More than ever it seems as if everyone is an expert at SMS marketing from the service providers to the advertising agencies who urge you to ride the mobile wave before you lose your competitive advantage forever. Yes, mobile marketing does have huge advantages, but how do you ensure that all of your efforts get customers to open their wallets rather than getting lost in a mobile abyss? The following are some best-practice tips to get you started in the right direction:

1. Target your SMS messages to the right people by making sure they have opted in to your service.

2. Know your customer's history and determine which specific products and services they would be interested in.

3. Make your message personal, such as a birthday wish along with a special discount.

4. Offer a service or product that is valuable. For example:

Payment Reminder

Customer Survey

Invitation to an exclusive event

Mobile Coupon

Appointment Reminder

Important alert such as a smoke alarm reminder service that tells a customer when it's time change the batteries.

5. Make you message short, clean and actionable.

6. Go viral! Create an SMS marketing campaign that is compelling and easy for customers to share with their friends. Better yet, why not incentivize them for referring a friend by integrating an SMS customer loyalty program?

7. Don't overuse the SMS channel. More than once a week can be disruptive and a sure way to get valuable customers to opt-out of future updates.

8. Keep your customers anonymous by never sharing or selling their mobile numbers to other brands.

9. Invest in services like SMS Gateway API and Email to SMS that will save you time and money on your texting campaigns.

According to a new study by Portio Research, worldwide SMS traffic topped 5 trillion messages in 2009 and is expected to exceed 10 trillion in 2013. These are staggering numbers for sure, but how many businesses can actually say they are taking advantage of this remarkable flow of communication? The most common way to reach mobile phone users, also know as YOUR CUSTOMERS, is through SMS. Because SMS is a neutral feature on all mobile devices, regardless of service provider or hardware manufacturer, it has become the mainstream form of international communication. And because it is also very affordable, businesses of all sizes from mom-and-pop shops to major corporations will be taking advantage of this valuable tool and succeeding. Here are some things to consider now to prepare for the future.

1. Mobile commerce is expected to grow by $119 billion by 2015 which means your Point of Sale will be altered as people respond and buy things from mobile messages.

2. The way you connect with your customers is becoming more localized giving you the opportunity to capture them as they are walking by your door. Find out what mobile tools offer Location Based Services (LBS).

3. Discovering and delivering the products and services your customers WANT is getting easier as feedback on everything from movie screenings to restaurant reviews are being generated in real time.

4. Your ability to resolve support issues is increasing customer retention.

5. Look for Direct Mobile Payments (DMP) to become more of a reality as seen by the recent successful text-to-donate Red Cross campaign for Haiti.

5. Today's mobile web is tomorrow's Internet web. With Smartphone sales up 24%, the DMA recently estimated that more people will connect to the Internet via their mobile phone than their PC within 5 years.

"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.