Mobile phones have revolutionized the way many people communicate in just over a decade. Initially mobile phones were only cable of displaying digits and making calls over great distances. The phones themselves were hardly mobile. However over the recent years we’ve seen the mobile phones become more compact and more sophisticated. Text messaging was another revolutionary addition to mobile phones. Text messaging eliminated the need to call others and simply allowed you to send a text message with 500 characters. This feature eliminated the need for calling friends and families to relay simple messages. Text message also used templates for sending simple messages such as “stuck in traffic” or “busy will call back later”.

Many sites implemented text messaging as well. Sites such as www.textcanada.ca allows users to send text messages from anywhere in the world to friends and family in Canada. The text messages are free therefore users will be saving money in regards to roaming texting. Sending text messages generally can be done anywhere in the world. The service provider will charge users a fee for using this service from region outside the provider’s country. Texting messages generally costs less than calling another person. The rates vary on the provider. There are multiple providers for each area with a variety of different offers. Many providers generally offer mobile phone packages with a sim card which providers a connection. However when picking a deal, many users will pick a plan that centers on cheap call rates or free text messages.

Texting is also done over the internet by software such as MSN messenger and Google talk. This type of software is used as a chat medium for people all over the world. Implementing text messaging into this software has increased the usage of text communication. The senders email address is used instead of a phone number for identification.

Text messages can also be saved for later use therefore numbers and addresses can be stored without having to note it down in an alternate location. New mobile phone models come with many text friendly options such as the new QWERTY keypad and touch pads. These new typing features allow users to type rapidly by impersonating a keyboard.

The merging between wireless internet and mobile phone technology has only opened further access points for text messaging and calling. Many people believe that text messaging will soon merge with internet chat programs and single messages will be replaced with system to email.

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Mobile technology has certainly changed the nature of trade and commerce in modern times. In particular, though it has led to a dramatic shift in the conduct of online retail. Where just a few years ago, we would be confined to desktops in pursuing our internet shopping needs, these days, consumers can bid and list auctions with just a few clicks on smartphones such as the Blackberry and iPhone.

The increase in eBay’s mobile sales has been staggering. In 2009, worldwide sales amounted to $600 billion. For 2010, that figure was $2 billion. With markets such as the United Kingdom a key part of this, eBay has gone to great pains to secure its position at the forefront of mobile retail.

eBay’s mobile retail experience is primarily offered through applications. In 2010, two of its popular apps were ‘Selling’ and ‘Classifieds’. While the names may not be revolutionary, both simplified considerably the process of listing an item for sale or bidding in an auction. For example, the time it would take to create a new auction was reduced to less than 60 seconds. Since then, eBay has continued to innovate and has regularly released new and more sophisticated apps. Recently, it announced that it is developing the first truly international mobile retail app in partnership with telecommunications giant, Telefonica.

eBay’s successful use of applications has in large part been a result of an equally successful marketing campaign. Its sponsoring of the tagging feature found in the music recognition app Shazam is just one of a number of ways that it has sought to increase the profile of mobile shopping and the number of people engaging in it. With its recent acquisition of specialist mobile marketing provider, ‘Where Inc’, eBay clearly intends for mobile advertising to be an integral part of its future.

Going forward, it is projected that eBay’s worldwide mobile sales will hit $4 billion in 2011. Through its partnership with Telefonica and the acquisition of its own mobile marketing provider, ‘Where Inc’, Yankovich’s prediction that the future is in mobile could not be more true.

To find out more about how you can make harness the benefits of mobile marketing, visit www.txt2get.com today.

SMS marketing is a cutting-edge, creative way to connect with customers and boost your advertising return through sales leads.

SMS marketing is a type of mobile marketing that operates through the medium of text messages. How it works is simple: customers see advertising with an SMS marketing call-to-action (something like ‘text CAR to 19 33 33 for a test drive’) and respond to the advertising by sending in a text message. An automated reply is sent back to them, and a customer-organisation connection is established.

With us so far? Great.

What you need to know is that there are lots of different ways to use SMS marketing. These range from the common uses: competitions, surveys, and coupons; to the more obscure recruitment tools and question/answer systems. Regardless, SMS marketing experts agree that there are 4 ‘best uses,’ and they are:

1. Send out mobile coupons

One of the most popular SMS marketing functions is sending mobile coupons to customers by text message. Compared to print coupons, mobile coupons make it as easy as possible for the customer to find, keep and redeem; which therefore gives them a higher redemption rate. The Brisbane Boat Show used our SMS marketing to offer mobile coupons for discounted entry to the show, and got 72% of the mobile coupons redeemed. This is particularly impressive when we note that print coupons have an average redemption rate of only 2%.

2. SMS to win campaigns

SMS marketing can also be used in competitions, surveys, and giveaways, to encourage SMS entry. Enabling text message entry takes away needless paperwork for both the consumer and the organisation. This makes the campaign more accessible and instant, which usually increases the number of entries received by 2-3x. Leading Edge Computers used our SMS marketing to make their computer giveaway more accessible, and got 3x the response they usually get for paper-entry giveaways.

3. Push texts/ subscriptions

SMS marketing also includes push texts and subscription SMS, which is where the game starts to change. Contrary to many assumptions, SMS marketing does not have to start with advertising. Organisations can also send out regular texts to their database of customers who have already opted in to SMS communication. This type of SMS marketing is a more immediate and concise alternative to an email newsletter, and can be used to send updates, news, appointment reminders, etc (even nightclubs use it to inform patrons of upcoming events). But remember: customers have to be able to opt out if they wish.

4. SMS for info campaigns

This was probably the first type of SMS marketing ever used. It attempts to solve the problem of limited advertising space, to send customers relevant information upon request. Instead of cramming unwanted information in advertising, organisations can use SMS marketing to distribute product or service information. Box Hill TAFE Institute used this SMS-for-info tool, to text out 2011 course information to potential students.

Interestingly, they ran the same SMS marketing campaign through 2 channels (TV and shopping centre tele-screens), and found that one was getting nearly 15x the response of the other. This figure would still be unknown if it wasn’t for SMS marketing, so Box Hill might have still been using advertising channels that weren’t right for them. SMS marketing’s measurability makes it attractive for SMEs wanting to find out if their advertising is actually working.

This article was written by Emma Rose Smith of TXT2GET, a leading SMS marketing company. TXT2GET supply affordable SMS keywords that typically increase ad response by 2-3x. SMS keywords also bring measurability & accountability to advertising, because you can see the exact time and date that responses come in. Click on the link to get free advice on how SMS marketing can improve your business’ advertising.

Generation Y are leading the charge towards a mobile centred world: a report confirms what those in mobile marketing have theorised for a long time. The report concluded that Generation Y mobile users are the key consumer group in mobile marketing adoption, having the technology available to them, and expecting businesses to utilise it in their interactions with them.

The report also shows an 11% jump in smartphone adoption by Americans, with ownership rates now sitting at 17%. The smartphone numbers are even higher in the 18-44 demographic, with 23%.

Along with the adoption of the smartphone technology, consumers are changing their data usage and are more likely to have taken on a larger data plan. This tech + data equation is increasing the demand for mobile marketing, to get businesses exposure in front of consumers who are spending larger amounts of time on their phones. The Report also concludes that this key group will continue to drive mobile technology adoption, which is a significant insight for mobile marketing strategists.

Researchers found that the Gen Y group “live” for longer amounts of time on their phones, with 85% of this group regularly sending and receiving text messages. The overall rate is 57% of all US consumers over 18. This is particularly significant for the most popular form of mobile marketing: SMS. If people are comfortable using SMS for social purposes, they are more likely to do so for business and sales interactions also.

Unsurprisingly, Generation Y also lead the charge on mobile social network usages at 27%, with the general rate at 14% of consumers. Generation Y mobile internet use is also higher at 32% compared to 23%.

While Gen Y users are leading the mobile adoption charge, the older generations are also increasing their use, just not as swiftly as their Gen Y counterparts. While it is tempting to target all mobile marketing campaigns at Gen Y, researchers warn that businesses should not neglect older consumers when designing a mobile marketing campaign, especially as they have a higher disposable income.

This article was written by Angela Mabey of TXT2GET, a leading mobile marketing company. TXT2GET supply affordable SMS keywords that typically increase ad response by 2-3x. SMS keywords also bring measurability & accountability to advertising, because you can see the exact time and date that responses come in. Click on the link to get advice on how mobile marketing can improve your business’ advertising.

SMS messages offer a unique way to get your message out to those needing a reminder about your products and services. The best way to go about it is through offering real value in the form of a discount or coupon. The customer can click on a link in the message and get the coupon immediately on their phone.

SMS email marketing is one of the best ways to get a hyper response from a loyal fan base. The positives of SMS marketing are great but the legal hassle has many marketers worried. Back in the day when email spammers ruled the world laws were created to protect people from getting their mailbox flooded with trash mail. There are no laws for SMS that protect the consumer and so large companies like Twitter are now getting sued even though they abide by strict self policing rules that do not spam users.

The reality of what the Twitter corporation did was in no way an evil corporate act. People love to point the finger at evil corporations and all the bad things they do to the little people but Twitter is a free service started by young people that never intended to scam and trick people. The SMS text message they sent back to someone after texting to STOP was simply a message confirming that they were unsubscribed from the list and in no way attempting to harm this person.

SMS lists can be your best friend or your worst enemy as is the case with what happened to Twitter. Twitter sends out SMS messages to those that opt in to receiving them. Whenever someone direct messages you on Twitter a message can be sent from Twitter letting you know. SMS messages are great but if a customer begins to get overage charges primarily because too many SMS messages are coming from the Twitter SMS feed than in the case of Twitter people can start getting really mad.

One day all texting plans will be unlimited but until than people will be very picky about getting one too many text messages especially after opting out. I personally do not believe Twitter did anything wrong here. The person suing opted in to the list to begin with and so they were the ones who started this relationship. I believe this class action lawsuit will be dropped and Twitter may change their terms to make it a little clearer about what happens next after you text stop.

To read more about the Twitter SMS Lawsuit just visit the link and you can also read our advice on other SMS and related website marketing ideas here: Marketing articles

SMS text marketing is something that is new to most businesses and in fact mist of us have yet to receive a marketing text message to our phone from any business. Even though you do not see any evidence of text marketing it is out there in large numbers and for local businesses it offers a way to increase ROI by large numbers. Email subscription lists are the closest way to offer an example of how SMS text marketing can be used. Just as you would opt-in to an email list which only has an open rate of about 7 % you can opt-in to a cell text message list. With much less rules and regulations the SMS list could be abused but at the same time it costs more to send out mass messages which prevents spam at the numbers you get in your email box.

The risks of text SMS marketing are relatively new and not many professionals even understand what those risks are. The risks however although unknown are significant and great care should be taken to keep your company out of a potential lawsuit. Because laws have yet to be created to govern SMS text marketing spam this industry has had to self police what they do. If you were to scrape millions of cell phone numbers from the internet and send out massive spam to all of those numbers you would likely be contacted by the FTC and face penalties according to old Telecommunication land-line laws. SMS text messaging is much more expensive than email spam and so this is a very good reason why you have yet to get a ton of SMS spam messages as you see flood your email box on a daily basis.

One of the best means of getting your message out to customers and increasing ROI through SMS text marketing is by using it as a reminder service for customers. For instance, holiday events and specials restaurants have are great things to send out to loyal customers. If a fancy restaurant will be having a 5 course meal for two with 3 different menu selections for each course limited to 100 people this would be a hugely popular text message. If a restaurant had an SMS list of 500 loyal customers they would likely book that Valentine evening dinner for two event in under 1 hour.

Text message marketing works best with retail venues like clothing stores, jewelry stores, music venues, and restaurants. The way to see a case study example is to look at how innovative companies are using it in retail malls. If you look at Hot Topic you will see that they are one of the fastest companies to adopt new and different trends in both fashion as well as marketing. They are currently sending out text messages about buying one shirt and getting a second shirt for free. Hot Topic is one of the only stores you canfind anywher that sells the very cool trendy band T-Shirts. This company is about as niche as you can get and so when their loyal customers get a super targeted text message like this you can bet there will be a high response rate and increased ROI.

In conclusion, when you find out about an obvious no brainer marketing strategy like this the key is how fast you implement the strategy. The quicker you move to adopt SMS text marketing into your companies marketing campaign the easier it will be to make the higher ROI that email subscription lists simply cannot deliver because of the low open rates. The added convenience of getting a coupon directly to your cell phone means that customers will be presented with easiest e-commerce solution to buy from you without any barriers in the way.

When deciding on using cell phone text messaging to market to your customers it is important to know the SMS Text Marketing Risks as we have outlined in this article. To investigate SMS cell phone advertising in more depth look at this: SMS text service

In this age of mobile technology, 1 in 2 of Americans is expected to own a smartphone by the end of 2011. Add in the huge sales of tablets and it is easy to see why mobile is fast becoming a very effective medium in today’s world of advertising. With smartphone sales expected to overshadow those of PC sales in 2012, clever businesses are now working towards incorporating and integrating mobile into their marketing plans and strategy, whatever the size of their company and irrespective of their target audience of demographic. So why not take a closer look at why mobile is the most effective medium when it comes to dialogue with consumers?

Mobile marketing is incredibly cost-effective and cross-channel friendly and is now starting to show amazing results. Businesses clearly understand its effectiveness more and more and can now see that by adding mobile into the mix, therein lies the ability to prompt immediate consumer response and establish a two-way dialogue with those consumers like never before. As consumers increasingly embrace technology and as it becomes an integral part of their daily living, so they are becoming more amenable to mobile marketing and advertising. This really is the digital age and there is so much room for mobile commerce.

So when it comes to retail activity, how are consumers using their mobiles at the moment? Well, according to statistics 36 percent of consumers indicate that they intend to engage in shopping activities from their mobile device. That leaves another 64% of the market, which advertisers still need to reach. Imagine the potential for maximizing sales! Many smartphone users are already accessing information to make price comparisons and to read reviews on their mobiles and are especially accepting of push content in the form of mobile coupons, special deals, location-based offers and promotions.

It is primarily text messaging, not apps, which reaches the widest range of consumers but it is not just the technology of SMS in itself but it is what the SMS enables in the overall marketing objective. SMS programs have many opt-in methods, all of which should be activated, including email, Web site, point of sale promotions and Facebook and Twitter pages. So many aspects all working together to enhance the brand and business and this is why mobile is now the most effective medium for initiating dialogue with consumers.

We have just scratched the surface of the potential of mobile marketing within this article, so if you haven’t yet added mobile marketing into your advertising strategy, now is the perfect time. Find out more – take a closer look at what it can do to enhance your business.

This article was written by Alex Speirs of TXT2GET, a leading mobile marketing company. TXT2GET supply affordable SMS keywords to advertising that typically increase ad response by 2-3x. SMS keywords also bring measurability & accountability to advertising, because you can see the exact time and date that responses come in. Click on the link to get free advice on how mobile marketing can improve your business’ advertising.

This is the first part in a series of short articles outlining the key tips to avoid mobile marketing opt-outs because when developing a mobile marketing system for your business, your most valuable asset is the database of mobile subscribers you’ve earned. Whether this is an SMS program, email opt-ins or even location based subscribers, the ability to push targeted advertising out is invaluable. After all your hard work, the last thing you want is too many opt-outs, so let’s take a look at three simple tips.

Firstly and all-importantly, begin by getting the initial opt-in consent right which is, in effect, gaining the consent of consumer. This is done by informing them clearly and concisely exactly what they are signing up for. By being completely honest and transparent with your audience, you avoid the first pitfall and consequently the nasty surprises which are going to result in people opting-out of your service.

Secondly, , it is vitally important to ensure to stay the path – in other words, don’t bait and switch. Too many marketers make the mistake of changing the content, the format, or even the frequency of the advertising they initially promised and that will lead to disappointed customers and an overall negative experience.

Maintaining a consistent frequency for messages will help with relationship-building and will let users become more accustomed to them and instantly start to recognise them. Thus less likely to opt-out. Determine a timetable by which you will push your content to users and stick to it. Be visible but not annoying, be timely and respectful at all times.

These are just a few tips but by following basic principles, guidelines and best practice dictated both by common sense as well as by law, it’s easy to maintain a consistent and valuable database of customers, which, as we said, is your most valuable asset.

Learn more about mobile marketing. Stop by www.txt2get.com where you can find out all about TXT2GET and what it can do for you.

When developing a mobile marketing system for your business, your most valuable asset is without doubt the database of mobile subscribers you’ve earned. Our first part of this article series looked at how getting the basics and being upfront from the get go was an integral part to maintaining a successful mobile database. In this part, we’ll look at the actual content of messages and the role they play in minimizing opt-outs.

Relevance is one of the most important parts of maintaining a successful SMS database. Content needs to be short, simple and to the point. Try to remain formal whilst interacting with your customers on a personal level. The language used is of principle importance too – avoid text speak unless it is absolutely required by text size limits or is relevant to the demographic being targeted.

Another tip is to plan, plan and plan some more. Don’t, for example, rush headlong into an offer that just won’t work for the customer. Consider the time period on your offers for example giving the user enough time to take advantage of the deal. Also, choose a marketing company with a proven track record so as to ensure high levels of professionalism and technical ability, as technical difficulties or issues with technology will reflect back on you.

Rewarding users in your database is a great way to minimize opt-outs from your mobile marketing database. High value coupons and exclusive offers not only build positive rapport with your existing customers, but will often generate new subscribers through word of mouth advertising.

By following basic principles, guidelines and best practice dictated both by common sense as well as by law, it’s easy to maintain a consistent and valuable database of customers. For more tips, make sure to look out for other articles in the series.

Want to find out more about mobile marketing, then visit www.txt2get.com on how to choose the best solution for your needs.

Perhaps it should be asked instead, how does everyone else measure advertising response? Many advertisers and marketers measure advertising response by depending on guesswork. But it isn’t rocket science to know that measuring advertising response based on speculation is less than perfect.

Which is why this advertisement for Google was so eye-catching.

It seems Google has found a way to measure advertising response. The advertisement is for Google AdWords. For a free trial, you can “SMS ‘AdWords’ to 1995 4995.” In reply, Google sends you a special code via SMS, which you redeem online to receive the free offer.

How does this measure advertising response?

This campaign effectively wipes out the guesswork for Google’s measurement of advertising response. The number of SMS received = the number of people interacting with the advertisement, and Google can view the exact time and day that responses come in. Using SMS marketing with text response, Google can measure advertising response. This sure beats old-school measurements of advertising response: trying to survey hundreds of customers to ask, “What brought you here?”

This all brings to mind a recent blog post by Marketing Interactions. When discussing measurement of advertising response, the post stated:

According to Adobe’s 2010 Analytics Survey, 44% of 1,000 marketers surveyed said they could not allocate sales and costs to marketing campaigns. Given this, it’s not really surprising that 76% of marketers cannot measure full marketing ROI.

It is not a shock that Google AdWords isn’t one of the 76% who can’t measure advertising response or ROI. They used SMS marketing to see exactly how many sales leads their advertising generates and therefore measure advertising response. Of course, not everyone has the endless budget and brand awareness of Google. But even small businesses can use SMS marketing to measure advertising response; they just need to be creative.

This article was written by Andrew Campbell, the Country Manager of TXT2GET Australia. TXT2GET are the SMS marketers of Aus, NZ and the US. Read about other SMS marketing campaigns, or visit the website to find out how measuring advertising response can earn you passive income as an SMS marketing agent.