Wirecutter is a news website that publishes original content daily across its various platforms. One of the best parts of the website is its ‘Business of the Week’ column where it reveals little-known companies that are changing the world with their ingenuity.
In the latest edition of the column, the website profiled five companies that are revolutionising the way we do business through text messaging. These five companies have changed the way marketing and advertising are conducted today. The businesses disclosed are telegram, HootSuite, LiquidText, txtMagic and Typeform.
TELEGRAM
TeleMessage is a global leader in automated business messaging solutions. The company’s flagship product is Telegra~ ma, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) that streamlines business messaging, including email, text messaging, and social media campaigns. The product is available in either a free or a paid version, and offers sophisticated tools for sending bulk SMS messages to customers and engaging them through automated content.
As the name suggests, Telegra~ ma was designed to work with Telegram, one of the largest and most popular messengers globally. But you can also use the software to send automated messages to over 300 other popular messengers, or to email clients such as Gmail and Outlook.
In addition to serving as a standalone messaging app, Telegra~ ma can be accessed through any web browser. This makes it much more convenient for users who want to keep track of all their messages from any device.
One of the outstanding features of this software is its user-friendly design. Because it was built with a clear social media focus, Telegra~ ma makes it easy for businesses of all sizes to integrate social media platforms into their marketing strategies. This feature alone makes it worth considering for any business that seeks to do marketing through social media.
HOUTSUITE.
HootSuite is a social media management platform that helps businesses of all sizes to stay connected with their customers. The platform integrates with social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to make it easy for business owners to schedule tweets, pin tweets to the top of their feeds, and engage with followers both large and small.
HootSuite’s flagship product is HootSuite Analytics, which provides businesses with in-depth insight into the performance of their social media accounts. Aptly named, the tool allows users to track the success of their marketing strategies and measure the effectiveness of their content. Analytics can be accessed through the HootSuite dashboard, which provides a bird’s-eye view of all the platforms that were used to promote a product or service.
HootSuite also offers a standalone app for Android and Apple devices. The app makes it easy for users to post to multiple social media platforms at once.
One of the unique features of HootSuite is Storyline, a tool that simplifies publishing on social media. Once a story is created, it can be curated and scheduled to be published at a later date. Curators can invite up to five people to read an article or view a video before it is shared on social media. This feature makes it easy for businesses to have their voices heard by a larger audience, while also supporting key social media campaigns.
LLIQUIDTEXT.
LiquidText is a cloud-based text messaging platform that streamlines business messaging for small businesses. The product is best-suited for campaigns that need to be conducted at scale. With LiquidText, businesses can send out huge email blasts to their customer base, or use automated text messaging to contact hundreds of thousands of people at once.
One of the distinguishing features of LiquidText is its robust reporting tools. With the platform, you can monitor the performance of each individual text message sent out, and measure the success of your overall marketing campaign. This includes seeing how many messages were delivered, the number of clicks received, and the conversion rate (the number of people who downloaded a specific app or played a video divided by the number of messages sent).
It’s important to note that while most messaging platforms are free, LiquidText charges a small fee for users who want to track the performance of their campaigns. But given the tool’s popularity among marketers, it’s likely that this will be more than repaid by avoiding paying out-of-pocket with less data in the long run.
TYMASTER.
Tymaster is a cloud-based platform that streamlines email marketing for small businesses. The tool offers simple to-use templates that make it quick and easy for business owners to get their emails designed and sent out. Designing an email campaign can take hours, even for seasoned marketers. With Tymaster, that process is turned into minutes. The platform also provides features for automation, so users can set up emails to be sent out on a schedule.
One of the distinguishing features of Tymaster is how it handles unsubscribe requests. When a potential customer decides that they no longer wish to receive emails from a company, they can request that the address be removed from the list. The company in question will then receive a notification that the email is no longer valid, and they will be removed from future mailings. This is quite different from what most platforms offer, where removing an email address usually results in the potential customer being added to a mailing list for that brand, and potentially receiving unwanted emails in the future.
As an added bonus, Tymaster offers an optional affiliate program. When an email is sent out, the company that owns the email address is credited with a small commission based on the product that is purchased after being sent the email.
TYPEFORM
Typeform is a web-based platform designed for creating quick email marketing campaigns. The service is best-suited for small businesses seeking to reach a more affluent audience. With Typeform, businesses can design emails that feature a variety of fonts, imagery, colors, and layout templates. Once the template is chosen, the email can be composed and sent out quickly.
The platform also offers optional video tutorials that walk users through the process of creating a newsletter. Once the email is complete, the business can choose to publish it to their website or social media accounts.
One of the distinguishing features of Typeform is how it allows users to track the results of their email campaigns. Once a product is purchased after being sent an email, that business can be notified of the transaction through a notification email.
For a business that likes to stay connected with its customers, this feature is invaluable. It allows businesses to keep track of all the actions taken by individuals after being reached through an email campaign. This includes making the decision to purchase a product, request a service, or simply engage with a brand through social media channels.
Even if a business chooses to only use email to distribute content once or twice a month, the platform allows them to track the results of those campaigns. This way they can see what content is working and continue to refine their approach for the next iteration or re-promotional campaign.