Overview:
Effective management of contacts (leads) is crucial for successful SMS marketing campaigns. Properly organising leads into lists ensures targeted communication, better engagement, and accurate reporting. Each lead must have a Source ID and a Country assigned, which helps in tracking and managing them efficiently.
Business Need:
Proper lead management and organisation into lists are essential for several reasons. Firstly, it enables targeted marketing by segmenting your audience based on various criteria. Secondly, effective list management enhances the efficiency of retargeting efforts, leading to higher engagement and conversion rates.
Uploading or Posting Leads:
1. Uploading Leads via CSV:
- Navigate to the Leads section in your SMSWiser account.
- Click on Import data and choose Upload CSV.
- Select the file from your computer and upload it. Make sure to choose the correct delimiter.
- Match the columns of your file to SMSWiser’s lead data fields. Some fields can be pre-matched for you automatically by the system. Make sure to check the correctness and adjust the matching, if needed.
- Ensure each lead in the file has a Source ID and a Country. If these parameters are not defined in your file, you can assign them during the import process.
- Click Submit to complete the upload.
2. Posting Leads via API:
- Use the generated token from your Source ID for secure API POSTing.
- Ensure the API request includes all required fields, such as the Source ID and the Country.
- Follow the API documentation provided by SMSWiser to format your data correctly and send the leads.
Understanding Lead Types:
- Unique Leads: The first instance of a lead with a unique phone number is considered a Unique lead.
- Duplicate Leads: Subsequent leads with the same phone number are considered Duplicates.
- Unsubscribed Leads: Leads who use the opt-out option are considered Unsubscribed. Such leads won’t receive SMS until they choose to subscribe again.
- Landline Leads: Leads whose mobile phone numbers after HLR do not belong to any mobile carriers and are the Landlines instead, are considered Landlines. Such leads won’t receive SMS for clients’ money saving reason.
- Every lead, regardless of its Type, must have a Source ID and a Country assigned.
- It’s advisable to create lists with the Uniques and/or Duplicate Leads only. Other Lead Types, even if added to the list, won’t receive SMS messages as described above.
Creating and Managing Lists:
1. Creating a List:
- After importing or posting leads, it’s essential to organise them into lists.
- Navigate to the Leads section and click on + Create list.
- Name your list appropriately and click Submit.
2. Editing Lists:
- To edit a list, go to the Lists section.
- Select the list you want to modify and click on Options -> Edit.
- You can set various conditions such as Country, Source ID, Timestamp and Added period, and other relevant parameters to refine your list.
3. Using Filters to Manage Leads:
- Clients can apply multiple filters to manage their contact base effectively.
- Filters can include criteria like Country, Source ID, engagement metrics, and more.
- Proper filtering helps in segmenting the audience for targeted marketing efforts.
4. Dynamic vs. Static Date Ranges:
- Dynamic Date Ranges: Options like Today, Yesterday, Last 1 hour, Last 3 days, Last 7 days, This month, Last 30 days, Last 60 days, Last month, Last 3 months, This year, Last year, and All time are dynamic. These options continuously update to reflect the current date and time. For example, selecting “Today” will always filter for the current day.
- Custom Date Time Range: This is a static date range where clients can specify exact start and end dates and times. This range will not update automatically and remains fixed based on the specified period.
Importance of Proper List Management:
- Targeted Marketing: Segmenting leads into lists allows for personalised and targeted marketing campaigns, leading to higher engagement.
- Accurate Reporting: Organised lists enable precise tracking of campaign performance and lead source profitability.
- Efficient Retargeting: Proper list management facilitates effective retargeting based on engagement metrics, enhancing conversion rates.
Retargeting Contacts:
- After initial sendouts, clients can retarget contacts based on various criteria such as clicks, conversions, receiving of drops, and/or campaigns.
- Retargeting helps in maximising the potential of your contact base by focusing on engaged users.
- More details on retargeting can be found in the Advanced Features section of this website.
Example Scenario:
Imagine you are running a campaign targeting leads from different sources. By organising these leads into lists based on their Source ID and engagement metrics, you can send tailored messages to each segment. For instance, leads who have previously clicked on your messages can receive follow-up offers, while new leads can be targeted with introductory promotions. This segmentation ensures that your messages are relevant and engaging, leading to better campaign performance.
Benefits:
- Enhanced Targeting: Better segmentation leads to more effective and personalised marketing efforts.
- Improved Engagement: Targeted messages resonate more with recipients, increasing engagement rates.
- Streamlined Management: Organised lists simplify the management of large contact bases.
- Optimised Retargeting: Effective retargeting strategies improve conversion rates and ROI.
By managing your contacts and organising them into lists effectively, you can optimise your SMS marketing campaigns for better results and higher engagement.