5 Ways To Use .BIBLE Domains To Help Your Content Stand Out
This is a guest post from Hannah Harrington, Content Marketing Manager at Rebrandly.
In the digital world, we’re constantly being flooded with news, promotions, and advertisements, both on and offline. Whether you run a campus ministry program, a church, or your own personal blog, you know just how difficult it can be for your voice to be heard and your messages seen.
One of the most effective ways to increase your chances of cutting through this marketing clutter is through consistent branding. You may be thinking, hey, why does my youth ministry group need a strong brand? The truth is, a strong brand is often the hinge between creating a thriving community that people want to be a part of, or one that never quite takes off.
As you know, there are many factors to consider when building a brand. From developing a clear brand strategy to deciding on brand values, it can seem overwhelming, especially if you don’t have a big budget or team. But, there’s one change you can make to move your brand to the fast track to building relationships with your audience: creating a branded short link. Okay, hang with me here, it’s way easier than it sounds! Branded short links are simply a shortened version of the URL you're sharing, featuring your brand name.
These mighty short links contain your branded domain and a custom keyword in the slash, so you can tell users what you do and where the link leads with just a few words. But hey, since a picture is worth a thousand words, I’ll let the infographic do all the talking.
Branded links are memorable, boost brand awareness and visibility, can help increase click-through rates by up to 39%, and are SEO friendly and trackable.
Sounds powerful right? Still, the most important reason to use branded links is how much they will do for you.
Here are 5 ways you can use the .BIBLE domain in your short links
- To Increase Trust On Social Media
So let's say you have a website, for this example it’s OmahaYouthMinistry.com
You’re currently using social media to reach teens around the city to share updates, meetups, and inspiration. However, you have no idea if the links you’re sharing are being clicked on. You’re links look like this, link.ez/7fdf7792, and you’re weary people think these links are spam.
This tweet will likely leave followers confused; they have no idea where it leads or if it’s even legitimate.
By sharing a branded link, the audience will know this link came from Omaha Youth Ministry. They will see the .BIBLE domain and know that it’s a religious organization, and that this link leads to information about an upcoming trivia night. This openness creates trust between your brand and your audience. Branded links are great for social media because they can act as your CTA (call-to-action).
2. To Make The Most Of Email Links
When sending out emails, a main focus is to keep the length short while directing the audience to a strong CTA. Long links can make emails look unprofessional, while sending an email with a generic short URL can send your message straight the the spam folder. Since you don’t have control over who is else is using the generic link shortener domain, it could be blacklisted by email servers if it was being used for spam, meaning your email could also be mistaken as spam. When you use a branded link, you own the domain, so you’re not at risk of being sent to the spam folder.
Using branded links also gives you the benefit of tracking time, location, and browser with each click. Tracking links in emails is even more important because you don’t get any feedback on your sends like you would on social media in the form of likes or retweets. This feedback can help you run more effective email campaigns in the future. If you want to know even more, add UTM parameters to your links to find out how successful each campaign was.
3. To Create A Branded Instagram Bio
Instagram has quickly become one of the top social media platforms, with users spending an average of 28 minutes using it every day. Unlike its cousins, Twitter and Facebook, Instagram is not tailored to sales, but reaching new people and building your brand.
The main problem we all face is how to get followers learn more about our brand. This can be done by linking in your bio. As you know, it can look cluttered and confusing when you paste a long link like this in your bio, omahayouthministry.com/2018/6/25/17531124/tuesday-trivia-event. And, when you paste a link like this link.ez/7fdf7792, your followers could be deterred from clicking if they don’t know where it leads. They might think it’s spam. But, if you paste a branded link in your bio, it makes it clear to your audience exactly what the link leads to. Another perk to using a branded link is that you can create a master link for your Instagram bio and easily update the destination (where that link goes) using Rebrandly.
The easiest way to update your Instagram Bio link is to create one link like omahayouthministry.bible/updates, and update its destination (where the link goes) in Rebrandly. One day the link could direct your audience to sign up for an event, and the next to mass schedule changes. This saves you time because you don’t have to constantly log into the app and make changes.
4. To Bring Your Sermons And Church Events Online
Yes, offline marketing is still extremely effective for your brand! Since branded links are easy to remember, you can put them anywhere, not just online. Whether you’re using leaflets, posters, t-shirts, billboards, or even the church bulletin, include a branded URL. These links can lead to information about church events, or information on members. They are especially helpful if you have limited space or are explaining something more suited for online, like details about upcoming services, latest church news, or directing your audience to a recorded sermon or video. Even if you’re giving a sermon, you can use branded links to connect with your audience. You could mention a verse from The Gospel According To Matthew and then read out a branded link that leads the congregation to further commentary on the topic from St. Thomas Aquinas. Branded links are easy to remember, can be read out loud, and can be typed easily into a web browser. Not to mention, using branded links gives people the chance to learn more or follow up on their time.
5. SMS messaging
In case you weren't impressed enough with those ideas for how to use branded links like .BIBLE to grow your brand, I’ve got one more idea up my sleeve. You can also use branded links in in text messages. If you send texts with a long URL or with links from a generic link shortener, your audience will probably be hesitant to click. But when you use branded links in text message marketing, you create trust as to where the link leads. Say you’re looking to remind your subscribers of an upcoming youth rally, and want to send a text of things they can and can’t bring. Since this is a time sensitive message, SMS marketing could be the most beneficial.
Hannah this is a reminder of the regulations for the Youth Rally in Phoenix Park Saturday, September 1. omahayouthministry.bible/reminders
Using branded links in text message marketing tells the audience that the link is from you while giving them a clear CTA of where it leads.
Branded links make it easier to build a trusted brand and create strong relationships with your audience. They’re beneficial to ensuring your content stands out and tracking if your efforts are paying off.
Ready to try it for yourself?
It’s easy to create branded links with your brand and .BIBLE. All you have to do is register the domain you’d like to use and connect it to Rebrandly. For the month of September 2018, Rebrandly is working with .BIBLE to bring you a 50% lifetime discount on all plans for .BIBLE domain owners. To redeem your discount, please reach out to our support team at Rebrandly.support/contact with your .BIBLE domain name and cite this article.
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About the Author
Hannah Harrington is the content manager at Rebrandly a link management solution that empowers users to put their brand name on all the links they share. With a background in marketing and creative writing, Hannah’s passion lies in telling compelling customer stories. You can find this American expat exploring the streets of Dublin or nestled up with a cozy cup of tea.