How to Integrate SMS into Your Website

Mobile phone marketing can be particularly effective in reaching your customers, keeping them informed and building strong relationships. To make the most of it though, you need to integrate it seamlessly into the fabric of your website. This tutorial takes a look at how to do this, and how you can benefit from features such as email to text message, and email to mobile forwarding. Both websites and SMS are powerful tools in your marketing toolbox. By combining their functions you can achieve some exceptional results. Your website can be used to promote your products and services, but it can also be used to capture phone numbers for use in your mobile phone marketing. 1. Use your website to gather mobile numbers The simplest way to begin gathering numbers is by including a small form on your homepage with a space for web users to enter their mobile phone number. For example, you might invite them to “Enter your phone number here for free updates about X” or “Leave us your phone number and a member of our sales team will be in touch.” Alternatively, you might include a section for a mobile number in your account sign-up forms, with a checkbox option to receive text alerts. 2. Link up to a computer to SMS messaging service Once you have a database of contact numbers, it’s then just a simple matter of transporting that database into your SMS messaging contacts list. Once you have a collection of numbers you can then utilise the email to text message function to keep those who opted in up to date with the most current developments regarding your products or services. This is generally much quicker and easier than updating your website with every little detail, and because those who receive your texts have chosen to be sent such updates, you can be sure that it’s reaching the right people. 3. Two-way communication The great thing about mobile phone marketing is that it enables a two-way conversation between your business and its customers. Upon receiving updates and information from you, the recipient can reply to your text as they would any other, potentially providing you with vital information about customer attitudes towards your business. This kind of communication can do wonders for your customer relations, as it gets them involved with your brand rather than being passive consumers. 4. Getting the message back from your customers Many online SMS services also offer the facility to automatically forward emails you receive to any mobile(s) you choose. To fully utilise this feature, you might want to set up a form on your website which enables your customers to send you a quick email with any queries they may have or to register their interest in what you have to offer. You can then set up a system that forwards all such emails to the mobile phones of your sales team, who can quickly respond to these leads, wherever they are. 5. In-house messages As well as email to text message, you can also integrate web to SMS into your site, which can be highly useful for internal communications on your company’s own intranet, particularly if you have a lot of remote or mobile employees. There are many ways in which you can integrate SMS services and mobile phone marketing features into your website. Finding those that are most useful to your business is limited only by your creativity and ambition.