User-generated content (UGC) has proven to be the top email trend of 2020 and looks to be a mainstay to 2021. But email inboxes are becoming increasingly crowded, making it difficult to obtain product reviews and UGC from customers. This is where SMS can come in handy when boosting your product review generation.
While existing customers are more engaged with your brand and excited to see you in their inbox, the challenge is being seen. Currently, only 23% of eCommerce emails are opened by recipients, and of those, only 8.53% are clicked through.
If customers don’t see your review request email, it plunges to the depths of the inbox, unread and unfulfilled.
Why is it important to optimize the amount of UGC that your campaigns are generating? From star ratings and reviews to product imagery and video content, UGC brings a powerful boost to your brand’s credibility. Content that’s created by real-life consumers of your goods provides a rich source of highly persuasive marketing material, increasing trust. The opportunity increases in line with the amount of UGC you’re able to attract, so it pays to make your method of request as productive as possible.
By adopting a multi-channel approach to review generation, you can use a variety of marketing tools to engage customers on different platforms. Thus, increasing the opens, clicks, and UGC your brand deserves.
In this article, we’re going to focus on how you can further increase the UGC collection for your brand using SMS strategies. These strategies have an impressive 98% open rate and a 45% conversion rate—the perfect score for driving action with your promotional efforts.
What is SMS Marketing?
SMS marketing is the sending of text messages to a customer’s mobile phone as part of a marketing campaign. For example, you might use SMS marketing for Shopify product launches, sale events, or product review requests.
The visibility and engagement power of SMS makes it particularly suited to driving desired consumer actions because:
1. SMS Cuts Through the Mayhem of the Email Inbox
Customers are more likely to see and open eCommerce SMS marketing messages. Why? Because there isn’t the noise of the email inbox to cut through. Instead, SMS messages have much quieter surroundings, making them more noticeable and visible.
2. SMS Captures Immediate Attention
Text messages come with an audible alert, push notification, and a count badge that immediately notify the recipient, demand attention, and attract engagement.
3. SMS Denotes Familiarity and Trust
SMS is a channel usually reserved for family and friends. This creates a subconscious feeling of friendliness that customers are more likely to engage with and `respond to.
4. SMS is a Preferred Communication Channel
Almost two-thirds of people would switch to a company offering text messages as a communication channel. Customers like communicating via text message, and with the average person spending 5.4 hours a day on their phone, it’s no surprise.
Why is SMS Great at Generating Reviews and UGC?
SMS messages are also excellent at generating product reviews and UGC, which are crucial for eCommerce success. Why?
- Trust: online shoppers trust third-party reviews, with 79% of consumers saying that UGC impacts their purchasing decisions.
- Direction: product reviews tell the brain what to do next, providing it with a shortcut to purchase without additional research or deliberation.
- Information: UGC provides customers with verified information they need to purchase with confidence, such as fit, size, and quality.
- Inclusion: social proof creates FOMO — fear of missing out on a product everyone else is enjoying.
Ecommerce product reviews and UGC require effort on behalf of your customers. And this can be difficult to encourage, especially if your email review request is lying in an inbox unread.
This is where SMS marketing can help. SMS is a powerful addition to your existing review generation emails, generating:
In fact, measured over a period of 30 days, grooming & wellness brand Scotch Porter was able to increase review generation by 12.5% by sending review requests via SMS!
How to Power Up Review Requests with SMS integrations
With Okendo’s new integration with Postscript, you can add SMS messages into your review generation flow in four easy steps:
1. Link Postscript with Okendo
Log into your Postscript account and in the API tab click Create Security Key Pair > Show and then highlight and copy the private key code.
On Okendo, go to Settings > Integrations > Postscript and paste the private key code into the corresponding field, and click Save.
2. Enable automation in Postscript
Back in Postscript, click on the Automation tab to create a new automation trigger.
Name the trigger “Okendo Review Request” and in the drop-down menu select Okendo Review Request.
On the following page, create the SMS message that will be sent to customers and click Save Automation. Don’t forget to include the {review_url} tag in your message so customers can leave a review.
3. Create a sequence in Okendo
In Okendo, navigate to the Sequences page (Mail > Sequences) and set up a new mail sequence. Set the Wait time between a customer’s purchase and sending them an SMS review request and add an email review request for customers who do not opt into SMS messaging.
4. Save
Save your changes, and you’re set. It really is that simple.
Ready to Boost UGC Generation via SMS?
Product reviews and UGC are essential for eCommerce success. While email is a great tool for generating this valuable social proof, there are always customers who neglect their inbox, have an overzealous spam filter (see “7 hacks Behind Highly-converting Emails“), or see your email at work and forget about it by the time they’re home (see “Best Email Send-Times to Up Your Conversion Rates“).
The Okendo-Postscript integration enables you to reach these customers on a different platform, using the power of SMS to generate impressive results that maximize your reach and success.
Learn more about the new Okendo-Postscript integration and the benefits it could provide your store.
—Written by Amanda Calderon (Head of Onboarding and Support) from Okendo
