Gary V: Increasing Social Media Engagement with SMS Marketing
If you’re a digital marketer, entrepreneur, or have been on youtube for excessive periods of time, you’ve probably seen a youtube video made by Gary V. Part marketer and internet personality, Gary V has built up a loyal fan base over the years.
Now what does Gary V have to do with SMS… and why would an influencer start texting their followers?
Gary V has started building an SMS list and is actively texting his followers motivational content as well as driving them to engage with his personal brand.
What does this SMS Marketing Strategy Look Like?
Gary V. uses SMS to increase social media engagement as well as drive traffic to his podcast. Here’s what it looks like:
The first step is to start building your list of contacts. You can grow your list faster just by leveraging your current audience. The faster you gain traction in list size, the more effective your texting efforts will be.
Once your audience starts to sign up, follow up with an automated welcome message. This set the stage for all future content you’ll be sending.
Start sending out content. Avoid trying to sell too soon. Your SMS list should make your contacts feel like they’re getting intimate content from you. Gary V does an excellent job early on in his SMS marketing by sending quick motivational content to inspire not sell. Here’s an example of one of his “warm up videos”.
After you’ve warmed up your subscribers with filler content, start getting creative with driving traffic and engagement to your social posts. In this example Gary V incentivizes them to promote his twitter and podcasts with a competition driven by posting on the subscribers twitter.
If you can’t afford to fly you audience to NYC or don’t have a podcast, you can always opt in to drive traffic and engagement to specific posts.
TL;DR
- An SMS marketing strategy can supercharge your other marketing efforts.
- Incentivize your audience to stay on your SMS list by offering great content and free offers.
- Drive your SMS subscribers to engage with your other marketing channels (twitter, instagram, podcasts).
- Just Text. It’s Easier.
