4 Reasons Why Short Links Are Valuable to SMS Marketing

Ads and marketing strategies make their way into our daily lives. From the YouTube ads you skip to the commercials on television, it is almost impossible to escape advertisement.

This may not matter as much for the regular, nine to five corporate working Joe. But, if you're a person looking to build a business or someone who works in marketing, then perhaps you'd be interested in two things: short links and SMS Marketing.

Let's check out why these two are the perfect combination.

What Is SMS Mobile Marketing?

You probably already experienced SMS Mobile Marketing if you own a phone. Have you ever gotten a message from an unknown number saying, "Get 20% off this BLACK FRIDAY! Check out our sweet deals at clothesforyou.com!"?

If so, you've been exposed to SMS Mobile Marketing—it's when you send or receive advertisements via SMS. Although it is mainly used for advertisement, SMS Mobile Marketing can also be used to send order statuses, booking confirmations, billing, etc.

How Short Links Tie in Your SMS Marketing

There are many reasons why businesses should utilize short links with their SMS Mobile Marketing programs, but here are the four biggest reasons why they are fantastic for small and large businesses.

1. Add Branded Short Links to Your SMS

There's no doubt about it—SMS Marketing has a reach. While TV commercials will require television and cable TV, and the majority of today's ads virtual ads require internet access, SMS Marketing reaches you through your mobile sim's network signal.

A small ping on your user's phone, and they're already exposed to a part of your ad.

However, SMS Marketing is not without fault. Perhaps its biggest flaw is that it only allows for a few characters. Competing against video ads, SMS Marketing may look quite plain. This is why adding a link to the SMS is essential. When they click the link, the limits of text message ads are off.

Still, the problem of links being too long and random is present. With long URLs, a lot of your precious space is given up for random characters in a link. The lengthy link's appearance may even deter potential customers as long links are sometimes viewed as suspicious.

Fortunately, those links can become branded short links. Short links can be customized and personalized. So instead of sacrificing your precious space on dozens of characters, you can personalize the link and save up on space. You can also ensure that whatever you're linking to will carry your brand name instead of just a generic website.

If you want to set up your own branded short link, check out our quick guide to setting up a branded domain with Short.io

2. Make Your SMS Interactive

CTA messages (call-to-action messages), in the context of SMS Mobile Marketing, are messages that encourage the audience to respond. Typically, a CTA message will show a service offer and some options like "Buy Now" or "More" buttons that can be pressed.

With short links, this becomes an option for SMS Marketing. As the links you place on your SMS can be customized, you can make them showcase options for interaction. Doing this makes the process more convenient for the potential customer.

While others use the customizable links and place their brand name, you may also name your links "brand.com/learn-more" or "company.com/buy-now".

3. The Numbers Can Be Tracked

You may ask yourself, "Is SMS Marketing really effective?" Well, when you use short links, you'll get an answer. Short links are not merely pretty links you can paste anywhere—they're armed. They don't only have the answer to your question but also data that could very well benefit your brand.

Let's say you have a new item in your shop you want users to check out. So you decide to use SMS Mobile Marketing by placing a short greeting, the news of the new item, and a customized, short link that will lead them to it. How would you know if your SMS Mobile Marketing was effective?

You'll get the number of clicks and redirects your link gets, the location of your users, the time your link gets clicked the most, the OS they're using, and more! This is because Short.io short links are armed with clickstream analysis. With a short link, a buttload of data becomes present.

With this amount of data, you'd be able to tailor and adjust a few things to your advertisement. Perhaps you could change the time you want the messages to be sent or even create an app that caters to the more popular OS used.

4. You Can Target SMS Links to Your Android/iOS Apps

If your business uses popular online selling platforms or if you have your own app, adding short links to SMS Marketing will make everything more convenient for your users. As SMS Marketing primarily targets the phone, making use of in-app locations is smart. This is possible because of deep links.

Deep links allow your customers to proceed to the in-app mobile version. For example, if your client receives your SMS and clicks on the link to purchase one of your products from Amazon, they wouldn't be met with the browser version if they have the app.

This means they wouldn't have to log in or enter their bank account details again. This whole process will often deter a person from buying. Increase the likelihood of the sale with deep links.

So, if you want your customers to use your apps instead of browsing on the web, check out our Mobile Targeting guide for Short.io. Our service works for both Android and iOS, ensuring that almost all your customers are sent to your app when they tap on your link.

Setting Up SMS Marketing

Setting up SMS Marketing by yourself can be confusing and complicated. It can be even more frustrating for those less educated in online advertisements. Fortunately, Short.io and Twilio are two online services that make your life easier.

SMS Marketing is well within your reach if you have a Short.io and Twilio account. If you want to get started on a more effective SMS marketing campaign, check out our quick video tutorial on integrating Short.io and Twilio.

Short.io Is Your Perfect Partner

If you're interested in maximizing online advertising without having to bore a hole through your wallet, then perhaps it's time to consider link shortening services. Companies like Short.io have worked with giant brands to get the best out of online advertising. Check out our services today.