reaction to create an app, or to run mobile ads, or to start an SMS list. But without really understanding what it’s all about, you can waste a lot of time and money before realising what you actually need to do.
SMS Marketing And Why It Matters For Online Retailers
Insights Into The Best SMS Marketing
It’s been said that to be successful at something, you need to find someone that’s already done what you want to do, then emulate them. You don’t need to create or rewrite the rulebook every time. This is true of marketing too. While it’s a creative field, there are tried and true examples of what works. This is why case studies are so important to helping you understand how something like SMS marketing can work for you.
Advantages & Disadvantages of SMS Marketing
SMS marketing is very different to most other more traditional marketing tools, specifically because of its short-form, text only nature. This certainly shouldn't put you off though. We have put together our guide to both the best things about SMS marketing and some of the potential problems, and how to work around them.
Do Your SMS Marketing Messages Sound Spammy?
If you aren’t seeing a positive response from your SMS marketing then your list may be thinking of it as spam and just ignoring it like they do much of their email. So take your latest marketing messages and examine them again with these four questions in mind.
SMS Marketing for Jewellers and Jewellery Makers
Marketing Review for 2015 Holiday Season
Comparing SMS and email marketing results for the 2015 holiday season, this article taps into reports from Expedia and Adobe to share important insights.
How 2017 Will Change SMS Marketing
Setting New Year's resolutions for your business can be risky since it feels like you're only really setting yourself up to fail. It's much better instead to try and focus on one achievable goal and do everything to succeed and improve in that area. With its meteoric rise to popularity and outstanding success in 2016, businesses should be using 2017's welcome reprise to integrate SMS marketing into their business development strategy.
How to Increase Website Traffic with SMS Messaging
Read some practical advice on how you can use SMS messaging to drive more traffic to your website. Include a shortened url in your SMS marketing message that sends the recipient to a special offers page or a how-to video or even a top-up page for consumables. But make sure the page is mobile friendly.