For the last decade, the mobile revolution has been transforming communication and bringing people around the world together in ways they never could have imagined. However, while the world has been moving at an "Internet minute" for most of us, the visually impaired have been left fumbling around on their mobile keypads. Yes, mobile keypads are nifty and compact, but trying to create text messages on them when you are visually challenged can be both pain staking and time consuming.

Up until recently, this was the case for Barry Dickinson, who is visually impaired and who stumbled upon Textmagic's Email to SMS service while searching the Internet for ways to embrace this mobile technology that seemed out of his realm.

What made you choose Textmagic?

"I browsed the web looking for a way to send and receive SMS texts from the computer, which was compatible with the talking screen reading software I use. I found other ways of sending texts, but not receiving them.Tetxmagic is very easy to use by blind people with screen reading software."

How has SMS messaging improved your communication?

"Initially, I started using Textmagic to keep in touch with my children while they where out and about and I have since extended the service to include friends who don't check their emails on a regular basis. Before Textmagic, blind people were excluded from the SMS text revolution. Textmagic now allows us to communicate with friends and family on equal terms and in their preferred format. Our kids can text home, just like their friends, rather than having to talk in from of their friends which isn't COOL!"

"Oh how I love thee. Let me count the ways in 160 characters or less."

According to recent statistics posted by McCormick Mobile Marketing, Valentine's Day was the busiest SMS messaging day in Q1 of 2009. 1.06 billion texts to be precise and that's a whole lotta love! The average consumer will spend $103 on this love-struck holiday which makes it primed for some targeted SMS marketing. How will your business take advantage of this mobile advertising frenzy to drive sales and get customers in the door?

Consider creating some buzz around your brand, products or services with SMS marketing that is easily implemented with Textmagic's SMS API:

1. Romantic Promotions such as dinner and entertainment specials and discounts are a great way to capture customers who are looking for ideas on how to spend the holiday.

2. Mobile Coupons that offer real time savings to customers looking for last minute gifts.

3. Thoughtful Remindersto your busy customers who may have forgotten about Valentine's Day, for example, "You still have time to order that gorgeous bouquet of roses your wife is going to love! Call us now, for a February 14th delivery."

4. Free Gift With Purchase that can be redeemed when you customers visit your store and purchase an item on Valentine's Day.

5. Mobile Contests are effective for acquiring new customers, as well as viral marketing.

However you decide to incorporate SMS marketing into your Valentine's Day sales strategy, always remember the 3 golden rules for avoiding business - consumer break-ups:

1. Respect the rules of decency, especially on Valentine's Day.

2. Respect your customer's privacy and provide an opt-in system.

3. Respect your customer's needs by delivering messages that are valuable to them.

Do you watch Mad Men? In his pitch to Kodak, anti-hero Don Draper has this to say: “technology is a glittering lure. But there is the rare occasion when the public can be engaged on a level beyond flash.” 

"Around and around and back home again." Photo courtesy of AMC TV.

Among a myriad of social utilities, gadgets, Web 2.0 madness, SMS or Text Messaging is still one of the best ways to stay connected with people. Why? Maybe because it is straightforward, quick and easy to use. On the other hand, there’s some sort of intimacy in sending and receiving a text message – it can put a smile on the face of a friend or loved one.

As an ecosystem, text massaging has its own milestones, breakthroughs, new insights and fresh perspectives. We’ve heard many good stories from members of the TextMagic Community about how SMS messaging tools helps them do their jobs better, share information and inform friends and family about important events. 

Still, no matter how beneficial text messaging might be, sending an SMS can be a daunting task for some people. Many are not yet aware of the potential of texting, associating it only with old-fashioned, phone-to-phone ways of using it.

Let’s look at some of the reasons why you may need to become a more advanced SMS user. 

Reason 1: Save time pressing mobile phone keys. Using an online text messaging tool is certainly much more efficient than trying to type a message on a mobile phone keypad. A PC keyboard is definitely easier to use for older generations than a small mobile keypad. So for someone who hates normal text messaging (especially predictive text) it makes text messages bearable.

Reason 2: Organize text messages in a way you like. The one issue with traditional SMS is that messages often do not have any intelligent formatting. For example, spaces and paragraphs are not used. When sending them over the Web or using a piece of software it is possible to give messages a professional and fun look, Moreover, you can organize your SMS correspondence into threaded conversations and save them on your computer.

Reason 3: Use SMS as a reliable means of texting from and to overseas. You work offshore on oil rigs in Norway where you are not allowed to take mobile phones. What’s more, all gadgets have to be stored at the heliport. Or you are serving in Afghanistan as an interpreter with the Northern Alliance. Or, maybe, your son is studying at a UK university with subsequent travels in Australia and the Far East.  

Under such circumstances, in order to keep in contact with your friends and family, an online text messaging tool can be more convenient than other forms of communication, sometimes the only one. Also the time difference can make it awkward to make a phone call or use an IM software programs.

Reason 4: Use texting from areas with no phone or coverage. It can be a lifesaver when you found yourself in a part of the world where you could not get mobile phone reception but had Internet access and needed to communicate with others at home without the expense of phoning from a public phone booth using a phone card (sometimes, the only other option).

Reason 5: Make last-minute changes with no hassle. You can use online SMS tools to communicate efficiently with your colleagues and clients when last minute changes are needed. This is really invaluable for the UK's changeable weather conditions and for teachers who need to amend or cancel classes at schools and so need to let large numbers of people know.

Reason 6: Notify customers of the various stages of order processing. As an owner of a web-store, online texting is ideal for sending dispatch notifications to buyers, for example, of your eBay items. This not only makes your communications appear professional, but prevents your registered number being seen and potentially exploited.

Reason 7: Enjoy privacy and protect your personal information. The technology allows each outcoming and incoming text to be only between you and your recipients. So you’ll be able to create a communications track using a secure website or software program.

Reason 8: Provide a better customer service when bookings arrive. Online texting helps travel companies to be alerted promptly when bookings arrive. Therefore your response time could be virtually immediate, allowing you to provide a better customer service.

SMS or Text Messaging tools can be integrated into your booking system in no time. Plus, as they extremely easy to use, there is nothing to maintain about them, apart from topping it up once in a while.

Reason 9: Programmer or system administrator? Use SMS HTTP or SMTP API as a better alternative. Let’s assume you’re concerned about controlling your server room temperature. And here’s the challenge: temperatures of the server room are logged by a temperature logging system. The temperature logging system generates an email when temperatures are too high. However, the emails are not read regularly. 

Here's a neat solution. The SMS Gateway technology allows the email to be transformed to SMS by a special Email to SMS program. And so SMS will enable you to respond on time to prevent overheating of the server room and control your server room temperature. (For more details, check out our recent article SMS Keeps Customers Safe).

Reason 10: Marketing Agency? Find new revenue channels. Adding bulk SMS capabilities to your agency’s service offering will increase revenue, reduce costs and so open up new opportunities for your clients. Having Text Messaging Solutions as a key part of the messaging mix, can also help optimize your clients marketing investments and gives you the power need during this recession to show how your agency can offer short-term results and long-term value. 

Summary 

Remember Don Draper’s words about "a deeper bond to a product"? What do you think about online text messaging as a product? Does it touch you in some way? Feel free to comment below or let’s talk on Twitter! 

 

"Nostalgia. It's delicate but potent. Switch it on.” Photo courtesy of AMC TV.

Safelincs Fire Safety Products is typical of the kind of business that has thrived in the era of mobile communications. Safelincs, the UK’s largest online fire safety company, uses technology to reach and stay in touch with customers throughout the UK and beyond.

Recently, the Safelincs team has started to use TextMagic's SMS gateway API to stay in touch with customers. But the firm isn't taking the traditional SMS marketing route. Instead, it is using text messaging as part of a free reminder service. Safelincs' IT Manager explains:

"As well as being a profit-making business, Safelincs is also strongly ethical – we have a real commitment to saving people’s lives through fire safety. We support the Government’s Fire Kills campaign, and we do a great deal to keep people aware and informed of fire safety issues.

"As a part of that strand of the business, we’ve recently set up a free SMS reminder service for customers who want to keep their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors working. All they have to do is sign up on the website, and we send them a reminder when they need to test their alarms, replace batteries and so on."

The  Safelincs team has used the TextMagic SMS gateway API to integrate text messaging into the company website. Customers fill out a simple form, stating their mobile number and the type of reminder they require. The API handles the rest.

How difficult did the developers find it to integrate the TextMagic SMS gateway API and get started with automated text messaging?

"Not difficult at all. We’d been keen to integrate SMS into the site for a while, and we spent some time shopping around different service providers. We settled on TextMagic because it seemed to offer a flexible API and the best combination of service, reliability and pricing.

"Integrating with the API was very easy indeed. We had one small glitch which was resolved really quickly, and we managed to get the service up, running and tested without even buying any SMS credits – the 20 free credits we received on sign up were enough to test the whole thing."

And would Safelincs recommend TextMagic to other businesses?

"Definitely. Integrating SMS into a website sounds like it needs a lot of complex work, but it didn’t at all – I think it wound up taking a day’s development time and some very standard coding skills. We’ve had no problems whatsoever, and we hope to be using TextMagic to text our subscribers for a long time to come."

Interested in how automated text messages can help your business? Learn more about out SMS gateway API.