- February 5, 2015
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What’s New in SMS Marketing?
To some marketers, SMS stands for “save my sales,” the result of marketers thinking of short-term ways to bring in quick profits by catching customers in their “natural habitats” — holding their smartphones.
Instead, SMS marketing could be a profitable and holistic part of an integrated mobile marketing strategy. Writing for Business Review USA, Adam Groff advocates SMS marketing “to reach a mobile audience that’s already extremely receptive to the idea of mobile promotions.
The numbers support Groff’s strategy. Nielsen reports that 40 percent of mobile phones in the United States are SMS-capable smartphones — with more than 50 percent of U.S. smartphone users responding positively to text message advertising.
Pointing to other industry research, Groff sums up what’s new in SMS marketing — and why 2015 could be the year to ring in the benefits for your organization.
- Opt In (or Out) in a Flash — SMS works fast, just like your business. If a customer wants to take advantage of your company’s promotion, they simply respond to your SMS short code and your message is delivered instantly.
- Personal and Direct — SMS marketing is intimate because it requires your customer to opt in. SMS also allows you to create multiple campaigns for different customer niches.
- Lead Generation — Promote your SMS short code and marketing message across other channels, such as your website, print advertisements or storefront signage, for a truly integrated marketing campaign.
- Short Messages — Like a tweet, the SMS message is short. Your audience is more likely to read it amid the clutter of other marketing messages.
- Ever-Growing Market — As Groff shared the statistics, SMS marketing’s consumer base has nowhere to go but up.
Before you get started, mind the mistakes first-time SMS marketers are likely to make.
We rounded up the six most-common blunders here. And then read how two brands, IHOP and Merrill Lynch, deploy SMS marketing successfully (and learn what mustard seeds and flapjacks have in common).