Learn how to go beyond engagement metrics and leverage your influencers to build a valuable list of contacts.
Influencer marketing is a $5 billion dollar industry.
This is old news. You already know influencers are valuable.
However, you may not be sure exactly how much value they bring. Maybe you have the gnawing suspicion you could do more to get a higher return?
You’re not alone. An influencer marketing benchmark report found that roughly 30% of brands that use influencer marketing don’t measure their ROI.
On top of that, 56% say their managers don’t understand the metrics and 11.8% have had underperforming campaigns.
Some brands don’t track the results of their influencer campaigns at all. Those that do usually rely on three things:
All of these are important but fall short.
With UTM parameters, you may be able to see the traffic influencers drive to your site—but what if their fans don’t make a purchase or provide you with their emails? Now you’ve lost them.
What if they do leave their email? Are you able to correctly attribute specific email subscribers to specific influencers? If not, you’re selling your influencer campaign short.
Branded landing pages require a lot of work to build. Especially if you need one for each influencer you work with.
Engagement is valuable, but likes don’t pay the bills. We all prefer actual sales numbers to vanity metrics when it comes time to report on ROI.
A keyword is a short word or phrase that fans can text to a phone number to sign up for text messages.
With SimpleTexting, all paid plans come with unlimited keywords.
This means you can create a unique keyword for each of your influencers.
For example, you could set up keywords like “KYLIE20” or “SAM20”. When someone texts in this keyword to your brand’s phone number, you can trigger an autoresponder with a link for 20% off.
Now you’ll know exactly which customers came from which influencer!
Plus, you’ll build a valuable list of phone numbers that you can send messages to later on. This means you benefit from the effectiveness of SMS as a marketing channel.
Our customers have used SMS to increase revenue by 20%, drive 25% conversion rates, and bring in 1,668% ROI.
You’ll also be able to look at the following metrics:
Yes. The reason texting is such an effective channel is that people want to receive texts from brands they love.
A survey of over 500 millennials reported that 75% think text messaging is a convenient way to receive reminders, notifications, surveys, and promotional offers.
In our Text Marketing 2020 Report, we found that 41.3% of business owners report their text message opt-in rates have increased over the past year.
If you’re still not convinced, consider that people are already on their phones when they engage with your influencers’ content.
50% of all internet traffic comes from mobile devices, and that number’s even higher when you look at specific platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter.
If you don’t have an account with a SMS marketing software, we recommend you sign up for a 14-day free trial of SimpleTexting. Your trial will come with one free keyword and 50 free SMS messages.
Go to Keywords on the left-hand side of your dashboard. Then enter your keyword and auto-confirmation message, in other words, the first text that your influencers’ fans will receive.
We recommend you create a system or convention for your keywords. For example, the name of your brand combined with the influencer’s first name. (e.g. TJMaxAdam) If that’s too long, you could do the name of the influencer with the percentage discount you plan to offer. (e.g. Kylie20)
The CTIA (Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association) has guidelines regarding SMS keywords. It’s crucial that you and your influencers follow these. Don’t worry, it’s easy. Just ask your influencers to tell followers that:
All of the above disclaimers should be included in all posts that mention your keyword.
The key point is that anyone who texts in your keyword should know exactly what they’re signing up for. If you plan to send them future promotions and announcements, they should know that before they sign up.
Now that you have a list of phone numbers, you can send them other relevant messages! Be sure that each text promotion you send to your influencers’ followers is valuable. The last thing you want to do is come off as spammy.
Need some inspiration? Check out these seven ideas. Feel free to get creative. Go beyond discounts and send blog posts, weekly tips, event invites, and more.
As a marketer, sometimes it can feel like you need to jump on every new trend. New social platforms pop up every day.
It’s challenging to decide which ones are worth your time and resources.
Celebrities may have just begun to text their fans, but SMS isn’t a fad or a trend.
It’s been around since 1992, and it’s clearly here to stay.
SMS keywords are an easy way to capitalize on this growth, optimize your existing campaigns, and increase sales.
Alfredo is SimpleTexting's brand manager. He's passionate about using his 10+ years of marketing experience to help small businesses grow.
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