Unlocking SMS Potential: Braze and Movable Ink’s SMS Link Preview

Digital marketing continues to evolve, but one thing remains the same: customers crave more direct and personalized communication with their favorite brands through their preferred channels. SMS, one of the world’s most popular messaging channels, is no exception.

That said, SMS presents some unique challenges when it comes to engagement. It lacks some of the more visual, attention-grabbing features that other channels might offer, and is a channel designed for brevity. It’s recommended to keep SMS messages under 320 characters to ensure the best deliverability and user experience, which makes it difficult to provide a truly personalized and compelling experience. By contrast, MMS is a great option to create more engaging campaigns, but its availability is limited outside of the United States and Canada.

For marketers looking to create more eye-catching SMS without using MMS, one effective solution is to combine the power duo of Braze Dynamic Link Shortening with Movable Ink’s Link Preview.

How SMS Link Preview works

Movable Ink’s Link Preview enables marketers to inject 1:1 personalized images into any SMS message. It works by utilizing the link preview functionality on mobile devices to retrieve a personalized image at the moment of render, ensuring that each message is up to date and specific to the customer. This leads to, on average, a 7.5% increase in click-through rate.

Top SMS Link Preview Use Cases

Common use cases for using SMS link previews include: 1. Display personalized offers or discount codes directly within the dynamic link preview

2. Display a product abandoned during the check-out process

3. Display the amount of time left for the user to make a purchase or act to receive a discount

The Power of Braze Dynamic URL Shortening with Movable Ink

Marketers can send shorter, more manageable URLs trackable at both the campaign- and user-level with Braze SMS Link Shortener. Dynamic link shortening also allows you to dynamically personalize URLs with any supported Liquid Personalization Tags.

Movable Ink’s Link Preview feature is a great complement to the Braze platform’s personalization capabilities, enabling marketers to dynamically generate visual content at the moment of engagement. Braze Dynamic URL Shortening enables brands to apply customer data stored on the user profile as custom attributes and event properties. This informs and personalizes what’s delivered to the customer by simply incorporating Liquid variables into the Movable Ink URL.

The customer sees the shortened link in an SMS message, which displays as a unique, contextualized, and personalized composite image.

There are other benefits to combining the Braze platform’s dynamic URL shortening with Movable Ink's image personalization capabilities. With Braze link shortening, you're able to understand user-level click tracking. With Movable Ink's analytics, marketers receive detailed insight into how their campaigns are performing within Braze.

Together, these features provide the following benefits:

1. Image personalization in SMS messages: The dynamic content generation capabilities of Movable Ink powered by Braze’ Dynamic URL Shortening to replace generic imagery with unique messaging to individual users.
2. Improved conversion rates: Marketers saw an average 7.5% increase in click-through rate and an over 5% decrease in Opt-out rates through personalized messaging.
3. Data-driven insights: Marketers gain access to rich analytics that help refine strategies by using the Braze platform’s Dynamic URL Shortening.

Key Takeaways

It’s possible to overcome the limitations of SMS and send more relevant campaigns through this universal channel. This powerful combo can boost click-through and conversion rates, and also provide rich, data-driven insights that enable continuous campaign optimization.

To learn more, check out Dynamic SMS link preview in Braze User Docs.