From email to text to push, growing any list is an extreme challenge for many marketers, but a focus on list growth pays off – especially for mobile messaging. Text messaging gives you a straight link to your audience on a widely used channel, so brands are confident that texts will be opened 98% of them by your customers.
Text messages can be very effective in attracting your audience to take action. This goes beyond just selling, but can be used for coupon delivery, reminders, rewards, fundraising asks, providing information, and a plethora of other use cases. Getting ups the list large enough to drive real value, for both broadcast awareness and advanced targeting campaigns, can be a challenge.
Below are some of the ways to effectively grow your SMS list:
Running a competition -You can push the competition you are having across your website, email campaigns, social media platforms, and in-store. One important thing is to offer a prize that is worth enough to encourage your customers to take part. Then, be patient and watch your list grow. Ensure to tell your customers that they may receive future competition news and sales offers via text message marketing when they choose to take part.
Treat Your Subscribers Well - Ensure you treat your current subscribers well. When they constantly receive worthy bulk SMS messages, whether it’s in the form of information or exclusive offers, then they may refer their friends and family.
Create a VIP club - Encouraging your website visitors to sign up to a VIP club can grow your SMS subscriber list. Here you can send special offers and discounts to anyone that has signed up. 77% of shoppers say that discounts influences where they shop, therefore providing them with a way of accessing the best offers from you will tempt them to share their phone number.
Advertise in Your Store - With a physical location, tactically put the information on your list, how customers can sign up, and what they'll receive in return. Entrances, exits, and checkout are all the finest spots.
Take advantage of your email marketing list - When your email marketing list is ready, then you can use it to encourage customers to sign up for SMS notifications as well. You just need to ask your customers to maybe text a keyword to your short code or an inbound long number. For example, we'd ask our customers to text "JoinSMS" to 50092 to opt-in.
Events - Take advantage of your live events by plugging your text marketing list before, during, or after the event, making sure the attendees get to know how to opt into your list. Ensure they know the advantages of opting in.
Give Your Customers a Choice - Let your customers choose between receiving updates, reminders, etc. via email, ringless voicemail, or SMS. More than likely, they'll choose SMS.
Social media Platforms- Promoting the benefits of subscribing to your SMS list on your social media platforms will make you list as there are people who do not visit your website regularly but follow you on your social media platforms. You can use social media to run competitions that need an SMS notification to opt-in to enter or encourage them to sign up through your stories on your pages.
Let Your List Work for You- After getting your subscriber list, make it work for you. Entice your subscribers with offers if they get family and friends to subscribe to your list.
Finally, you need to ensure that your bulk SMS provider that you choose to work with when building your subscriber list, have the capability to set up the segments and offers maximum data protection of customers