Smartlinks

Using a Blueprint Smartlink is a great way to grow your subscriber base by creating a pre-populated SMS message on a customer's mobile device that can be used to opt them in.

What are Smartlinks?

When a smartlink URL is followed on a mobile device, it will pre-populate a chosen Keyword or Phrase on the users mobile device such as 'JOIN' or 'Hey I want to join the VIP group'. By clicking 'send', the customer will be added to your subscriber list and receive a customised auto-response linked to that keyword or phrase. By proactively texting you, they are giving you explicit consent to text them and opting in.

Smartlinks can be added wherever a URL can be added such as footers/social media/buttons in an email. This is an example of campaign to drive signups with the URL hidden behind the button "Text Us"

How to Setup

Head to the Grow Subscribers page of the dashboard.
You will see all existing smartlinks along with the ability to copy them, the redirect desktop URL, the pre-typed SMS message, the auto-response, options to edit or delete and the ability to toggle on/off. To create a new link, select 'Create New'
Enter the pre-typed message you'd like to appear on the users device.
Set the response and remember to include any important info such as a discount code if one is offered as an incentive! This message will be automatically sent immediately after the pre-typed message is received into Blueprint.
Alternative URL - If required, create a desktop redirect. If left blank, the redirect will go to your website homepage
Trigger Alert - If you'd like a Blueprint alert to be triggered every time this smartlink is followed, toggle on this button. This is most widely used when the pre-typed message is of a support nature such as "I would like help". Click on "Save" to create this smartlink.
The amount of opt-ins generated for each link are displayed in the far righthand column.

Example

The phrase: 'Join our secret society' was created along with a corresponding auto-generated reply, smartlink and non mobile redirect - https://blp.ai/r/sms/FHTVz

When this link was opened (via an email on a mobile device), it immediately pre-populated the phrase into the text field of the device. After clicking send, the auto-generated reply will then be sent back and the customer will be opted in to your subscriber list! If the smartlink is clicked on a desktop, the customer will be redirected to an alternative URL (if reading this on a desktop or laptop, try clicking the link above!)

Create a Group

If wanting to create a group of all those subscribers who have followed a specific smartlink, follow these instructions on how to filter by 'Incoming SMS' in the group messages section. Once a group has been created, you can send a group campaign, targeting this specific cohort.

Notes

Please note: If the customer edits the text of the pre-populated message, the correct response will not be triggered.
You can have multiple smartlinks associated with different keywords or phrases which in turn, have corresponding message replies.
Smartlinks can be added anywhere it's possible to add a URL link. These can be in popups, banners, footers, email campaigns, social media etc.
You can programme a smartlink opened on a non mobile device (such as a desktop) to be redirected to an alternative URL of your choice e.g a specific product page on your website. If leaving blank, it will default to the home page of your website.
A useful tactic when using the redirect (for those following on desktop) is to create a separate landing page on your website where a customer can add a phone number. Add a redirect to this page from a smartlink so that a customer can still add their number even if they're not on a mobile device.
If messaging your brand number for the very first time, a customer will receive a separate opt-in message which will detail how the customer can opt out by texting the word "stop". If the customer then replies with "stop" they will automatically be opted out of future communication. See here for further info.