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.

 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is cracking down on text message spam, primarily in that area of annoying opportunities to get a free gift card.

According to a press release today by the FTC, more than 180 million spam text messages were sent by 29 different defendants.  The spam messages promised consumers free gifts or prizes, including gift cards worth $1,000 to major retailers such as Best Buy, Walmart and Target. Consumers who clicked on the links in the messages found themselves in a quagmire of elaborate websites that requested personal financial information.

According to the report, 12% of Americans received the spam text messages. In many cases, the spam messages went to consumers that did not have  a text message subscription plan, thus causing the recipients to pay for exorbitant text message costs for the unwanted spam.

These charges are serious, which is why 84444.com requires a legitimate opt-in from its consumers.  A year ago, 84444 implemented a policy where customers could not immediately upload a list of supposed opt-in phone numbers until proof of the legitimate opt-in was supplied to 84444.  You can read the Anti-Spam Policy of 84444 here.

 

 

ATS Mobile’s Jim Marnie walks you through the process of sending a broadcast text message using 84444.com and 84444.ca.  The key to text message marketing is to get consumers to opt-in to your database via interactive text messages and then remind them of your product via broadcast text messaging.

 

 

The NBA has certainly been innovative in its use of mobile marketing.  Since 2008, it has allowed fans to vote for their favorite athlete in the Slam Dunk competition via text message SMS voting and online at NBA.com.

This year, the NBA took it even further by allowing fans to vote by its mobile app or via Twitter using #SpriteSlam.  Sprite sponsored the event.

During the finals, fans chose the ultimate winner between the Raptors’ Terrence Ross and the Jazz’ Jeremy Evans who was the 2012 Slam Dunk champion.  Fans voted via text message by texting the name of their favorite to 38657 (DUNKS).  Ross received 58% of the vote in the finals to become the 2013 Slam Dunk champion.

But, unfortunately for the NBA, its execution of the SMS voting was not exactly a slam dunk.

I voted twice during the finals (there was no limit on the amount of times you could vote).  Both times that I voted, I received no reply text message.  That’s bad for a variety of reasons.  But, the most important reason why it’s bad is that the fan has received no acknowledgement of having voted.  If you are new to using text message voting by short code, your immediate reaction is that the text message must not have been received.

But, there’s more.  Had the NBA provided a reply message, it could have asked for an opt-in for future text message broadcasts from the NBA.  Imagine the value of that database for the NBA to promote its televised events or even the 2014 NBA Slam Dunk competition.  Moreover, what better time to get an opt-in from fans than during the exciting Slam Dunk competition.

Sure, the reply messages would have cost the NBA some money since all text messages from a short code do have a cost to them.  But, that cost could have been absorbed by Sprite to provide a mobile coupon or other event.

It’s great to see a prominent television show use text message voting, but the NBA’s use of text message voting looked more like the first round of missed dunks than the riveting final round of slams.

There was a slight increase in the number of Americans that use text messaging over the past quarter, according to a study by ComScore.

Mobile Content Usage

In November, 2012, 75.9 % of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device (up 0.3 percentage points). Downloaded applications were used by 54.2 percent of subscribers (up 0.8 percentage points), while browsers were used by 52.1 percent (up 0.1 percentage points).

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.

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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Other than actual speaking on the mobile phone (who does that?), text messaging is the top function performed on the phone taking 14.1% of the overall time spent on the mobile phone.  This is according to a January, 2013 study by Nielsen.

 

Major League Baseball has decided to opt-out of using landline bullpen phones and go mobile.  We just wish that they had decided to use text messaging instead of mobile phone calls.

Major League Baseball is cutting the landline phone from its dugouts and will now be going mobile…just like the rest of the world.

Sometimes, baseball is, well, just too (well) steeped in tradition. One tradition you won’t be seeing much longer, however, is the landline phone in the bullpen. With 34% of American households now cell phone only, MLB bullpens will soon be joining the trend and cutting the landline. This is the landline bullpen phone that has been around since the 1930′s and the one that nearly cost the St. Louis Cardinals the 2011 World Series against the Rangers.

During the 2011 World Series, manager Tony LaRussa made the proverbial call to his bullpen in game 5 only to have the bullpen coach misinterpret what he said due to crowd noise and a bad connection. The result was that the normally flawless Cardinals’ manager did not have the proper reliever warmed up to face Rangers’ slugger Mike Napoli. Napoli’s hit gave the Texas Rangers game 5 and put the Cardinals in a 3-2 hole–a hole that the Cardinals overcame with victories in the final two games.

T-Mobile’s deal with Major League Baseball was announced yesterday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. On hand to make the announcement was Miguel Cabrera, Bryce Harper, Joe Torre, and Frank Thomas. Tony LaRussa was conspicuous by his absence.

The new technology will use T-Mobile’s G4 and Samsung phones. The bullpen phones will be geofenced meaning that they won’t work outside of the bullpen area. Hence, bored relievers won’t be able to call the hot girl flirting with them in section 135.