Text message marketing or SMS marketing, has exploded in popularity this year. 80% of the US population now owns a smartphone and since SMS marketing has a 98% open rate, it is no surprise that marketers are seeing a 14% conversion rate through their SMS marketing campaigns.
It sounds like a no-brainer. Shouldn’t all brands adopt SMS marketing practices if they receive such great results? Well, not always…
Some companies have found it difficult to implement SMS marketing because email capture is a huge priority, and revenue generator for them and if not done right email capture could decrease when adding in SMS capture.
So, is it possible to capture SMS without decreasing your email capture rates?
YES – It absolutely is, here’s how:
Every brand’s audience is different, and to be successful it is crucial to speak to your audience in a manner that causes them to react positively. Be cautious of marketers who claim there is a ‘one size fits all’ method of connecting with your audience. Joint email and SMS strategies that we’ve seen work well vary widely between companies, because they need to be tailored to the specific goals of each business. If you know that email capture is incredibly important for your business, don’t completely ditch it to try something new. Instead, stick with what’s working and optimize that, while also testing out other methods. We love SMS marketing and believe it can be incredibly effective, but don’t turn off a consistent and reliable revenue channel to chase what “might” work.
Find out how to integrate SMS marketing into your current marketing strategy
One way to begin this, if email is important to your brand, is to begin by asking the visitor for their email address first, then asking them to subscribe via text after providing an initial email.
Another test idea is to ask for a visitor’s email address and phone number through a popup at the same time.
Do strategies differ between mobile and desktop websites?
Yes, it’s important to recognize what type of device your visitor is using because there are different capture strategies for each. For example, if a visitor is on a desktop, you don’t have the ability to ask for their number via ‘Tap To Text’ but, it is wise to take this route if they are on a mobile device.
Don’t worry, though, you can still capture phone numbers from desktop traffic by simply by asking your visitors to type in their phone number on form fields or text a specific number.
Offer incentives
Another strategy for capturing SMS without decreasing email capture is to offer the visitor some type of incentive. Offer an incentive for when they opt-in with their email address and then immediately offer an additional “bonus” incentive if they subscribe via SMS.
However, if you’re asking for both email address and phone number, remember to keep an eye on your bounce rate. The more you ask a visitor to do, the more friction and frustration you may create, which often translates to a higher bounce rate. You don’t want to ask for too much information that causes them to leave your site.
How do I avoid an increased bounce rate?
Consider layering your timing for when you request visitors to opt-in with specific information. For example, start with capturing email via a popup at the beginning of a session and then after a delay, ask for their phone number. Be careful with this strategy because you need to make sure you progressively profile the visitor so you don’t make two records/leads in different (or the same) systems for the same visitor.
Let’s recap on how to capture both email and SMS effectively:
- If email capture is important, fully optimize this and then add in SMS capture
- Also, ask for email address first and then phone number after you already captured email
- Try asking for email and phone number in the same pop up form
- Pay attention to the device users are on. If traffic is majorly mobile, adding SMS capture is a great strategy, especially if you do “Tap-to-Text”
- Offer incentives for each piece of information your audience enters
It’s very possible to capture SMS without missing out on email subscribers, especially if you continually optimize your capture strategy to find what works for your brand and audience.
Here at Exit Intelligence, we work with clients to achieve just that. If your company could benefit from growing your SMS and email subscribers, reach out to us to setup a strategy call!