Heating up January with text marketing updates.

What's New in Podium: January 2022

Welcome back to What’s New in Podium!
We’re starting the new year strong. See how Podium’s latest updates can help you deliver on your new year&#8217;s resolutions by unlocking valuable time for you and your business.
This month’s “What’s new” includes branded links and custom variables in your <a href="https://cms.podium.com/guides/ultimate-guide-to-sms-marketing/">text marketing</a>, a campaign form redesign, and some delightful updates to the Podium experience. We’re also excited to share a new tips and tricks series for small businesses!
Read more below.
<h4>Boost your marketing impact with branding and personalization options</h4>
Custom Personalization Variables. Even a little bit of personalization can more than double the responses, clicks, and purchases driven by your text marketing. Now, you can now add custom variables in Podium to personalize messages with details that matter and move the needle for your business. 

For example, you can create variables that allow you to easily reference important purchases, dates, status, and more. The snapshot below uses variables to personalize with both the make/model of a vehicle and most recent service date as part of a service reminder.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-20732 size-large" src="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-1-1024x303.png" alt="" width="640" height="189" srcset="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-1-1024x303.png 1024w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-1-300x89.png 300w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-1-768x228.png 768w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-1-600x178.png 600w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-1-360x107.png 360w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-1-160x47.png 160w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-1-350x104.png 350w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-1-100x30.png 100w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-1-720x213.png 720w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-1.png 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" />
Ready to get started? Browse this <a href="https://help.podium.com/hc/en-us/articles/4417280250515-Creating-Custom-Fields-via-CSV-Upload">guide to creating custom fields in Podium with a CSV upload.</a>
Branded Links. We’ve also added the capability for businesses to insert branded URL links (think: a link with your business’s name in it) into campaign messages. This boosts your conversions by ensuring your customers are completely confident clicking and taking action—such as scheduling appointments or checking out online inventory—through your text marketing links.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-20733" src="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-2-1024x649.png" alt="" width="640" height="406" srcset="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-2-1024x649.png 1024w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-2-300x190.png 300w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-2-768x487.png 768w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-2-600x380.png 600w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-2-360x228.png 360w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-2-160x101.png 160w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-2-350x222.png 350w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-2-100x63.png 100w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-2-541x343.png 541w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-2.png 1236w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" />
<h4>Craft and preview your text marketing more easily</h4>
Campaign Form Redesign. The campaign form has been simplified to guide you through campaign creation. Now, you can see all the details more easily before you press send or schedule.
There are two steps to the campaign form: 
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Selecting an audience</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Writing a message</li>
</ol>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-20734" src="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-3-1024x648.png" alt="" width="640" height="405" srcset="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-3-1024x648.png 1024w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-3-300x190.png 300w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-3-768x486.png 768w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-3-600x380.png 600w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-3-360x228.png 360w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-3-160x101.png 160w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-3-350x222.png 350w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-3-100x63.png 100w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-3-542x343.png 542w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-3.png 1240w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" />
You can view the new experience live in Podium today, or read more about campaigns in the <a href="https://help.podium.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500003020402-Campaigns-Overview">help center</a> to get started.
<h4>New year, new sidebar options</h4>
Dark Mode. Prefer a dark background? This update is for you! You now have the option to choose between a Light-mode Sidebar or a Dark-mode Sidebar at the user level.
The visual below shows you how it’s done:
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-20735" src="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Jan-4.gif" alt="" width="800" height="417" />
<h4>Quick tips to grow your business: introducing our new Youtube series</h4>
Love taking your morning coffee break with Podium? Check out our new video series. Shop Talk is full of tips for and by local businesses like yours. All delivered in under 5 minutes. 
Get started today with the three below and like and subscribe to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa-uvd7p8TzrA6Hp9yjG2xw">Podium Youtube</a> for updates.
Why Text Marketing is Essential for Local Businesses. Everyone texts. And now, tons of people want local businesses to text them too. More than 40% of consumers say they’d even switch to a business that texts over one that doesn’t. Plus, customers redeem text offers 10x more than other types of coupons.
<a href="https://youtu.be/-NWDhStrkxY">Why text marketing is essential for local business.</a>
Text Marketing Compliance. Text marketing can be a powerful tool for your business. But before you jump in, there are a few legal considerations to keep in mind. We outline 5 best practices of how to conduct text marketing compliantly. 
<a href="https://youtu.be/UOArR3USsoE">Text marketing compliance in less than 5 minutes.</a>
8 Ways to Grow Your Text Subscriber List. Wondering how to quickly grow your text marketing subscriber list? Don’t fret. We review 8 ways you can build that list, and build it fast. 
<a href="https://youtu.be/Y-unHDEb0SU">8 ways to grow your text subscriber list.</a>

This month’s “What’s new” includes a text marketing form redesign, branded links, custom variables in your text marketing, and some delightful updates to the Podium experience. We’re also excited to share a new tips and tricks series for small businesses!