One of the most important aspects of digital marketing is the content you share online. The beauty of the Internet is that it enables you to reach thousands of potential clients easily. However, to do that successfully, you have to offer them posts that are both informative and appealing. When it comes to the latter, you should include photos, videos, and links alongside the text.
Now, here is a common problem people face. When you add a link, usually it is very long, meaning that it takes a lot of space and decreases the number of characters you have left. Well, this is when a URL shortener comes in. It is, without a doubt, one of the most underrated digital marketing tools, and here is everything you need to know about it.
How to shorten a link?
First of all, doing this is a pretty easy task. After all, there are many online services that you can try out. Also, millions of people do this every day, so how difficult can it be? Well, not at all. Al you have to do is choose one tool, follow the instructions, and that’s it.
Now, the thing is that this tool can provide you with numerous other services. For example, if you choose curtlink.com and its premium plan, you will be able to create QR codes for each of the links. In addition, you will also have an opportunity to integrate links with several platforms and obtain URL analytics, meaning that you will see how many clicks the link has generated and so on. You understand now why we said it is an understated tool? In a nutshell, it can provide you with several services that will take your advertising campaign to the next level and enable you to keep track of everything easily.
What are the benefits?
As you can see, using this tool is fairly simple, and you are probably interested in learning why these are so popular. Yes, some platforms such as Twitter shorten links automatically. Still, here are some reasons it may be a good idea to go with a third-party tool.
Track the performance
We have already mentioned this benefit, but you have to admit that it is a great one. Every time you share a link via email or numerous social media platforms, the tool tracks how many times people actually clicked on it. This is important for many reasons.
Firstly, you will immediately understand whether the entire post reached the goal you wanted. Naturally, people will only explore content they find interesting. You cannot just post a link and hope they will click on it. It doesn’t work that way. Instead, you have to add an attention-grabbing caption or a photo. If the URL didn’t generate as many clicks as you thought it would, it is probably time to approach the content creation process differently.
Furthermore, while on the subject of the data the tool gathers for you, it enables you to learn where the link had the best performance. It is an extremely beneficial service if you are trying to determine your target audience. Did the URL attract more attention on Instagram or Facebook? How many people opened your newsletter and explored the attachment? Truth be told, this data is critical in today’s day and age, since you can use it to boost your marketing strategies further and make any changes if necessary.
Save space
Yes, when it comes to platforms such as Twitter, you have to find a way to spread your message across in a limited number of characters. It is why Twitter shortens the links for you. Coming up with an appealing post in a certain number of characters can prove to be quite challenging. By using this tool, you will significantly facilitate this task, and you will have enough space to include hashtags.
However, just because you can write long posts, it doesn’t mean that you should. Yes, it is easy to come up with an interesting description when you don’t have to think about whether the platform will accept it. Still, you should avoid lengthy texts at all costs. Why? Well, it is quite simple. It doesn’t matter how engaging the text is because if it’s too long, no one is going to pause to see it, let alone read it. So, try to use short, simple sentences, add a shortened URL, and a few hashtags. When it comes to these, you also have to be careful about how many of them you use, but that is an entirely new topic.
Promote sharing
Persuading people to read your content and click on the links is not enough anymore. Now, there is another goal you have to meet. The only way to boost the success of your marketing strategy is to reach a vast number of people and potential clients. How to do this? Sure, your followers will see all the posts, but you need to think bigger. The best manner to ensure your content will reach people who are not aware of your company and don’t already follow you is to have the customers spread the word, or in this case, share the links.
It is easier to share short links. It may seem odd at first, but if you think about it, it is true. Today, people mostly use their smartphones to go over social media feeds, check emails, etc. When they stumble upon content that they believe their friends will find interesting, they want to share it with them. The truth is that it is significantly easier to share a short URL when using smartphones and tablets. The more likes and shares your post gets, the higher the chances that it will go viral. After all, this is something you undoubtedly desire.
Wrapping up
All in all, the bottom line is that you should start using this tool as soon as possible. As you can see, it can provide you with several significant benefits that will increase the success of your advertisement campaign. Plus, it is super easy to use it, so why would you wait any longer?
