Getting More Out Of Social Media With SMS Marketing is the eleventh in a series of articles that we'll be posting this fall. Small Business Marketing Tips To Build Sales In A Down Economy will teach you how to use do-it-yourself tools like SMS, email and social media to effectively market your business.
Entry By Jason Brick
Synergy occurs when two productive activities combine to create a total greater than the sum of their individual parts -- like chocolate peanut butter cups. If you do it right, SMS marketing and social media marketing can create this same kind of effect. Both provide positive mobile experiences, which can build on one another in a reinforcing upward spiral.
Social Media Marketing
You can link your social media presence to your SMS campaigns with regular posts and tweets containing a call to action, along with your keyword and short code. Your most engaged customers will self-identify by becoming part of both mailing lists - and help your marketing go viral by sharing and re-tweeting your message.
This works best when your social media presence is professional, effective, and up -to-date. Here are a few tips make sure that's true.
- Use different keywords for different platforms. When fans respond, you'll find out which platform reaches the most people.
- Incorporate mobile functionality into your social media presence, such as Facebook's check-in feature. These contacts keep you front of mind in clients' awareness, even without a call to action.
- Add videos, images, and interactive widgets to your social media pages -- creating a dynamic and memorable experience people will want to follow.
- Include your social media information in your letterhead, signature and business cards.
SMS Marketing
Linking to your social media in your text marketing message creates a feedback loop. Readers visit your site and end up following or subscribing. They then get messa ges that encourage them to participate even more in your SMS...which leads them to your social media. It's a key part of combining these two powerful initiatives into a synergistic whole.
For this to work, both campaigns must be interesting and relevant -- otherwise it will simply feel like you're giving them twice as much spam as their competitors.
- Use SMS to point to social media updates only when relevant to your clients. Humor, news, and statistics are all good choices - some better than others, depending on your industry.
- Never repeat the same post over multiple channels. You can point to a post you think people will like, but plagiarizing yourself feels like spam.
- Encourage SMS voting and similar participatory programs, but announce the results on your social media program. Those who vote will cross over to learn the outcome.
- Adopt an "elite" program, by offering discounts and other rewards to fans who sign up for SMS and multiple platforms. This can include "private" broadcasts only for this group.
Want to try it yourself? Head over to Ez Texting to start enhancing your social media efforts with SMS Marketing.
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