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SMS Lead Generation: A Beginner’s Guide

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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Did you know that the average American spends </span><a href="https://techjury.net/blog/how-much-time-does-the-average-american-spend-on-their-phone/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">5.5 hours</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> on their mobile phone daily? And the average mobile user checks their phone up to </span><a href="https://techjury.net/blog/how-much-time-does-the-average-american-spend-on-their-phone/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">58 times</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> a day. With all that time on mobile comes the opportunity to connect with existing as well as potential customers in a whole new way. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">More and more local businesses are using text messages and SMS marketing to revolutionize the way they connect with their customers. And find new ones. Read on to learn how to harness the power of messaging to generate and nurture valuable leads.</span></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">What is SMS lead generation?</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The main idea behind SMS lead generation is this:</span></p>
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Text is an immediate, direct communication tool.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Your customers want you to text them. </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Ergo<span style="font-weight: 400;">: Local businesses should use text to find and nurture new customers.</span></li>
</ol>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Essentially, SMS lead generation is the practice of gathering potential customer phone numbers to introduce them into your </span><a href="https://www.podium.com/article/marketers-guide-to-messaging/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">marketing campaign</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> pipeline. The main purpose of this marketing strategy is to create direct communication lines with customers that will last beyond the point of transaction and lead to strong customer relationships.</span></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Benefits of SMS Lead Generation</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just as there are many benefits of SMS for local businesses, there are many benefits of SMS lead generation as well. We’ve highlighted just a few below. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">1. High Open and Response Rates</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Texts have an incredibly high open rate of </span><a href="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ultimate-guide-to-sms-marketing.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">up to 98%</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. That’s over 200% higher than the response rates averaged by phone, email, or Facebook. On average, 95% of texts are opened within three minutes of reception. If you had the chance to get your marketing seen 98% of the time, why wouldn’t you take it? </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">2. Immediate and Direct Communication</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Text messages are delivered immediately. And because they have a character limit, they necessitate direct and concise communication–something your customers (and employees) value. It’s no wonder that customers are </span><a href="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ultimate-guide-to-sms-marketing.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">2x as likely</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to prefer messaging to any other method of communication. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">3. Convenience and Accessibility</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The convenience that text offers your customers is unparalleled. It’s the reason they use it–and why they might choose one business over another. </span><a href="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ultimate-guide-to-sms-marketing.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Research</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> shows that over 40% of customers are likely to switch to a different business because they offer texting. And over 65% of your customers think text makes working with you more convenient. Also, because the majority of consumers in the US can text, offering text increases the accessibility of your business. </span></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">10 Effective SMS Lead Generation Strategies and Tips</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ready to get started? We’re here to help. Here are ten tried and true strategies, tips, and best practices to improve your SMS lead generation. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">1. Turn interactions into opt-ins.</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you want access to your customers’ mobile phones, you have to get their permission first. This means they have to opt-in to your marketing. The key to getting opt-ins is to turn interactions </span><b>into</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> opt-ins by carefully integrating opt-in entry points at every touchpoint in your unique customer journey: </span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">
<h4><span style="font-weight: 400;">Online sign-up pages and forms (on your landing page)</span></h4>
</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">
<h4><span style="font-weight: 400;">Website banners, pop-ups, and prompts (web forms)</span></h4>
</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">
<h4><a href="https://www.podium.com/webchat/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Website chat</span></a></h4>
</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">
<h4><span style="font-weight: 400;">Point of sale or transaction</span></h4>
</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">
<h4><span style="font-weight: 400;">Review collection </span></h4>
</li>
</ul>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">2. Offer prospects incentives.</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Offering incentives is a great way to make opting in as enticing as possible. You’re able to provide real value up-front while earning your potential customers’ permission to send marketing materials to them. Incentives can be direct incentives like discounts or special offers, or they can be contests and giveaways. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">3. Utilize existing channels.</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Utilizing your existing channels can be a great way to cast a wider net for your SMS messages. Send an email blast inviting people to opt in, put a banner in your ecommerce communications, or add a QR code graphic or even a printed keyword to your mailers to encourage opt-ins. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">4. Get active on social media.</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Your LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram pages are great places to socialize your online sign-up forms. Create posts with your QR code, URL, or keyword to capture opt-ins from your social media channels and optimize your presence. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">5. Craft SMS drip campaigns.</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Want new leads? It’s time to automate. Use automation to create drip campaigns that send on a regular schedule, prompting customers to refer friends and family, join your loyalty program, or cash in personalized promotions. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">6. Optimize your campaign for mobile.</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">People are tired of digital noise. They want valuable, accessible content that’s tailored specifically to them. Optimize your SMS marketing campaign for mobile by making sure you stay within the character limit, include links and media that load correctly, and communicate directly.</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">7. Include MMS.</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Your customers might come for the new products, but make sure they stay for the media. Utilize MMS messages to include pictures, videos, GIFs, links, and other kinds of media. Don’t sleep on the emojis! </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">8. Add attractive CTAs.</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Every message you send should direct customers to an action, whether it’s to click a link, take a quiz, open a new guide, or attend an event. Make sure your CTA is clear and that you don’t include more than one. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">9. Customize and personalize.</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Over </span><a href="https://ninetailed.io/blog/personalization-statistics/#:~:text=Seventy%2Done%20percent%20of%20customers,their%20business%20elsewhere%20(Segment)."><span style="font-weight: 400;">70% of your customers</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> want you to provide personalized experiences. This is where your CRM comes in. Use data tracking and customer profiles to personalize every message, addressing customers by name with offers based on their history with you. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">10. Continue engagement.</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Don’t forget to follow up. After an interaction or transaction, invite continued engagement by sending a review invite, feedback invite, thank you message, or relevant promotion. </span></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">How to Set Up an SMS Campaign in Six Steps</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Once you’ve got your opt-ins, it’s time to send. Here’s our proven, step-by-step guide to setting up an SMS campaign. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">1. Define your campaign objectives.</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What do you want this campaign to do? Convince customers that they should purchase a product? Join your loyalty program, get an upgrade, refer a friend? Make sure you and your team are clear on what you want your campaign to do in order to set yourselves up for success.</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">2. Build a targeted subscriber list.</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Time for segmentation. Segment your SMS subscribers by demographic using metrics that are most relevant to you and your business: area, age, behavior, purchasing volume, etc. Build a list to locate your target audience for this specific campaign, keeping in mind your specific objective and who it will apply to. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">3. Choose an SMS service provider.</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">SMS service providers are </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">not </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">built equally, and you’ll want to </span><a href="https://www.podium.com/guides/ultimate-guide-to-sms-marketing/solutions/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">find one</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that meets your requirements and the needs of your sales team. Do you have more than one employee who will be texting your customers? You’ll probably want a service with a shared inbox. Do you want to send drip campaigns? You’ll want a service with a seamless automated campaign setup. Pricing, customizability, flexibility, and reputation are all factors to keep in mind as well. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">4. Craft compelling and concise messages.</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Did you know that customers redeem text coupons </span><a href="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ultimate-guide-to-sms-marketing.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">10x more</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> than other coupon types? Your messages should take advantage of this trend by being concise and persuasive in their messaging. They should always feature the “reward” and come across as a friendly, relevant, and personalized call to action. Pro Tip: Images, links, and videos can really help you make your case!</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">5. Test and optimize.</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Test send your message to yourself and your team. If the delivery feels off, the link breaks, or the images don’t load, regroup and optimize to get the best results for your customers. </span><b>Never</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> send a campaign that you haven’t tested first. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">6. Monitor performance and analytics.</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Text message marketing is all about experimenting and improving. Send the campaign and use your SMS marketing platform to carefully monitor performance metrics like open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and more. </span></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">SMS Lead Generation Tools</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Want a few lead generation tools to help you gather SMS leads? You’ve got it. Here are a </span><a href="https://www.podium.com/article/business-text-messaging/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">few platforms</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, what they offer, and their pros and cons. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">1. Podium</span></h3>
<p><a href="https://www.podium.com/text-marketing/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Podium</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> offers world-class text lead capture via customizability and </span><a href="https://www.podium.com/texting-templates/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">template</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> access, allowing local businesses to launch SMS campaigns in minutes. With top-tier automation features, two-way conversation communication, intuitive data tracking, shared inbox, and creative opt-in touchpoints, they help you build long-lasting </span><a href="https://www.podium.com/article/text-subscriber-list/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">subscriber</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> lists with ease and continue conversations after the point of sale. With their free trial, Podium is a great option for businesses looking for a deal. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">2. Messent</span></h3>
<p><a href="https://messente.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Messente</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is a texting service that offers pro customer service by advising you about which types of messages you should use in your campaigns. It’s a worldwide service, helping B2B organizations reach customers in 190+ countries around the globe. Messente is particularly good at helping businesses deliver notifications and pin codes to their customers via </span><a href="https://www.podium.com/article/mass-texting-services/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">bulk SMS marketing</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">3. Emotive</span></h3>
<p><a href="https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&amp;ai=DChcSEwio1p2sgZaAAxXxJrMAHXmHDzUYABAAGgJ5bQ&amp;sig=AOD64_2__hiWsZH9hY_gJpTUX2VdUgTjPg&amp;q&amp;adurl&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjV9JOsgZaAAxVCk4kEHUPRDx0Q0Qx6BAgJEAE"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Emotive</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> has a range of features that specifically highlight lead generation and allow you to automate two-way conversations with your customers. They also have a simple data dashboard, making data processing, tracking, and analytics easier on your team. The best part? Emotive promises their new customers that they will generate $2500+ in new revenue for them if they spend $500+ on services, or pay the difference. </span></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Take SMS Marketing to the Next Level</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Podium has helped over 150,000+ local businesses generate valuable leads via SMS. With its all-in-one communication and </span><a href="https://www.podium.com/webchat/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">growth solutions</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> like </span><a href="https://www.podium.com/webchat-in-action/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Webchat</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><a href="https://www.podium.com/inbox/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">omnichannel messaging</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Podium’s platform is a one-stop-shop, making your life easier and decreasing the load on your team with the click of a button. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ready to make lead gen and mobile marketing a breeze with the best marketing tool out there? Get started for </span><a href="https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&amp;ai=DChcSEwjvtfOpgpaAAxW5SEcBHZ19DgAYABADGgJxdQ&amp;ei=_1i1ZLr0B6-e5NoPz_Ob4AY&amp;sig=AOD64_0xaXklt-btR_5-7J5-52rBYhbH2Q&amp;sqi=2&amp;adurl&amp;ved=2ahUKEwj67-upgpaAAxUvD1kFHc_5BmwQqyQoAHoECAkQCw"><span style="font-weight: 400;">free</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> today.</span></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">FAQs</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Have a few more questions? We’ve got answers. Check out a few FAQs below. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">What is an SMS lead?</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Good question. An SMS lead is a prospect, or potential customer, who has expressed interest in your organization by providing their contact info through SMS messaging. This type of lead is quickly becoming one of the most powerful lead types in marketing.</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">What is SMS branding?</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">SMS branding is the practice of incorporating brand elements and messaging into your text communications with customers and prospective customers. It involves customizing your content, formatting, and tone to create a consistent brand experience across </span><a href="https://www.podium.com/article/email-sms-marketing/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">all</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of your communication channels. Done well, SMS branding is a great way to help people get to know you and what your organization feels like and stands for.  </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Is SMS marketing illegal?</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Done incorrectly, absolutely. Done correctly,</span><b> absolutely not</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. It’s essential to respect customers’ wishes when texting leads and abide by the communication laws in your area. In the US, compliance involves abiding by the </span><a href="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ultimate-guide-to-sms-marketing.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Telephone Consumer Protection Act</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and other attendant regulations. You should always:</span></p>
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Get proper consent from each recipient.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mention your organization’s name. </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Alert customers about possible texting fees.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Include the option to opt out of all future messages.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Honor opt-outs and customers who unsubscribe. </span></li>
</ol>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Never SPAM, respect your customers, and be transparent, and you’ll be good to go. </span></p>


SMS Lead Generation: A Beginner’s Guide

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