Maximize Your SMS Marketing Results: Collect Subscribers at Scale
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- The Power of SMS Marketing
- Importance of Subscriber Collection Tools
3.1 Conversion Optimization
3.2 Multiple Touch Points
3.3 Compliance First Approach
- Strategies for Subscriber Collection
4.1 On-Site Subscriber Collection
4.1.1 Subscription Forms
4.1.2 Collecting Subscribers at Checkout
4.1.3 SMS Footer Widget
4.2 Social Media Subscriber Collection
4.3 Converting Email Subscribers to SMS Subscribers
4.4 Offline Subscriber Collection
4.4.1 QR Codes
4.4.2 In-Store Experiences
- Engaging First-Time SMS Subscribers
5.1 Personalized Welcome Messages
5.2 Targeted Campaigns
- Conclusion
The Power of SMS Marketing and How to Maximize Results
Hi everyone! I'm super excited to be here today. My name is Kim Winter, and I'm the product marketing manager for our SMS solution. On today's webinar, we'll talk about how to grow your SMS subscribers at scale. If you're joining me on this webinar, it means that you likely already understand the power of SMS marketing. If I had to say, SMS marketing is the ultimate channel that your brand should be focusing on this year.
Introduction
SMS marketing has proven to be a highly effective way to engage with customers and drive revenue for e-commerce stores. With a staggering 98% open rate and over 90% of messages being read within three minutes, SMS marketing offers unparalleled reach and immediacy. In addition, over 51% of consumers are interested in being able to text with their favorite brands. Brands that have a winning SMS marketing strategy in place continuously see 25x+ ROI, driving extremely fast results for their businesses. In this article, we will discuss how to maximize your results with SMS marketing by focusing on collecting subscribers.
The Power of SMS Marketing
SMS marketing is a powerful tool that allows brands to connect with their customers directly and in a highly personalized manner. With the ability to reach customers instantly and have one-on-one conversations, SMS marketing offers a level of engagement that other channels can't match. Customers who opt-in to receive SMS messages from brands are often highly engaged and interested in receiving timely updates, exclusive offers, and personalized recommendations. This makes SMS marketing the ideal channel for driving sales, boosting brand awareness, and increasing customer loyalty.
Importance of Subscriber Collection Tools
To fully leverage the power of SMS marketing, brands need to focus on collecting subscribers. Building a substantial SMS list allows brands to reach a larger audience and maximize revenue. However, collecting subscribers is not just about quantity; it's also about quality. Subscriber collection tools play a crucial role in ensuring that brands are able to collect highly engaged and interested subscribers. These tools should be conversion optimized, providing multiple touch points throughout the buyer journey to encourage subscriptions. They should also be designed to supercharge engagement with customers, reflecting the brand's look and feel. Additionally, compliance should be a top priority, with tools built in line with TCPA, CTIA, and GDPR regulations to ensure 100% compliance.
Conversion Optimization
A successful subscriber collection tool should be conversion optimized, maximizing the number of subscribers brands are able to acquire. This can be achieved through various on-site strategies, such as subscription forms. Subscription forms are conversion-based and can be customized to create engaging experiences for visitors. Brands that use SMS subscription forms see a conversion rate of over 5% from their overall website visitors. These forms can be designed as engaging pop-ups or dedicated SMS sign-up pages, incentivizing customers to sign up for SMS updates. By offering customizable design templates and advanced behavioral display options, brands can target each on-site visitor with a subscription form experience that is likely to convert them into subscribers.
Multiple Touch Points
To ensure a cohesive approach to collecting subscribers, brands should not rely on just one method. Instead, they should scatter various subscriber collection elements throughout the customer journey. This ensures that customers can opt-in to receive SMS updates at different touch points, increasing the chances of capturing their mobile numbers. In addition to on-site subscriber collection, brands should also collect subscribers at checkout, leverage social media, convert email subscribers to SMS subscribers, and create in-store experiences using QR codes. By diversifying subscriber collection methods, brands can reach a wider audience and increase the number of engaged subscribers.
Compliance First Approach
SMS marketing is a consent-based channel, meaning that customers need to opt-in to receive SMS messages. Subscriber collection tools should be built with a compliance-first approach, ensuring that brands adhere to TCPA, CTIA, and GDPR regulations. By collecting subscribers through compliant tools, brands can be confident that their SMS list is 100% compliant and avoid any legal issues. This compliance-first approach also helps build trust with customers, as they know that their privacy is respected and their consent is valued.
Strategies for Subscriber Collection
Collecting subscribers is a continuous effort that requires implementing various strategies and utilizing different tools. By adopting a multi-faceted approach, brands can maximize their subscriber collection rates and acquire highly engaged subscribers. Let's explore some of the most effective strategies for subscriber collection.
On-Site Subscriber Collection
On-site subscriber collection is a crucial element of any subscriber collection strategy. By capturing existing traffic at the perfect opportunity, brands can convert engaged website visitors into SMS subscribers. One effective method is through subscription forms. Subscription forms can be designed as pop-ups or dedicated sign-up pages, encouraging customers to sign up for SMS updates. Brands that utilize SMS subscription forms see a conversion rate of over 5% from their overall website visitors. These forms are fully customizable, allowing brands to create an on-brand design experience. By leveraging advanced behavioral display options, brands can target each on-site visitor with a subscription form experience tailored to their preferences.
Another effective on-site subscriber collection method is collecting subscribers at checkout. Checkout is the most natural part of the customer's shopping experience, making it the ideal time to capture their mobile number and convert them into SMS subscribers. Brands that leverage SMS directly at checkout see over a 45% mobile number capture rate, significantly boosting their subscriber collection efforts. By adding language directly within the checkout process and offering incentives, such as exclusive offers, brands can successfully collect SMS subscribers and maximize their results.
Lastly, brands can utilize the SMS footer widget, a tool that allows for native subscriber collection throughout the buyer journey. This widget ensures that brands can monetize their on-site traffic by collecting mobile numbers from every customer who visits their website. By strategically placing the SMS footer widget on relevant pages, brands can effortlessly build their SMS subscriber list.
Social Media Subscriber Collection
Social media platforms provide an excellent opportunity for brands to collect SMS subscribers. With engaged followers and a wide audience, brands can leverage social media to encourage their followers to opt-in to receive text messages. Offering unique discounts and exclusive messages, brands can incentivize their social media followers to sign up for SMS updates. Instagram, in particular, is an ideal platform for capturing new SMS subscribers, as 90% of customers follow their favorite brands on Instagram and the platform boasts a 10x higher engagement rate compared to other social channels. By utilizing keywords, swipe-up features, and dedicated pages, brands can direct traffic from social media to their SMS sign-up form.
Converting Email Subscribers to SMS Subscribers
For brands that already have a substantial email subscriber list, converting these subscribers into SMS subscribers is a valuable strategy. Many customers are eager to receive text messages from brands and prefer SMS as a channel. By promoting SMS through newsletters, banners, or dedicated SMS blasts, brands can raise awareness of their SMS program and encourage email subscribers to sign up for SMS updates. It's important to emphasize the exclusivity and unique benefits of SMS, such as exclusive offers or access to a text club. By integrating both SMS and email, brands can engage with their customers across multiple channels and maximize their success.
Offline Subscriber Collection
Brands should not overlook the opportunities for subscriber collection in offline settings. By bridging the gap between online and offline shoppers, brands can capture mobile numbers and convert customers into SMS subscribers. QR codes offer a seamless way to collect subscribers by allowing customers to simply scan the code and automatically sign up to receive SMS messages. QR codes can be added to packages, inserts, or displayed in-store, offering various touch points for customer engagement. Additionally, brands can integrate their Shopify POS system to collect subscribers at the time of checkout in physical stores. By asking customers if they would like to sign up for SMS updates, brands can effortlessly grow their SMS subscriber list.
Incentivizing Subscriber Collection
To encourage customer opt-in, brands should incentivize subscribers to sign up for SMS updates. One effective way to do this is by combining SMS with loyalty programs. By offering points or rewards for signing up for SMS updates, brands can motivate loyal customers to engage with them through this channel. In a recent survey, over 76% of loyalty program members expressed their willingness to opt-in to receive SMS messages. This presents a significant opportunity for brands to supercharge their subscriber collection rates and increase customer engagement. By integrating SMS with loyalty programs, brands can deliver personalized messages, exclusive offers, and targeted campaigns that not only drive sales but also enhance the customer experience.
Engaging First-Time SMS Subscribers
After successfully collecting subscribers, brands must focus on engaging these first-time SMS subscribers. The initial interactions with subscribers are crucial in establishing a positive brand experience and fostering continued engagement. To achieve this, brands should create perfectly timed welcome messages that provide a personalized and conversational flow. Customers must understand the power of SMS and the unique value they can derive from engaging with the brand through this channel. By personalizing welcome messages and collecting relevant customer information, brands can segment their subscribers and deliver customized messages based on their preferences. This level of personalization goes a long way in cultivating customer loyalty and driving sales.
In addition to welcome messages, brands should also implement targeted campaigns to continuously engage with their SMS subscribers. These campaigns can include SMS-only offers, limited-time promotions, new product announcements, seasonal offers, educational campaigns, and more. Targeted campaigns have been shown to have a click-through rate of above 25% and a conversion rate of over 3%, highlighting their effectiveness in driving sales and increasing brand engagement. By keeping subscribers updated with exclusive offers and timely marketing messages, brands can maintain brand awareness, maximize customer lifetime value, and foster long-term relationships with their subscribers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, SMS marketing offers immense potential for brands to connect with customers, drive revenue, and enhance brand loyalty. By focusing on collecting subscribers and utilizing a variety of collection tools and strategies, brands can acquire highly engaged subscribers and maximize their results. Through on-site subscriber collection, social media engagement, converting email subscribers to SMS subscribers, offline collection methods, and incentivizing subscriber sign-ups, brands can build a robust SMS subscriber list and reach a wider audience. Additionally, by delivering personalized welcome messages and implementing targeted campaigns, brands can foster ongoing engagement and create a memorable brand experience for their SMS subscribers.
Remember, subscriber collection and engagement should be an ongoing effort. It is crucial to constantly innovate, experiment with different tools, and optimize to increase conversion rates and collection rates across all channels. By continuously engaging with subscribers and leveraging the power of SMS marketing, brands can drive sales, boost brand awareness, and build long-lasting relationships with their customers. So, seize the power of SMS marketing and take your brand to new heights!
