Link shortener in SMS automation
When you use links in your SMS messages, please note that one SMS can have a maximum length of 160 characters. That's why long links can be problematic and take up a lot of space. Fortunately, you don't have to worry about that with inMobile. Here you have the opportunity to shorten your link in the most credible way possible.
How to use shortened links in SMS automation
Before you get started: You need to create a subdomain before you can use the link shortener feature in your SMS messages. See how to set up a subdomain here: Guide: Setting up a subdomain.
Once you have created a subdomain, you are ready to use prepended links in your SMS automations. Here's how you do it:
- In inMobile: Go to the menu item "SMS automations".
- Click on "Create new SMS automation".
- Fill in the fields provided:
Title: Enter a title for your automation for internal use.
Recipients: Select the list you want to use as a trigger - or create a new list.
Segmentation: If you need to segment your list of recipients further, select "Segmentation" here.
Country code: Specify whether you only want to send messages to one country or to everyone on the list regardless of the country code.
Advanced: Should a recipient be able to receive the message multiple times if they unsubscribe and rejoin the flow? Then you need to opt in here.
Sending window: Set your desired sending window for the messages in the flow. - Click "Next".
- Choose whether you want to unsubscribe from your messages and click "Next". Note. Unsubscribing is required by law in SMS marketing messages.
- Click "Create message" and write the first SMS in your SMS automation. Paste your entire link in the message field.
- To shorten your link, activate "Link tracking / link shortener" and select the domain you want to use. In the example message to the right, you can see how your shortened link will look to the recipient.
- Once you have written your message, select a send time and click "Save".
- If you want to create more messages in your automation, follow the same procedure as above by clicking "Create message".
- When you're done creating your messages, click "Next" and then "Activate automation". Your automation is now active.
Benefits of shortened links
By shortening your links, you can gain several benefits. Here are some examples.
More trustworthy links
When you shorten your link in inMobile, your link still contains your brand name. That's not the case when you shorten links via one of the many online link shorteners (also called URL shorteners) available. When the brand name stays in the link, it significantly increases credibility and studies have shown that it also increases click-through rates by up to 39%.
Optimisation of message length
Considering that an SMS message is limited to 160 characters, a link shortener is a huge advantage. With inMobile's link shortener, you can link to wherever you want without worrying about the link taking up too many characters. Read more about this in our article on the limitations of the SMS format.
Increased engagement
When you use links in your SMS messages, you can guide recipients to selected landing pages that are relevant to your message. This makes it more likely that recipients will respond to your message, ultimately increasing recipient engagement and your conversion rate.
Bonus: Shortened links reveal click-through rates
A bonus of shortening your link is that you also enable link tracking and are able to see how many recipients have actually clicked on your link. This number is called your click-through rate and will be displayed during each broadcast.
You can use the click-through rate to assess how effective your SMS has been compared to other messages with links. That way, you can continuously improve your ability to write SMS messages that engage the recipient.