How to Use SMS to Increase Webinar Attendance and Engagement

Leverage the power of SMS for webinars to increase attendance and reduce no-shows.

SMS is one of the best communication channels for fast outreach and automated reminders and updates.

A great example of using SMS to interact with targeted audiences is webinars. You can send customized SMS messages to invite people to your webinars and also interact with them after holding the webinar.

In this blog post, we’ll let you know how to take advantage of SMS for webinars and use WP SMS to automate your communications.

Why Use SMS for Webinars?

First, let’s see why you need to use SMS for webinars while there are some great options like email and social media.

Here are the benefits of SMS for webinars:

• Higher Open Rates: SMS has a 98% open rate so you can be sure that everyone sees your webinar invitation.

• Faster Response Times: People usually read their text messages within three minutes. So it’s great for last-minute reminders and updates about your webinar.

• Automation & Personalization: SMS platforms let you easily automate and schedule bulk marketing campaigns and can talk to your audience at a personal level without manual intervention.

• Integration: SMS can easily be integrated with your current platforms to run SMS campaigns without switching your dashboard.

Pre-Webinar SMS Strategies to Boost Attendance

You need to prepare your SMS campaign long before your webinar to make sure all possible attendees are aware of it.

Of course, you can’t simply send text messages and expect people to attend your webinar. You need a strong strategy to reach out to the targeted audience and convert them into loyal members.

The following timetable shows typical planning for your pre-webinar SMS strategy:

Of course, you need to revise this table to fit your business requirements and limitations. 

Here are some tips to maximize the conversion rate of your pre-webinar SMS campaign. 

1. Build an Omnichannel Marketing Strategy

SMS is great, but it’s not enough. Your SMS marketing campaigns should be part of an omnichannel marketing strategy for your webinars.

Try to make the most out of all possible communication channels like social media, email, in-store activities, physical/paper ads, websites, etc.

You need to consider a unique tone and style that fits your brand culture and use it across all the channels. This way, relevant audiences will remember your brand even if they don’t attend your webinars.

2. Send Personalized Invitations

As you know, the first impression is really impactful. So spend enough time on the content of your first webinar SMS.

Your invitation should create a sense of curiosity about your webinar and encourage your audience to get more information about it.

You need to create excitement about your webinar so that your recipients think they’ve been invited to a webinar that they have waited for, not an ordinary one.

Look at the following webinar invitation SMS example and try to come up with new ideas for your webinar:

3. Send Confirmation Messages

One of the biggest mistakes of businesses in SMS marketing is that they quit the conversation after reaching what they want.

Imagine you ask an audience to buy something and then leave the conversation after the customer purchases. This is really rude and will dent your brand reputation.

You should not act just like a selling machine, but as a human who wants a long-lasting partnership.

You need to pay special attention to this point in webinars, particularly in professional ones. Try to continue interaction after someone registers.

One great strategy to do that is to send a confirmation SMS to acknowledge their sign-up and guide them to the next steps.

Here is a good webinar confirmation SMS sample:

When you send such messages, your attendees believe that they’re part of your story and you put value on their registration.

4. Send Reminder Messages

People receive advertisement messages and might forget about your webinar SMS messages.

So try to create reminder SMS templates for your webinar and schedule them at the best time to reduce no-shows.

You can send reminders at strategic intervals:

• 3 days before = A gentle reminder of the upcoming event.
• 1 day before = A more urgent reminder with details.
• 1 hour before = A final nudge with the webinar link.

Here is an example:

5. Encourage Calendar Additions

Another great idea to reduce no-shows is to send calendar links so that your audience can add the webinar to their events with a single click.

Look at the example to see how:

You can use Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar to create the link.

6. Send a Last-Minute Push Notification

Many people struggle to make decisions so you need to use push notifications for them. So prepare a last-minute message for those who haven’t registered yet. 

Try to emphasize exclusivity or urgency in this message and create a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out.)

When people feel they might lose something, decide immediately. Look at this webinar SMS reminder to see how it works:

SMS Engagement Tactics During the Webinar

You need to keep your interaction with attendees even during the webinar. This is just as important as getting them to attend.

Here is a summary of what you can do using SMS during your webinar:

Now, let’s review some details and SMS examples during the webinar:

1. Send a Welcome Message

A warm welcome SMS at the beginning of the webinar can strengthen your relationship with your attendees.

A well-written welcome SMS should:

• Review the value of the webinar.
• Mention the speaker to build credibility.
• Provide the joining link for easy access.
• Encourage interaction and participation.

2. Encourage Interaction

Think of various ways to interact with your attendees and build a long-term friendship. For example, you can use Q&A sessions, live polls, and feedback requests to give them a say.

When attendees feel involved, they will probably remember your brand and this will improve customer loyalty and brand reputation.

Here is an SMS example of a Q&A invitation during a webinar:

You can also send a message like the one below to invite them to an online poll:

If you let attendees know the results of polls and other interactions at the end of the webinar, they feel valued and this is great for your popularity.

3. Share Key Takeaways in Real-Time

This is another great SMS idea to keep your attendees engaged during the webinar. You can summarize the main points and allow them to refer back later.

Apart from engaging the existing participants, sharing key points helps those who have joined the webinar late.

Here is a good SMS sample:

4. Provide Helpful Links

Sometimes you can’t explain all the details in your webinar. So you can use SMS to compensate for the missing details by redirecting your participants to useful sources.

Include links to supplementary resources, slides, or downloadable content on your website and encourage your audience to study more. 

Here is an SMS sample:

5. Announce Giveaways & Incentives

One of the concerns of webinars is that participants leave the meeting before the end of the session.

You can use incentives and other special offers or giveaways to encourage people to stay until the end. The following SMS sample shows how to do that:

Post-Webinar SMS Strategies to Maintain Engagement

Now, imagine you have held your webinar and your participants want to leave the meeting. It’s essential to keep in touch with a strong post-webinar SMS strategy.

Try to nurture attendees and maximize long-term engagement using a plan like the following table:

Look at the following examples to learn how to continue your communications with your audience after your webinars.

1. Thank Attendees for Joining

Again, you need to appreciate your attendees due to their participation. A simple thank-you message like the one below can leave a positive impression:

2. Share the Replay Link

One of the greatest ideas for webinars is to share the downloadable link of the recorded session.

This helps the attendees to watch it later if they forget something. More importantly, absents who have missed the live session will also use it. 

You can also ask them to share the link to spread the word and improve your brand identity. So include the link in an SMS like the one below and share it with your audience:

3. Gather Feedback

If you want to improve your webinars in the future, the best idea is to collect feedback after the current webinar.

You can send feedback requests using SMS after your webinar and ask your attendees about their opinions.

Here is a good example:

4. Send Exclusive Offers

Webinars are great opportunities for increasing brand awareness and generating new leads. Although you should not consider them a selling opportunity, you can offer smart offers to entice participants to try your products/services.

So if your webinar included a product or service pitch, send a follow-up SMS with an exclusive offer like this:

5. Promote Upcoming Events

Last but not least, you can take advantage of this webinar to promote the next event. The following SMS example shows how to do that:

Extra Tips for Your Webinar SMS Strategy

Apart from the SMS idea, you need to pay special attention to some tips in SMS marketing to maximize the performance of your webinar SMS campaign.

Here are some tips for your webinar SMS strategy:

• Don’t Overwhelm Your Audience: Please bear in mind that you don’t need to send all of the 15 webinar SMS ideas we mentioned. If you send too many SMS messages, you might annoy recipients and make them unsubscribe. So choose only the most essential messages according to your requirements.

• Perfect Your Timing: Send reminders at the best moments and avoid untimely hours because it might lead to your number being blocked.

• Segment & Personalize Your Messages: Try to segment your audience according to important factors like demographics to send targeted messages. Also, use the recipient’s name, webinar topic, or relevant details so that the recipient feels special.

• Include Clear CTAs & Shortened Links: All of your webinar SMS messages should have a clear action with a shortened link to relevant web pages.

• A/B Test Your Messages: Find the best version of your messages by trying various wording, timing, and CTAs.

• Comply with SMS Regulations: Follow local regulations like GDPR or TCPA. Remember that providing a way for unsubscription is essential to avoid dissatisfaction and legal fines.

The Right Tool for Sending SMS Invitations for Webinars

Last but not least, you need a versatile SMS platform to run automated SMS webinars with high efficiency.

Here are some features to look for when choosing an SMS tool:

• Automation & Scheduling
• Personalization
• Two-Way Communication
• Analytics & Reporting
• Integration with Your Existing Platforms

So you need to consider your requirements and resources before choosing the platform for your webinar. For example, if you have a WordPress website for your business, the best idea is to go for an SMS plugin for your site.

This way, you can integrate your SMS marketing with your digital marketing strategies and use your website to use data in your SMS campaigns. 

One of the best SMS plugins for WordPress is WP SMS. It offers advanced features and add-ons and allows you to run bulk messaging campaigns directly from your dashboard.

Here are some of the advantages of WP SMS:

• 300+ SMS gateways
• Dynamic content feature
• Integration with WooCommerce, Booking, FluentCRM, and Zapier
• Automated notifications and updates
• Segmentation

WP SMS offers a free plan with basic features and diverse pricing packages for advanced features and integrations. 

Final Thoughts

SMS is a powerful tool for increasing webinar attendance and engagement. You need to take advantage of SMS as a part of your omnichannel marketing strategy for your webinars. You need to prepare well-timed, personalized SMS templates before, during, and after the webinar to create a perfect user experience. With the strategies we introduced, you can significantly enhance your webinar success and maximize interactions. Also, you can take advantage of the capabilities of WP SMS to maximize your webinar SMS campaign performance. So try the demo version of WP SMS to get familiar with its features and then choose your package to start your webinar SMS campaign.

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