How Short URLs can be Used with Messenger Apps

People have always been chatty; they just like to do it over text these days. One way to ensure that your link is easily shared over a messenger app is to shorten it. Long URLs in messenger go off to a graveyard of un-clickables. They are too hard to manage and are often abandoned to a fast-moving conversation.

That’s why, in order to get noticed—especially for brands focusing on chat, it’s important to know the ways in which a shortened link can help you (and how to use one).

Multi-Channel Marketing

If you have a landing page or website, you can take your conversation up a notch by embedding a shortened link to messenger in a page. This encourages visitors to journey further down the sales funnel and begin an actual conversation. Once you have a consumer in chat, you can use shortened links to guide them to more relevant content.

A shortened link in messenger will also help you gather all the data from multiple channels into one repository. This makes aggregation and comparison of customer information more streamlined. It also helps you know where to direct further messaging.

Webinars

This is one of the most effective pieces of content there is, but webinars often have long links. This means people tend to click them less. Additionally, since they are so powerful, they should be tracked accordingly. Using a short link can solve both problems. It can answer questions like:

• How many people attended?
• How many stayed until the end?
• Who was influenced by the link?
• How many people clicked?
• Where should I focus future efforts?

This type of data can be used to make upcoming decisions about webinar content and campaigns in general. Which channel yielded the most attendees? Start there. Short URLs will help you better understand the behavior of your target audience.

Campaigns

Whether you are running an email drip campaign or an SMS sequence, a short URL is the key to creating further engagement. You can either include it in the messenger conversation itself (linking back to your site) or you can direct people to messenger through a shortened URL.

Facebook is the king of automated messaging through a messenger app. It’s a good place to start if you want to utilize shortened links. You can even program a chatbot to provide a variety of short URLs in an automated chat. Then you can just sit back and analyze the data of the user interaction.

Consumer Experience

There is nothing like one-on-one engagement for a consumer that is ready to buy but has a ton of questions. Messenger apps are an incredible invention for sales because it allows this personal interaction without the need to be in a customer’s physical space. Yet, the consumer experience remains the same.

A short URL that connects a user to a messenger app, and then directs them toward your branded material, creates an authentic and natural buyer’s journey. People have the chance to speak and engage with your brand (even if it’s a bot) before they move on to your content. It adds an additional touchpoint that involves a higher level of trust and a larger step toward conversion.

Messenger apps are an amazing platform for both sales and marketing teams when used correctly. They are informal, yet personal. The space creates a sense of trust and a more wholesome user experience.

Using shortened links only furthers this state. It helps the consumer easily follow and manage resources, while also tracking invaluable data about your audience. There are a variety of ways you can use short URLs in messenger, but one thing is for certain…it’s a win for all.