Why should you care about Text Marketing? For starters, with over 258 million wireless lines in the US alone, chances are pretty close to 100% that every one of your customers has a mobile device. In fact, on a global scale, texting has twice as many active users as email. The timing is right for this type of marketing as well. Text marketing is a growing trend that shows no signs of slowing. In fact mobile marketing is expected to grow from an estimated $1.8 billion in 2007 to over $24 billion by 2013. That means we’re right in the middle of the upward curve, which is a great time to get in on anything. Add to those facts that statistically, SMS messages are read within 15 minutes of being received and responded to within 60 minutes, and you have a marketing vehicle that commands some attention.
Timing is key to marketing success
As a marketer, you know that if you can reach your customers exactly when your message is most relevant, you stand a much greater chance of converting that message into the action you want them to take. Because people usually have their cell phones with them at all times, text marketing allows you to do just that. And while many people check their email just once or twice a day, most check text messages as they arrive. Furthermore, you have the ability to reach customers wherever they are. This means that if you own a burger place, you can send a text coupon as they’re leaving the office for lunch. If you own a hardware store, you can target your customer base on weekends when they’re in the yard. In short, you can get in front of your customers on whatever days, and at whatever times they are most likely to respond. In that way, text marketing is better than email, TV, print, radio or any other tool.
Like email – but not
In some ways, starting a mobile text marketing campaign is similar to starting an email campaign. As with email marketing, to be most effective, you’ll want to do some planning, including developing a strategy, with objectives and benchmarks, so you know how well your campaign is working. And like email, you need to use an opt-in list. While research shows that only about 10% of text messages are considered spam, compared with up to 65% of email messages, people tend to take text spam more seriously – especially considering you might be costing them money when you send a text. You also won’t be sending text messages to your list with your phone, any more than you would email your customer list with your personal email account.
Unlike email campaigns, text campaigns need carrier approval before you can broadcast, and you’ll need to obtain a “short-code,” which is similar to a response URL for email campaigns but not something you just set up on your server like with email. For example, Starbuck’s uses the short code MYSBUX (697289) to help customers find the nearest Starbuck’s location. You also won’t be able to purchase a list of mobile numbers as you can with email addresses. In fact, sending text ads to someone who hasn’t opted in to your campaign specifically, can get you banned from carriers and can result in legal action.
So, all-in-all, even though it’s not terribly difficult, getting started with text marketing can be a little intimidating. That’s why you might want to consider using a provider who knows all the ins and outs of the industry, rather than going it alone. Lyris is one such company, who has been in the mobile marketing game as long as anyone. Another company, selected by Inc. Magazine as “Best for Sending Text Messages,” is mobileStorm – they’re also the company that American Idol uses! If you’re not dealing with millions of texts a month (5,000 or less), head to Tatango. Their group messaging platform is super easy to use, and their founder and CEO, Derek Johnson, is a superior example of what a Young Entrepreneur can do! Developer’s Home has put together a guide about How to Choose an SMS Service Provider that might also be helpful.
However you decide to proceed, there’s no denying that text marketing is a great tool to add to your marketing arsenal. If you’ve already entered the mobile world with your marketing message, be sure to share your experience in the comments. We’d love to hear your story!
