Mobile Text Alerts

There's one simple digital marketing strategy that's strangely underutilized... SMS. After all, Mobilesquared reported that text messaging had?read rates of around 55% and “view rates” (meaning, respondents who at least SAW that the message came through on their phone) of up to 100% for their respondents. Texting is one of the most ubiquitous forms of communication out there. So it makes sense that it’s one of the most effective channels to really?REACH?people. The question is... Are you using SMS for your brand? And are you using it in the most effective way possible?

? The 1 mistake so many brands make with their marketing messages.... ? Kayla Plettenberg lists several common mistakes brands make in their welcome email series messaging. But the first one she talks about applies not only to welcome emails - it's a problem across the board, for all of marketing. ?? It's the problem of overly focusing on your brand. As businesses, we often want to focus on talking about ourselves. About how WE have the best product or WE have the best features or WE offer the best service. But our focus should instead be on "YOU" - the audience. What value do YOU (the audience) get out of us? What do YOU think, feel, want, and need? ?? Here's an exercise you can do... ?? Look at any piece of your marketing copy (whether it's a webpage, an email, or whatever else). And take note of how many times you start sentences with the word "we" or with your brand's name vs. how many times you start sentences with the word "you." You may be surprised how much you actually talk about yourself more than your audience. And if we shift our mindset to be more "you"-centric rather than "we"-centric... I think we'll find that we have copy that resonates a lot better with the people we're trying to reach. ??

Despite the influence of AI, content creation is most certainly not dead. (After all, you’re reading?this?piece of content, aren’t you?) ?? ?? It’s still important (and in our opinion,?always will be?important!) to put out quality content that is actually helpful and (for SEO purposes) satisfies search intent. When it comes to content, one strategy is to put a major emphasis on BOFU (bottom of funnel) pieces. This is the type of content that people are looking for when they’re almost at the point of purchase, so it has the potential to get people’s attention and move them to a conversion without as much effort as TOFU and MOFU content. ?? One caveat on BOFU content, however, is that it can consume more time and resources to create than other types of content, because it involves more detailed expertise on the subject matter at hand. ?? (So it may take a bit of in-depth research to really understand enough about the topic at hand to create the content.) -- What's your content strategy?

What if there were seamless (automated) ways to really?REACH?people with the high read rates of texting? For example... ?? A text message?confirmation when an order is inputted?into a customer’s profile in your CRM ?? An?“abandoned cart” text message reminding a prospective buyer to purchase?when they leave their cart without following through ?? A text message?drip campaign building anticipation?for your webinar Those are the kinds of flows you can create with INTEGRATED SMS. Because we all know the power of automation—and the power of texting (read rates as high as 55% and view rates as high as 100%). So how does integrated SMS work? How can you set it up? ?? There are at least 3 ways to set up integrated SMS: - APIs - Zapier - Native integrations Let’s go through each in turn. 1?? APIs SMS platforms such as Mobile Text Alerts offer APIs that developers can use to connect 2 services together. All developers need to do is follow the instructions in the API documentation and they can create any number of integrations to meet your business’s needs. (After all, one survey found that 70% of survey respondents expect to grow their use of APIs from the previous year.) 2?? Zapier (or other integration platforms) Zapier is the go-to no-coding integration platform for thousands of apps across the business sphere. The positives of Zapier include… ?? It’s compatible with a huge number of apps/softwares ?? It’s easy for non-developers to set up and use since there’s no coding required ?? It’s low-cost The primary negative of Zapier is that you are limited in your integration options by what they offer. 3?? Native More limited than using APIs or Zapier, and yet still highly convenient, are integrations built specifically within SMS platforms. Many SMS platforms, such as Mobile Text Alerts, offer these native integrations without any need for a third party (Zapier) or without needing to build out something using APIs. Native integrations are the easiest for you to set up and use, but they are limited to what the SMS platform is compatible with. -- Which integration option would best work for your business?

Conversion rate improvement strategy #3 of 29... Let's talk about list segmentation. ?? Now, if you’ve been in the marketing world very long, you know what list segmentation is - it’s taking your larger list of prospects and customers and narrowing it down into smaller subsets or segments based on specific data points that you designate. As you probably know, doing this allows you to be more personalized with your messaging so that you can resonate better with the audience you’re trying to reach. ?? Brandy W. explains that personalized segmentation helps make people more likely to convert because it cuts through the noise of the other messages they see daily. ?? (And they’re seeing a lot of messages daily!) ?? So if you’re wanting to increase those conversion rates, Brandy says to make sure you’re tagging and segmenting your list with relevant criteria like purchase history, location, or engagement so you can send targeted offers. If you’re a well-established business, you probably are already doing this to an extent - but there’s always room for optimization! So... 1?? What does your current personalization process look like? 2?? What could be improved with even more personalization so that you can see even more conversions from your marketing efforts?

Brennan Dunn lays out an “Immersion” welcome email sequence that can work for any type of business and industry. Here’s how it works: ?? Email 1 (send immediately): You’re at the Right Place. The first email centers around the problem that drove someone to sign up for your email list. So if you have a recipe site, and the messaging of your opt-in pop-up talks about saving time in the kitchen, your first email should center around the challenges of preparing healthy, nutritious meals fast – not eating well to lose weight. ?? Email 2 (one day later): Here’s What You’ll Become. After talking about the problem and what’s holding your subscriber back from solving it, paint a picture of a better tomorrow using future pacing. Position your brand as the guide who will help them reach their goal, keeping the main focus on the customer. ?? Email 3 (one day later): Here’s Someone Like You. Share a customer story of someone who has found success with your product or service and what their life looks like now. Not only does this serve as strong social proof, but your reader can identify with this person. Plus, your email keeps customers in the spotlight. ?? Email 4 (one day later): Here’s What’s Next. In the last email of the Immersion Sequence, Dunn recommends helping people take the next step with your brand by soft promoting certain products or services that relate to their current needs, delivering valuable content, and telling them what to expect from your emails. -- Here’s a great welcome email from Demand Curve that builds trust and authority and sets clear expectations. (Thanks to Kayla Plettenberg for these insights!)

?? 6 common mistakes to avoid in your welcome emails... ?? For the best results from your welcome series, steer clear of the following missteps: ?? 1.?Overly focusing on the brand ?? When marketing messaging fails to connect with the target audience, it’s often because the copy centers around the brand instead of the customer. In practice, this looks like a lot of sentences that start with “We” and a heavy focus on the features instead of the value the customer gets. ?? 2.?Doing too much at once ?? Brands often cram too much into their welcome (or onboarding) emails. For instance, when SaaS brands explain every app feature in one message. This quickly becomes overwhelming and makes readers unsure of the first step they should take with the product. ?? 3.?Pushing the sale too hard ?? Although the ultimate goal of your welcome emails should be to get sales, it needs to be a delicate balance. People are just entering your world, so avoid hitting them with a hard sell right off the bat. ?? 4.?Using the same sequence for everyone ?? It’s essential to consider where people came from when they signed up for your email list so you can meet them where they are. If you’ve got multiple lead magnets set up, tailoring your sequence to what brought them in (and what they’re most interested in) will create a personalized experience. And personalization = sales. ?? 5.?Waiting too long ?? After analyzing dozens of email marketing programs and millions of emails, Return Path found that?25% of marketers?wait for a day or more to send out the first email to new subscribers. This is a no-no. You should capitalize on the momentum of someone joining your list by emailing them immediately. ?? 6.?Sending only one welcome email ?? Don’t stop at one welcome email and call it a day. You need several emails to build trust and rapport with your subscribers. According to Mailchimp, a series of welcome emails generates?51% more revenue?than a single welcome email. (Thanks to Kayla Plettenberg for providing these insights!)

Conversion rate improvement strategy #2 of 29: ?? A delicious pairing. ?? Get more from email campaigns by pairing it with SMS. Most businesses rely on email marketing but miss out on the benefits of?SMS automations. ?? Take the research and effort you’re?already?putting into email, and use it to add SMS marketing into your strategy to engage even more of your audience. ?? SMS marketing can also lead to faster buying decisions. In a recent study, 65% of respondents said a text message led to a quicker purchase of something they were planning to buy. ?? Keep it simple—here’s an example of a?text message template?you could try for an "abandoned cart" use case: “Hi [Name], time's running out! Your cart's waiting and you can get free shipping if you check out within the next 30 minutes! Check out here: [link]" SMS messages have higher open rates and are likely to be opened?sooner?than emails, so sending abandoned cart text messages is a smart way to encourage fast action. (Thanks to Brandy W. for these insights!)

Marketing is a tough space. Often marketers feel the weight of the world as they shoulder the difficult but important responsibility of promoting their brand. ?? And there are about a?MILLION?roles that come along with that responsibility. Strategist. Analyst. SEO expert. Copywriter. Editor. Influencer liaison. Social media guru. ?? Sometimes it feels like marketers have to be?EVERYTHING. And that can be daunting. ?? So as a marketer, how can you make sure you’re doing a good job? How can you make sure you’re doing what you?should?be doing to “move the needle” for your business? The reality is that you do have an important job and you should work hard at it, but you can only do so much. Below is a list of 18 digital marketing strategies you could try. The goal is not that you should (or can!) be doing?all?of these, but just to give you ideas. And from these ideas, you can choose a handful of strategies that might make the most sense for your team and your business. ?? Text Message Marketing (*wink wink*) ?? BOFU Content ?? Email Marketing ?? SEM ?? Video ?? Relevant Link Building ?? Podcast ?? Business Development Relationships ?? Hyper-Personalization ?? LinkedIn ?? X (Twitter) ?? Authority-Building via Book Publishing ?? Event Marketing ?? Influencer Marketing ?? AI ?? Voice Search Optimization ?? AR ?? Livestreaming

When someone decides to hand over their email address and welcome you into their (likely already pretty crowded) inbox, it’s a big deal. They have explicitly told you they want to hear from you. Now it’s up to you to delight new subscribers with an inbox experience that warms them up to your brand and transforms them from a lead into a happy customer. Your welcome emails are the chance to break the ice with new subscribers, draw them into your mission, and form a connection. Simply put, sleeping on this vital sequence (your welcome email series) means leaving a lot of money on the table. (Thanks to Kayla Plettenberg for these insights!)