Companies that aren’t embracing mobile capabilities and using them to advance their marketing initiatives are missing the boat. Used well, you can engage more buyers and vastly improve the customer’s journey through mobile.
SMS links are key elements in making this work to your advantage.
You probably already use links in many of your marketing campaigns. Your social media posts, newsletters, and email campaigns perform better with short links to your landing pages and website.
SMS stands for “short messaging service.” An SMS link is a website URL that is hyperlinked and embedded in an SMS message.
Using SMS links in your marketing efforts can help you compel prospects to take the action you want them to take—helping you crush your goals along the way.
Want to know more about using SMS links to amplify your marketing? Read on.
7 powerful uses of SMS links
Since the pandemic, SMS links have shaped remote learning and created a powerful new communication channel. But, to work best, it must be effectively targeted.
Building a plan for your SMS campaigns means thinking about the results you want. Fortunately, they can support several different marketing objectives well. If you’d like to increase efficiency and improve results in any of the areas below, using short links for SMS may be the vehicle to do it.
1. Create promotions and offers with SMS links
Limited-time offerings, new product rollouts, gifts, and discounts are proven ways to get buyers to make a purchasing decision. Adding an SMS URL link to a text message makes it easy for your prospects to click and purchase quickly.
Using SMS text messages to advertise products and notify them of a sale gets in front of the buyer quickly (there’s no waiting for them to see it on social media or in their email) and gives them a chance to take action. Plus, it establishes a better relationship with them by making them feel like they’re part of an exclusive group that received the offer.
Curious to learn more? Check out our guide: SMS Marketing: A Guide in Text Advertising and Campaign.
2. Send out customer surveys
If you’ve ever groaned in frustration over getting people to return survey responses via email, this one will be welcome news.
First, an SMS link for customer surveys is a cost-efficient way to gather information from your buyers.
Second, setting up a business text survey only takes a few minutes. You can even use templates for common survey questions. Shoot texts after a purchase to check on your company’s customer support. Or survey them to see if they would purchase from you (or recommend you to a friend) again.
Finally, they make it easy for your targets to respond. They can answer your survey with a few clicks on their mobile devices within seconds. Yotpo finds that 56% of consumers would be interested in sharing their product feedback with their favorite brands directly through text!
3. Send SMS links for appointment reminders
If your company sets client appointments, you know that no-shows equal wasted time and money. Alleviate the stress by implementing a click-to-text button in a text message notification.
Appointment reminders work best when you personalize the message, note the appointment time, keep it short, and ensure the reader knows what they should do next. “Click here to confirm your appointment” leaves little doubt about how they should proceed.
Giving your customer a way to confirm or cancel their appointment from their smartphone decreases the chances of your company holding a spot for someone who isn’t going to make it.
4. Use SMS links for event registrations
Are you holding a conference? Hosting a webinar? Inviting people to a lunch-and-learn? Throwing a fundraiser? Whatever your event, SMS marketing can help drive registrations and attendance.
The more avenues you use to reach and engage potential attendees, the more visibility your invitation will get. In addition, (not in place of) emails, phone calls, and social media announcements, SMS texts can reach your target audience and get them to respond.
According to Mailchimp, the average email open rate is around 27%, and the click-through rate is around 3%. When was the last time you didn’t open a text message? Probably never!
Using SMS links in your event invitation texts simplifies the process for your audience. With a simple click, they can get to the right web page or landing page and complete their registration.
5. SMS links are a great avenue for customer support
Many companies have brought in chatbots and other automation to assist in serving customers in real time. SMS links are a valuable tool for your customer support solution.
For example, giving your website visitors a click-to-text option if they need support lets them drive their experience and communicate in their preferred way.
While you can automate some customer support messaging with default messages, there does need to be a human factor involved in some customer support scenarios. These situations can be handled via text, too. You can even easily integrate SMS customer support with your other forms of client communications for a multi-channel approach.
6. Use SMS links to encourage customers to join loyalty programs
Building brand loyalty increases your customer lifetime value (CLV) and helps your business grow. SMS links can be essential to getting them to join your loyalty program.
Send personalized messages to your customers’ phone numbers inviting them to join. Include a shortened link (to keep your text’s character count low) that takes them to the signup page.
If they don’t click the first time, you can set up a workflow outlining the program’s exciting benefits. Each text can include an SMS link. By using link tracking (available in the best URL shortener tools), you can gather important information about the campaign that you can then use to improve it.
7. Tease product launches with SMS links
Are you adding a product to your offering or overhauling your website? Tease your readers with it!
It’s natural for humans to want to be in the know. If there’s a buzz about a product or service, your current and prospective future customers benefit from hearing about it.
Teaser texts entice your target audience to get curious and want to know more about your message. Include a text link so they can easily go to your website for more information or to sign up for updates.
SMS links simplified with Bitly
Maximizing results for your company’s marketing campaigns means constantly looking for ways to improve. SMS links within your text messages to customers and click-to-text buttons transform your efforts into a mobile-friendly strategy.
Bitly is the best, most recognized link shortener tool on the market. Did you know it’s also a great option for creating, using, and tracking SMS links? Whether your customers use iOS or Android devices, Bitly’s all-in-one link and QR Code-creating platform has you covered. You can even use the advanced link-tracking feature to collect integral data points to improve your campaigns. Find the plan that fits your brand and get started with Bitly for free!