SMS is a fantastic tool for companies. It’s reasonably priced. Easy to set up. Quick to send. People adore it. 75% of customers prefer to receive SMS communications from brands after they have opted in, in case you were unaware.
Yes, a sizable portion of the population wants to receive SMS messages from your company.
Did you notice that there is only one catch? After opting in, people want to hear from you.
Fortunately, it’s not as hard as you might imagine to obtain clients to consent to SMS. If you understand how.
We’ll go over how to leverage social media for list building in this blog post. We will discuss:
Create the sign-up FOMO
Make your social media platforms more opt-in friendly.
To expand your list, use targeted social media advertisements.
Use a freebie or contest to generate interest.
Reach specialized audiences through a variety of platforms.
Use a text message sign-up instead of gated content.
Collaborate with influencers to break down the myths around opt-ins. Check out our blog post on SMS opt-ins.
Increase the FOMO for signing up
There is one crucial thing to think about before you start using techniques.
In return for their opt-in, what benefit are you providing to your audience?
Unless there is anything of value to them, many people are reluctant to give over their data. It may be a customer loyalty program, VIP updates, limited product drops, early access to specials, freebies, or even just a complimentary birthday surprise.
Afends, an Australian clothing manufacturer, excels at this. They outline the benefits of joining up for texting. And they consistently deliver on it. To make you feel like you belong, they even give their SMS service a name.
The trick is this. Make your audience want to sign up. Additionally, be careful to restate that justification each time you advertise your text messaging app on social media.
Make your social media platforms more opt-in friendly
This is fairly clear. However, most business owners and marketers tend to overlook it. Make sure your channels are optimized to encourage opt-ins if one of your primary goals is to develop an SMS contact list.
It can be easy. Include a call to action (CTA) and an opt-in link in your bio. Include this link and call to action in the bio of each profile you use on any platform, such as LinkedIn or Instagram.
You may also pin posts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Tik Tok. Put a post encouraging SMS opt-ins at the top of these feeds to encourage opt-ins even further. Instagram requires you to add the post as a highlight, which is a somewhat different approach.
To expand your list, use targeted social media advertisements.
There are situations where casting a tiny net is preferable to going broad. Targeted advertisements can help with that.
With highly relevant messages, targeted advertisements assist you in attracting the correct clients on the right channel.
Businesses can distribute targeted ads on almost all social media platforms. This implies that you can choose the type of people who will view your advertisement based on particular interests and demographics.
Princess Polly, an e-commerce company, utilized this advertisement to promote SMS signups on Facebook.
The benefit of tailored advertisements is that you may connect with your target demographic without needing to amass a sizable channel following.
For instance, even if only ten people follow your Instagram account, if you are a hotel chain, you may still reach those who enjoy luxury travel. Smaller or time-constrained teams who are unable to devote the resources necessary to cultivate a following across multiple platforms would find this ideal.
There are more social media platforms than you may imagine. Actually, advertising is permitted on 20 social media platforms. ranging from Telegram to Twitch to Twitter and all points in between. Just be sure that your ideal audience uses the channel you decide to advertise on.
Use a gift or contest to generate interest.
Everybody enjoys a good competition. Additionally, people are accustomed to entering personal information like phone numbers and emails. So why start from scratch?
Fortunately for you, social media is the ideal platform for competition promotion. Brands who hold social media competitions claim a 66% boost in audience engagement, according to Hubspot.
Text-to-win competitions are the most common kind of text messaging competition. It can be utilized to gather consent along the way.
To enter a text-to-win tournament, participants must text a keyword or phrase to the number. A winner is then selected at random. As a prize, you can gift anything you choose.
It’s recommended practice to confirm the opt-in by message once someone has entered. Another name for this is a double opt-in. only to adhere to the opt-in guidelines.
This Skims example illustrates what a double opt-in could entail.
Reach specialized audiences through several platforms
Don’t worry if you lack the funds to invest heavily in social media advertisements. You can reach highly engaged and focused individuals in another way.
Teams. The best friend of a marketer. Groups are available on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Telegram, and Reddit, though the names may vary depending on the site.
A group is a gathering place for people with similar interests to discuss a certain subject. The Cheap Meal Ideas Facebook group, for instance, has 4,803,345. You might consider joining if you were a low-cost food brand.
There are two ways to leverage groups to encourage SMS sign-ups.
Enter an already-existing groupYou can become a member of an existing group that is similar to your target market. You can invite others to join your SMS opt-in after you’re in. Sharing something valuable, like a lead magnet, would be ideal here. Or even a deal or discount. Considering that certain organizations forbid companies from joining or promoting their operations. Just make sure to review each group’s guidelines before devoting too much effort.
Make your own group.****p You have the option to start your own group if you don’t enjoy following other people’s rules.
You’ll need to invest time in fostering the group’s participation and trust. You can then provide additional value to those who wish to sign up for SMS once the group is operational. For your target audience, discounts, insights, information, and freebies are all useful.
Use lead magnets to sign up for text messages.
Alright, this is a juicy strategy. Increasing email subscriber lists is a common purpose for it. However, it can also be used for SMS. Simply delightful.
The most frequent users of lead magnets are content producers, service providers, and B2B brands. Additionally, if you understand what they are, you will see them everywhere.
An ebook or other useful piece of content that you provide in return for a phone number and opt-in is called a lead magnet.
Your target audience must genuinely want to read the lead magnet. Additionally, when they join up, you must ensure that you have the correct terms and conditions for SMS opt-in.
Take a look at our Guide to SMS for your business for an example of an extremely pertinent booklet. You can download it without providing any personal information, so don’t worry. That’s how nice we are.
All well, but what role does social media play?
Unexpectedly, social media is a fantastic platform for promoting your lead magnet. And, essentially, any strategy for growing an SMS list. You can distribute your lead magnet through targeted advertisements, organic posts, or group sharing.
Collaborate with influential people
Influencers are just that—influencers. They offer advice, analysis, motivation, and more to their audience. Their audiences are typically very involved and receptive to the opinions of influencers.
To market your SMS program, you might collaborate with an influencer. Their followers will be encouraged to sign up after they post about it.
The influencer will be compensated for their time and efforts. In social media and business, everything is fair, right?
Selecting the appropriate influencer is crucial if you decide to work with one. Their fan base’s demographics ought to align with those of your intended audience.
Are you prepared to expand your social media SMS list?\
We are prepared to assist you. We would be happy to demonstrate how SMS may enhance business correspondence. as well as how other companies are expanding their lists through social media.
You can talk with our support staff around-the-clock or sign up for a free trial.