Everything You Should Know About SMS Marketing

We live in age where communication is NOW-available instantly to the over 1 billion cell phone users worldwide, about 260 million of them in the United States. An innovative way to reach potential customers is SMS (Short Message Service) marketing, which is already very popular in Europe and Asia and is becoming a hot advertising tool in America.

Those who watch "American Idol" have seen SMS marketing at work. Viewers text the word "vote" to a four-number code that is matched to their favorite performer. Interactive voting, with poll results linking to a phone number or an interactive website, is one of the popular uses of SMS marketing. Other uses are "Click to Web," "Click to Call," and "Click to Video."

· Click to Web: After receiving the text message, the customer clicks a link within the text and is immediately directed to a mobile website. Once there, they can purchase products, download ringtones or wallpaper, and register as a user. The last part is invaluable because building a database of users is the key to a successful SMS marketing campaign.

· Click to Call: Customers click a number within your SMS text message to be connected to a call center where they can order products and services. Once again, information on the customer is collected and added to a list for future SMS marketing campaigns.

· Click to Video: Potential customers are immediately linked to a video that showcases your product.

Promotions, contests, and coupons have proven to be an effective way to develop consumer interest and loyalty. Some retailers are linking promotions to store locators, creating a wave of motivated customers.

A big advantage of SMS Marketing is the software programs used to provide detailed tracking so advertisers see how many cell phone users are receiving their material. The software also logs demographic data and specific information about individual consumers, such as their name, age, and location. In this way, SMS Marketing helps users to target their future campaigns to the audience best suited for their product.

Experts in the field talk about two kinds of marketing. "Pull marketing" is the passive form, where users search material, from magazines to online search engines to blogs, to find the product they want. Then there's "push marketing," when information on the product or service is sent to the potential customer with the confidence the material will be well-received.

If you're ready to "push," SMS marketing is the perfect vehicle.