SMS for WordPress: 5 Strategies To Use Texting And Integrating It With Your Website

WordPress is the most popular CMS. Offering a wide range of plugin architecture, it’s used by 35% of the internet. If you use WordPress, you’re in good company – Sony, Bloomberg, and the Rolling Stones also use it to share their content. But, did you know that WordPress can be easily used for SMS marketing?  In this article, we’ll learn 5 strategies to use texting and integrating SMS with your WordPress website.

In this article, we’ll look at why it’s a good idea to reach consumers using texting (or SMS) with a WordPress plugin. We’ll also share 5 strategies for integrating SMS with your WordPress site.

Why use SMS with WordPress?

• It has a wide reach: Globally, around 5 billion people own a mobile phone.
• Its reach is growing: By 2025, it’s estimated that more than 70% of the world will use smartphones to access the internet.
• It has an unmatched open rate: 98% of text messages get opened.
• It’s how people want to communicate: 64% of consumers would prefer to text a business instead of having a call.
• You’ll get a high conversion rate: Compared with those who don’t receive text messages, SMS converts 40% of receivers.

Why use an SMS plugin to integrate text messaging?

By installing an SMS plugin, WordPress allows you to send bulk text messages to your subscribers. There are many benefits to taking this approach:

Collect data and insights: Sending an SMS survey to your WordPress subscribers allows them to reply quickly. It will also make them feel valued. Use their feedback to make improvements to your site, service, or products.

Increase customer engagement: Personalizing your marketing messages can increase levels of engagement. You can easily tailor your bulk SMS messages using a WordPress plugin.

Support other marketing channels: Social media, email, video and even chatbots have WordPress plugins. Use these alongside SMS to develop an omnichannel experience for your users.

Save time and money: Sending bulk text messages through WordPress will save you a lot of time. You’ll also get a quick response from your subscribers. Bulk text messages can remind users of upcoming appointments or delivery times. They could also save you additional costs if appointments get missed.

5 Strategies to use texting and integrating it with your website

1 SMS contests to gain subscribers

Text-to-win sweepstakes or SMS contents are a great way to win or convert more subscribers to your site.

Also, promoting an SMS contest is easy. You can use your website and existing marketing channels to advertise. If successful, you’ll see an increase in SMS opt-ins, which means more subscribers.

Your contest should be short-term and urgent. To get those opt-ins, it needs to feel exciting, time-pressured, or be high-stakes. Maybe you have a valuable item to give away as a prize? Perhaps you can run a time-limited discount on membership, monthly subscriptions, or a popular product range? Use some creative thinking to plan your approach.

Next, think of a keyword you’ll need your subscribers to text in to win. You’ll also need to set up a short code for them to send it to. For example – Text “PRIZE” to 44050 to win!

Then, get advertising. Make that keyword easy to spell and one that can’t be modified or auto-corrected. For best results, find a word that relates to the giveaway prize or competition.

Whichever way you plan to deliver a campaign, use your WordPress plugin to set up automated replies. New subscribers will want to feel welcomed and thanked for their entries. Let them know when you expect to announce the winner.

2 SMS promotions to boost engagement

Did you know that an SMS-delivered coupon is 10 times more likely to get redeemed than other methods? Using text messaging to offer promotions, discounts, and time-limited offers is an effective way to increase customer engagement.

However, as with any successful marketing strategy, your efforts to win brownie points come down to how well you sell yourself. So, here are a few helpful tips to use SMS WordPress strategies.

Brand yourself: Include a branded or customized sender ID to get your customer’s attention. This way you’ll show them exactly who you are. After all, trust is a key aspect of building customer loyalty.

Use powerful, persuasive words: Research has proven that evoking strong emotions in a reader can increase engagement. Some of the most powerful words that encourage these emotions include “New”, “Free” and “Instantly”. Consider your words wisely – you’ll get just 160 characters for each message.

Include a call-to-action: You could have the best promotional offers in the world, but if they’re not easy to claim you will have wasted your efforts. Call-to-action buttons can solve this problem. To avoid low response rates, use clear instructions such as “Click here to claim” or even “RSVP now to receive your coupon”.

3 SMS WordPress strategies: Text notifications to increase conversions

When timed well, text messages can significantly increase conversions. In fact, sending an SMS following initial contact can increase the chance of conversion by more than 100%. As a result, great SMS WordPress strategies.

For example, let’s say you sign up to a Software-as-a-Service provider for an app that helps you manage your time. There’s a much higher chance you’ll agree to an additional offer if it comes in a text communication straight after you’re welcomed on board. This is why timing is key.

Also, the type of message you send is important. It should be relevant, useful and aim to trigger or remind your customer to take action. This action could be to check out new blogs, features, or video content on your site.

So, as part of your customer journey, be mindful of sending the right type of content at the right time. Be aware that there is a “sweet spot” to the number of messages you should send, which is around 3 or 4.

To avoid damaging any relationships, always follow SMS advertising best practices. Also, give careful consideration to the impact any SMS promotions will have on your marketing strategy.

4 Integration between website, SMS, email and social to improve user experience

A well-planned user journey should be at the center of every digital marketing strategy. The best ones will map out interactions across the platforms they’re spending most of their time on. As a result, great SMS WordPress strategies.

From social media networks to messaging apps to search engine advertising, your brand should get regular exposure across a range of channels. And, if you’re selling products on your site, you need to offer an experience that does everything it can to covert your visitors.

However, to achieve a strong user experience, it’s essential to communicate directly with subscribers in a way that matches their preferences.

Since half the planet uses a mobile phone, putting mobile marketing at the center of your strategy is a wise idea. 90% of text messages are opened within 3 seconds and most consumers want businesses to contact them with a text message.

And, because of its high read-rate, SMS can increase email open rates by as much as 30%.

So, if you’re planning on sending out a high volume of emails to your subscribers, bear in mind that there’s only a 20% chance they’ll read them. This is where SMS should step in, to alert your email subscribers to the email with a simple call-to-action.

Furthermore, if your customers have a question about anything on your site, SMS can be automated to send them a fast response. All of which makes SMS integration in your WordPress site a sensible idea.

5 Optimization to drive site visitors

Unsurprisingly, 40% of site visitors will leave if it hasn’t loaded within three seconds. To keep their attention, you need to optimize every aspect of their experience – from website performance to the quality of your communications.

Here are some tips for how to do it:

SMS for WordPress Site: Strategies

• Get the latest updates for your plugins, themes, and software. This will help your site load as fast as possible.
• Delete unused themes and plugins. As part of your site maintenance, remove things that take up space and cause a strain on the system.
• Delete WordPress revisions. Some sites carry thousands of posts and revisions. Clean these up with a WordPress revisions plugin.
• Optimize your images. Larger images can slow down your loading speeds. To avoid this, make your images smaller before you upload them.

Email

• Personalize your message. This can be easily done by using a mail merge. There are WordPress plugins that can help you.
• Make sure they know it’s you. Every email you send should include your branding.
• Use interactive elements. Support your message with relevant visual or video content.
• Make it easy to share. Emails that include social media sharing buttons will generate higher click-through rates.

SMS

• Firstly, keep it short and simple. Shorter texts perform better than longer ones.
• Secondly, Include a call-to-action. Every text should have a purpose and give your subscribers an action to fulfill.
• Time it well. Texts at 6 am may put subscribers off.
• Finally, keep the conversation going. As part of your customer journey, make sure you’re lining up further SMS messages to keep them interested.

SMS for WordPress: Strategies Wrap Up

Now that you’ve read this article, hopefully, you’ll see how useful it is to use SMS for WordPress to text your subscribers or customers. And, where the use of mobile phones is increasing every year, integrating text messaging in your site could help you stay ahead of the curve. Moreover, Keep in mind that, when integrated with your website, SMS can act as a friend to your other channels. Whether you want more visitors, increased conversions, or to improve your service, SMS can help. Finally, with its fast delivery and high open rates, you should consider using SMS through your WordPress site to fast-track your business.