How Are Businesses Using SMS Texting to Advertise?
Advertising a Business
By Filonia LeChat
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When businesses want to capture sales, they have to go to where their customers are, even if that's the filmy realm of phone space. According to a Pew Internet report on Americans and text messaging, between 2010 and 2011 73 percent of adults text messaged, or used SMS messaging, on their phones, generating about 42 messages per day. It's no surprise, then, that companies are discovering the benefits of this quick and broad way to advertise and why SMS may actually spell success.
Prior to the mobile phone heyday, many businesses captured customer email addresses to send targeted email newsletter blasts with advertising information. While this process continues, companies now use texting to generate name recognition, a digital equivalent of keeping their name on paper on the desk in front of their targeted audience. Texts, which may be quickly scrolled, swiped through and deleted, are less intrusive and with most phone data plans offering unlimited or large numbers of texts per month, companies can reach out to their consumers with texts for daily sales, holiday announcements and previews of upcoming events.
There may be a stigma to cutting out coupons from the local newspaper, but in any economy, customers will welcome a business that tries to save them money. With texting, companies can advertise with mobile coupons that may lead more buyers to their business. Text message recipients usually click through the text message on their phone, which opens an Internet site that loads a bar code. At a store, the cashier scans the bar code directly from the text message or mobile phone and the discount is applied. Businesses may capture money from a buyer who wouldn't traditionally have shopped at their location, as well as demographic and financial data from that buyer.
Businesses know that time is of the essence when trying to capture their segment of the buying market, and when they choose to implement flash sales in their advertising, they help create a buzz and a sense of "must get it now." While flash sales, a spontaneous and previously unannounced special event, have been around before text messaging, being able to communicate about a flash sale via text message makes the announcement more instantaneous. A company can announce its flash sale through a mass email to its customer database, creating a sense of VIP, invite-only excitement. Text messages may even be culled to just certain customers, those who advertisers decide are the exact target buyers for the flash sale.
Quick Response Codes
A Quick Response Code, or QR code, may look like an art-deco design, but for advertisers it's a small square that may lead to big business. When a business sends a QR code to its SMS customers, that text message creates a portal to videos, tutorials, sales announcements and more. Text message recipients view the code on their phones for exclusive information. Scannable QR codes are popping up in magazines and directly on store shelves as well, where you can place the code in your phone's viewfinder.
Pew Internet: How Americans Use Text Messaging
Fordham University: Online Frenzy for Flash Sales
Boise State University: What Is a QR Code?
Fionia LeChat is a technical writer whose major skill sets include the MS Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Publisher), Photoshop, Paint, desktop publishing, design and graphics. LeChat has a Master of Science in technical writing, a Master of Arts in public relations and communications and a Bachelor of Arts in writing/English.
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1 How to Advertise on Cell Phones
2 SMS Campaign Ideas
3 Objectives of Promotional Strategies
4 Creative Ways to Advertise Through Cell Phones