Proof SMS Messaging Gets Results: Increase Traffic
Does SMS messaging get results? Yes, it does. And in the second of The Results Series we’ll look at how it increases traffic to your website online and into physical stores too. In the first blog of the series, I covered opt-ins and how quickly SMS helps build marketing lists. If you want to start from the beginning, you can find it here.
But today’s post is all about traffic. I’ve researched and found case studies, statistics and testimonials specifically focused on how SMS is used to generate traffic. The data comes from all over the web, though I’ve only included the ones I know are trustworthy.
Online Traffic
Without visitors to your website, you might as well not have one. And getting traffic is a challenge that plagues any online business. Thankfully, there are many examples of how using SMS messaging increases traffic.
The first one is from a single online clothing retailer who sent out SMS messages for sales on Boxing Day. Here are their results for year over year website traffic:
- 27% increase from all sources
- 45% increase from direct links
- 93% increase in mobile traffic
That last number is impressive, right? Not everyone they sent the message to visited the website right away (as evidenced by the increase in overall traffic). But the SMS campaign resulted in an amazing 93% more mobile visitors than the previous year. That’s more anecdotal evidence that more people are researching and buying from mobile platforms. This evidence is backed up by a study done by Adobe, that found in the UK, £4.10 out of every £10 spent over the 2016 holidays originated from a smartphone.
This retailer had spectacular results using SMS messaging. But they aren’t the only example.
Every Online Retailer's...Dream?
One e-commerce fashion store used SMS messaging to announce major sales. They said they had the best response they’ve ever seen when using SMS. In case that wasn’t clear, that means it was the best out of every channel they’d ever used.
It was so good in fact, that they crashed their server after one promotion. The response was so good, it actually broke their systems. They dreamed of getting great response, but they didn’t plan to crash the site! But that’s still an indication of how well, and fast, SMS messaging can work. On a side note, fastsms offers a feature called “throttling” which can help spread out messages so this doesn’t happen to you! Check our support centre for more information or click live chat and ask us about it.
Traffic Keeps on Giving
Remember that successful Boxing Day promotion I mentioned above? Well, beyond getting traffic and immediate sales from that, they also managed to pull in even more customers.
It turns out that the company uses something called remarketing. It’s when you see ads for a website you visited recently. Anyway, they used remarketing on all those visitors that came based on the SMS promotion, but didn’t buy at the time. According to the company, this turned many of those visitors into buying customers over the course of time.
Increasing Foot Traffic
Physical, or brick and mortar, stores face their own challenges. Changing economic times, including the growth of online shopping, means it can be hard to get people to visit physical stores. If there’s a downturn, the usual sales and adverts don’t work as well. But SMS messaging can cut through those issues, and get your most loyal customers back into the store.
Here are some results retailers saw after starting SMS campaigns:
- Foot traffic up 21% after sending mobile coupons
- 10% more traffic in 2 months (also added 1,000 new subscribers!)
To see more about increasing foot traffic with SMS messaging, check out our aptly named blog How to Increase Retail Foot Traffic.
Not Just Retail
So far, the examples I’ve shared are all retail sales. But SMS messaging is great for any business or organisation that needs to get people’s attention – and their time.
For example, there was a nightclub that needed a boost in attendance for certain shows and nights. So, they sent out an SMS alert with a special code. After sending just one message to their list (for one night), they received a bump of 11% attendance. They went on to use it at other times too.
A second example is about a non-profit whose mission was to raise awareness about sexually transmitted infections and the available treatments. Not something nice to talk about obviously, but they wanted to help as many people as they could. So, to grab attention, they created a contest. The result was 10,000 came to their website over the four-week campaign.
It’s hard to deny SMS can drive online and foot traffic after seeing all this data. It really is one of the best ways you can reach your audience or customers in our mobile age. Be sure to come back for the next blog that offers proof of how good conversions are when you use SMS messaging.
Related Articles
Don’t Believe The Myth of The “Cashless Shopper”
Sometimes bloggers or journalists get a bit carried away. They see some data or fact, and run off to declare there’s a trend you need to know about. The latest one I’ve seen is all about how to reach the generation of “cashless shoppers”. The argument goes that you need to use SMS messaging to reach customers because they are all shopping online – where you obviously can’t pay in cash.
SMS Marketing for the Domestic Pets Market
With consumer spending on Britain's 57 million furry friends valued at over £4.5 Million and all the signs showing that this is only going to increase, there has never been a better time for the sector to invest in marketing - and SMS marketing should be top priority. As pet owners spend more and more time pampering their pets and investing in pet paraphernalia, the opportunities are infinite. SMS marketing is one of the best ways to ensure that your offers get seen - and in most cases, instantly. With its low costs, exceptionally high open rates and above average response rates, SMS Marketing offers huge potential for ROI.
SMS Messaging Makes for Great Customer Service
It was late Thursday afternoon on a busy week when I heard the familiar jingle. I received a text message from the company I rented a DVD from about a week prior (I know, who rents DVDs these days - but stay with me). They wanted to ask if I’d forgotten about it, since I hadn’t yet returned it. Indeed I had forgotten.
B2B Needs to Get Mobile and Digital
Businesses that sell to other businesses (B2B) are having trouble keeping up in the digital and mobile age. That’s according to a couple of eMarketer articles. The reasons for it are varied, but it may be mostly because they’ve been slow to acknowledge a change in culture.
Retailers Can Use SMS Marketing For More Than Just Coupons
Discount codes, limited time sales, special exclusive pricing...you may have seen, or used, all of these in a text message campaign. For retailers, it is the most obvious and direct use of SMS marketing. It works and it's cost effective. But are there other ways you can put your SMS channel to work for you?
Do Your SMS Marketing Messages Sound Spammy?
If you aren’t seeing a positive response from your SMS marketing then your list may be thinking of it as spam and just ignoring it like they do much of their email. So take your latest marketing messages and examine them again with these four questions in mind.
How an SMS Customer Survey can Take Your Business to the Next Level
When it comes to small to medium sized businesses, however, a lot of companies believe that they don't have the time or resources to truly find out who their customers are. This often results in confused messaging, emails with low open rates and low conversion levels on their website. There is, however, a way that businesses can collect precious data from their customers which will not only help them engage with their customer base on a personal level but also result in data which can help power future marketing campaigns as well as improve aspects of the company.
SMS Remarketing: What It’s All About
You’ve seen or heard about remarketing online. But did you know you can use SMS to remarket to visitors who abandon their cart in your ecommerce store? According to one study, using it can double your conversion rates. Check out the blog to see the details.
4 Tips for SMS Marketing Success
SMS marketing is one of the most effective and efficient marketing channels currently available, enabling businesses to directly communicate with their target customers. If you're considering building your first SMS marketing campaign, or you have already ran a campaign but achieved limited success, read on to see how you can build an effective SMS marketing campaign to achieve your business objectives.
5 Reasons You Want to Use SMS Messaging in Your Business
Are you looking to grow your business? Get more customers? Have larger profits? Of course you are. Isn't every business looking to improve, grow and generate more sales? More and more businesses are realising how SMS messaging can help them do all those things. But it's nice to have some facts to back up what most people seem to assume is true.