Archive for the ‘Text Message Marketing’ Category

There were 121 million smartphone and 94 million tablet users in the US in 2012.  That represents a 31% and 180% increase, respectively, compared with 2011. (eMarketer)

But search behavior between smartphones and tablets is really quite different. More searching happens on the tablet and it is largely located in the home. Searching on the smartphone is less common, but more likely to happen outside the home and result in a conversion taking place.

It simply makes sense.  The mobile smartphone buyer is closer to the buying process as many studies have shown.  That’s why text message marketing makes so much sense.

91% of smartphone users send and receive text messages.

ATS Mobile provides several learning opportunities each month for advertisers and advertising agencies to learn more about mobile marketing.  One of the regular presentations that is done is one called “Texting Tuesday.”

We do a variety of educational webinars each quarter concerning mobile marketing. Want to come to the next one? Visit this page and you’ll see our complete list.

If you missed today’s webinar on Texting Tuesday, we’ve put it below so that you can catch all of the action.

One of the great things about text message marketing is that you can reach your customers when they are most likely to buy.  That’s why Subway does all of its text messages with us at 11:30 am when its opt-in customers in the office or out on the work site are starting to get hungry for lunch.

A quick look at the statistics below show that dining for breakfast and lunch is far more impulsive than dinner.  I’d say the same for items like ice cream, yogurt, and other snacks which tend to be even more of an impulse buy.

Eating out for dinner is more of an event and consumers do tend to plan such events out earlier than their lunch and breakfast plans.

While there’s no exact time that is best to send a text message for a restaurants, I’m going with 11:30 am for lunches and 4:30 pm for dinners.  The greater the cost of the restaurant, the earlier I’d send it for dinners.  Experiment with different times and different offers and see what works best for your restaurant.

Given the popularity of mobile and restaurants, it’s important that you make the right decision on the best time to text.

So how far in advance should you send your text message?

One of the problems with email today is the amount of spam that we receive in our in boxes.  It can overwhelming, no matter how diligent you are about opting-out of email marketing that you don’t need.

While more people are opening your promotional email messages than they were in the past, perhaps thanks to improved spam filters and the like, it is still not an impressive statistic.  Only a quarter of all emails are being opened on average and its been that way for some time now.

That’s where text message marketing differs.  An impressive 97% of all text messages are opened within 15 minutes of receipt.  Compare that to email marketing where its only a quarter and you can quickly see why email marketing is so yesterday.

With 97% of text messages being opened, it’s difficult to justify doing email and not text.

Long McArthur, a dealership in Salina, Kansas, aired a commercial using Advanced Mobile’s 50123 short code during Super Bowl 47. Text message marketing is part of the Cars2Go mobile Triple Play offered by Advanced Mobile.

Pretty cool! Check it out!

The single biggest day of the year for pizza sales is today: Super Bowl Sunday. I’m sure the same thing can be said for wings. What better day to sell wings than Super Bowl Sunday. I even saw where President Obama will be eating wings today, probably much to the dismay of Michelle.

Check out what pizza restaurants like Main Line Pizza are doing to help increase sales on Super Bowl Sunday.

More and more, we hear about how content is king and how businesses need to focus their attention on the content they are providing customers on social media platforms, blogs and email marketing newsletters. However, these aren’t the only channels retail stores should be paying attention to. Text message marketing can be a great resource for retail stores who are looking for an alternate means of communication. Despite all the attention that other forms of mobile marketing receive, a 2012 report also found that SMS and MMS-based marketing programs continue to grow, with more than 100 percent growth in participation since April 2012. Because not all retail stores are using text message marketing, your business should to stand out from the crowd. Here’s how to get started.

Retailers, both small and large, can benefit from the most basic mobile marketing solution of text messaging.

Create Mobile Content

In order to have a successful text message marketing campaign in place, your retail store will need to have text-ready content before you begin. Bite-size content is easily distributed through an SMS and should stay within the same character range as a tweet. The content you send via text message, although short, needs

• Tips, Tricks & Trends: Sending out quick tips and tricks that customers don’t see elsewhere is a great way to provide short, quick and valuable information.
• Repurposed Content: Send shortened links to blog posts, videos, podcasts and more. While customers want more exclusive content after granting you permission to reach out on a personal device, if you’re timing is accurate, this shouldn’t be a problem.
• Discounts & Coupons: Have text message specific mobile discounts and coupons that offer those who subscribe special savings. Encourage them to invite friends to opt-in so they can receive the same savings.

Build a Database

Having content isn’t enough, especially if you don’t have anyone to send your text messages to. Asking in-store customers to sign-up may be the first idea that comes to mind, but Here are 3 easy ways you can build your text message recipient database as you start building SMS campaigns.

• Ask customers to text for more information. You can promote your store’s events and sales while gathering more names and numbers for your text message and call center database list.
• Offer coupons or discounts specials that can only be redeemed via text. Let customers know about it on your blog, social networks and website. On slow days or in correlation with another campaign, you can ramp up your database by offering a savings incentive.
• If you have an email marketing strategy in place, use your email database to reach out to current customers. At the bottom of each message you send out, you can include a number that customers can text for more ways to save, blog posts, etc.

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We really appreciate the business that our customers provide, but when you get the short code wrong, your promotion is pretty much, well, worthless.

Remember, if you are promoting our 84444 short code, the short code has four 4′s in it.  This advertisement came up, well, a little bit short.

Before you print any advertising, please test the short code promotion to make sure you got it right.

Invisible Fence franchisees?  Please contact our sales department and we’ll give you the first month free just to get you back involved with our text message marketing product.  We don’t think we got a fair shake with this advertisement.

Radio Advertisers:  The best way to get the short code across when advertising it on the radio is to read it as “eight – four, four – four, four.”  We find that adding the pause in the middle of the fours adds to the recall of the short code.  It’s really a great short code if you promote it right!

Lots of people will be shopping on their mobile phones on Thanksgiving Day as “Mobile Thursday” leads into “Black Friday.”  In fact, how much longer will it be until Mobile Thursday is actually bigger than Black Friday?

Many advertisers have long thought that sending a marketing text message on the second biggest family day of the year was taboo.  I say: “phooey.”  People have free time on Thanksgiving Day and they will have time to respond to your text message or click on the embedded link to your e-commerce website to make a sale on a day when your store is closed.

If they are still planning to brave the stores on Black Friday, maybe they won’t buy, but they will check out your prices and what your retail store has to offer to get a jump on the Black Friday madness.

So, think out of the box.  Go ahead and send that text message on Thanksgiving Day.

Now, that’s talking turkey.

There are a lot of companies out there that are good at sending text messages.  The difference at 84444 is that we coach you along the way.  This includes training webinars that give you more information about our text message marketing and other mobile marketing products.

In this video, ATS President Bob Bentz gives an overview of text message marketing.

Check out our upcoming webinars here.