SMS Marketing and advertising is nothing new to the 21-century consumer.  The problem with SMS Marketing is that so many businesses try to use mobile solutions with no strategy.  There are some simple guidelines that businesses could followed to see a return of investment greater than any other form of marketing they have ever utilized.

I have helped many companies generate success with mobile by following these five steps.  Recently I have delivered a SMS Marketing strategy for the Houston Dynamo.  The professional MLS team followed my steps and created a SMS data base of over 5,000 users with a few months.

Our Marketing Companies Guidelines:

  • Your Company should utilize a SMS Short Code with an easy to remember number.  Vanity short codes have a 50% higher redemption rate than a Non-Vanity code.  Vanity codes are 5 to 6 digit numbers that are easy to remember.  Find a Short Codes like 444888, 44448 or 555999 for your SMS initiative.  Stay away from Short Codes like 479021 or 992276.  These are hard to remember when utilized with TV, In-Venue, & Radio advertising.
  • Use your text code on all your traditional marketing materials.  When I say all of them I am including business cards to billboards.  One radio ad may generate 1000 users in a day and T.V. may bring 1500.  These might be your best options for high usage, but I have seen business generate more usage than both of those media outlets combined.  The Dynamo generates over 3,000 users without a single Radio or TV ad.  They had it added to programs, print advertising and billboards.
  • Don’t limit your SMS Marketing campaign to new customers.  SMS Marketing can generate returning consumers and prospects.  One example of this is a small business called Waveland Bowl.  They only use their SMS Campaign in the establishment because of the lack of budget and economical cut backs.  This clever tactic increased their slowest night by 100% in attendance and 100% in sales.   Find out more about Waveland Bowl.
  • Only send a SMS text message to your data base once a week.  The worst result for an SMS marketing campaign is an opt-out.  If you send a message a day to your mobile users this can become annoying or an inconvenience. Limit your outgoing messages to one a week.  Typically this will keep your opt out rate under 1%.  I have seen opt outs as high as 50% because of daily blasts.  Be courteous and don’t become a mobile spammer.
  • Blasting messages is very beneficial to your brand and services if you broadcast a message with value for the user.  Most consumers will find value in a message if you offer them a discount or incentive to buy a product or service.  If you provide only information this can create  a high rate of users opting out of your service.  Information is OK if promoting a new product or service, but make sure your information in balanced with value.

I hope this has been helpful!  To learn more about mobile SMS marketing visit: http://www.WHAMmobile.com