While most businesses are now beginning to understand the benefits of SMS marketing, and the wider concept of mobile marketing as a whole, many are still unsure of how to use to its full potential. This post will give you a few hints and tips to help you maximise the success rate of your text marketing campaigns. 

1. Remember your call to action: As simple as it sounds, it is easy to forget the most important aspect of your text message – the call to action. Ensure that you highlight the purpose of your SMS to recipients, whether this is to encourage them to reply to the message using a specific keyword or to claim a voucher by a set date. Your customers need to know how you want them to respond. 

2. Be consistent: There’s no point sending recipients a string of messages and then lying dormant for months on end. Like any successful marketing campaign, SMS needs to be used consistently to achieve the best results. By making sure you send recipients regular updates such as important information about the company or notifications for upcoming sales and events, you are more likely to maintain interest and attract regular customers. 

3. Use SMS in a variety of ways: While consistency is important, you also need to inject some variety into your campaigns. Don’t just send out the same message template with a few tweaks every month as it will soon lose its desired impact and your recipients will quickly lose interest as a result. Experiment with sending out different types of messages such as changes to your business, exclusive information about an upcoming product, or offers that you feel your customers will love. Keeping your messages interesting and original will ensure that your customers will want to continue receiving SMS alerts from you. 

4. Make it meaningful: Ensure that the messages you send are beneficial to your recipients. Customers want to hear about information that affects them such as when your next sale is going to be and updates to a service. Texts that appear to have been sent just for the sake of contact will only waste time and money. 

5. Track your progress: It is vital to measure how well your campaign is running so that you know what’s working and what needs modification. By tracking how many recipients reply to your messages as well as keeping an eye on subscription numbers, you can help to make sure that your campaign is running smoothly and reaching its full potential at all times. 

Following these 5 tips will help you make the most of SMS marketing. For more information please visit our website or contact a member of our Customer Service team on 08451 221 302. 

One aspect of our business that we take great pride in is our dedication to improving the community by sponsoring several charities through our established TextAnywhere Foundation. We ensure that a portion of our profit goes directly to a number of specially chosen charity organisations that are devoted to the environment and providing support to those who need it. 

To ensure that our TextAnywhere Foundation runs effectively we keep in mind this key principle: 1% Profit. 1% Time. 1% Product. 

At the end of every year we donate 1% of our profit to the charities that we have pledged to sponsor as part of our TextAnywhere Foundation. We also allow for all staff members to be given three paid days off from work annually so that they can help out with the local charity organisations in their area that are important to them. Finally, we implemented our attitude towards charity projects into our products by allowing any not-for-profit organisations that use our SMS services to do so at a reduced rate. 

The charities we support:

In 2012 we sponsored two incredibly well-deserving charities and, as promised, donated 1% of our pre-tax profit at the end of the year. These two charities were the Evelina’s Children’s Hospital and the Crohn’s and Colitis Charity UK. Both charities were delighted with our donation and a thank you message can even be found from the Crohn’s and Colitis Charity in our January 2013 tweets archive here.

This year TextAnywhere’s Foundation will be supporting MacMillan Cancer Support and the Polycystic Kidney Disease Charity. Both charities are set up for an amazing cause and touch the lives of a number of our members of staff personally. More on these charities can be discovered here.

If you would like to find out more about the TextAnywhere Foundation, the chosen charities, or our other community ventures then please don’t hesitate to contact us on 08451 221 302 or email, [Link: http://www.textanywhere.net/contact-us.aspx] or visit our main website.

Text messaging has long been a popular method of communication for teenagers and young adults before its benefits were picked up on by users of older age groups. Therefore, if you are looking to target young people, it makes sense to use this original favourite. Here are some good examples of how to use SMS marketing to help you attract young customers. 

Offer mobile coupons: Most young people have their mobile phones on them wherever they go. Therefore, offering mobile based coupons will increase the likelihood that these discounts will get used by young customers and decrease the possibility of these coupons getting lost or damaged.  

Upcoming product launches and sales: Many teenagers and young adults find it important to keep up with trends and always maintain the latest fashion through their purchases. By notifying young customers through SMS of upcoming product launches and providing information about sales, they can be assured that they are in the know at all times and you can increase your likelihood of a purchase. 

Run youth related campaigns: SMS can be a great way to run campaigns that are aimed at young people in particular. Anything from urging teens to text a keyword to a specific short code to be in with the chance of winning a prize, or using a similar medium to get young customers to enter a poll or vote can be a great way to boost campaign awareness.

Circulate student specific discounts: A great way to increase knowledge and spending is to personalise your SMS marketing campaigns. For instance, targeting young people through SMS with student specific discounts will help your customers to feel they are cared about and catered for by your business. Discounts are also a popular way to increase customer interest via text message in general. 

Make messaging fun: Ensure that your messages are suited to the age group they are trying to target. As a tech-savvy generation it is important to provide texts that are not only relevant to teenagers and young adults but visually presented as so. Include an assortment of media attachments such as web links and photos that will be appreciated by a young audience and that are relevant to your campaign to get young people more involved.

For more information on using SMS marketing to target younger audiences and customers please visit our website, or call our Customer Service team on 08451 221 302 who will be happy to talk through your ideas. 

If there’s one change you make to your business this year then make sure that change involves implementing mobile marketing into your overall marketing strategy. A recent survey by IHS predicted that smartphones will claim half the mobile phone market within the year with this figure set to reach two thirds by 2016. At the same time, an infographic from E-consultancy revealed that mobile internet usage will take over desktop usage by 2014. 

These statistics alone highlight how vital it is that you strive to embrace all aspects of the mobile arena. So with this in mind, take a look at some of the following ways you can help switch your business on to mobile marketing: 

1. Use mobile advertising:

There are plenty of different formats available for advertising to mobile phone users. Many of these follow the same route as basic internet marketing using methods such as pay-per-click. You can also place adverts within mobile games and other applications to make sure you are giving your business as wide a reach as possible. 

2. Optimise your website for mobile browsing:

More and more people are using their mobile phones to search and browse the internet, especially while on-the-go or at the same time as completing activities such as watching television. You need to ensure that your website is mobile friendly so that users who access your site can do so with ease. Mobile optimisation of  your site is simple to do and relatively cheap, and it will prevent you missing out on potential customers due to having a site that is difficult to access via a smartphone or tablet device. 

3. Embrace local search:

The great thing about mobile is the fact that it allows users to access content while on-the-go. If your customers see an advertisement or product that catches their eye they can easily look it up on the spot to get the information they need and that could lead to a purchase. This is the same for acquiring basic information such as finding a nearby service such as a restaurant or hair salon.

Businesses that have taken the time to make their details available in online directories and local search functions on search engines are guaranteed to have greater success with drawing in customers as people like to have all the information they need about a company in one place. Your customers are unlikely to waste time searching for your web address, contact details or opening times if you haven’t provided them. They will simply go to one of your competitors instead. Therefore, keeping your details up-to-date and accurate for mobile searchers is essential.

4. Start texting more:

Once your customers have opted in to receiving SMS updates on your product or service it is important to keep them interested by sending them relevant, quality content. This will keep your customers engaged with the goings on within your business while increasing your likelihood of sales. Try sending a variety of content ranging from mobile coupons and other discounts to information about your business that your customers need to know about. SMS isn’t just for consumer industries though. For those in the service industries, using SMS technology to keep clients updated with appointment times, delivery schedules and IT systems alerts is a great way to build customer satisfaction.

For more information on the benefits of using SMS marketing as part of your mobile marketing strategy please visit our website or call our Customer Care team on 08451 221 302 if you have any questions. 

No matter what type of product or service you offer, you can likely take advantage of our TextPremium SMS package. TextPremium allows customers to adopt a Short Code number of their choice to use in their marketing campaigns. This number provides you with two options. Either you can use the number as a free tool to allow customers to contact you or as ‘Reverse Billing’ which, if you choose to, will charge your customers for contacting you via this number. The method you choose to use all depends on what you are aiming to get out of your TextPremium package.  

Here are some great examples of how TextPremium can work for you: 

1. Request information: one of the most popular uses of Short Code messages is to enable customers to receive information by texting a keyword integrated with your Short Code number for free. For example by texting ‘INFO’ to the Short Code 88376 your customers could instantly receive information about your product or service. This cuts out the need for other methods of contact that are more expensive for the customer and require lots of unnecessary labour hours from your team. Here’s our example you’re welcome to try, text DETAILS to 81025 for more information*.

2. Host a competition: Our TextPremium service also allows clients to set up their own personal competitions with the ability to offer multiple choice answers. Your customers simply need to text ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’ corresponding to their chosen answer to your dedicated Short Code to be entered in with a chance of winning. 

3. Claim a reward or discount: You can keep track of the number of customers who respond to your offers by requesting that they text a free keyword in order to receive their reward. The opportunities are endless but one example could be that your customers’ text ‘OFFER’ to 82309 get a reply in seconds with a voucher for a free bottle of wine the next time they visit your restaurant, or 10% discount on their next in-store purchase. 

4. Make a donation: Charities can use this service as a quick and easy way to take donations from customers. Simply setting up a keyword such as ‘DONATE’ will allow customers to be automatically charged an agreed sum of money just for sending the text, removing the unnecessary hassle that it takes for entering in card details or waiting to get through to a call centre. 

5. Send a song request: Radio shows often use SMS services to allow listeners to text in with a song request or a response to a question, vote or competition. TextPremium can provide all these requirements and easily cope with thousands of entries to make the life of a radio deejay as simple as possible. 

For more information on our TextPremium service please visit our website or contact us here.  

* Please note that you will only incur your standard network message charge, based on your service provider rates and tariff package

When it comes to creating a successful, well-rounded mobile marketing strategy, SMS marketing plays a vital role. This is due to the large number of benefits it carries when compared with similar marketing methods. But what is it exactly that makes SMS marketing so effective? The following points aim to help you discover why:

1. Drastically reduce your overall marketing time: Shrink the amount of time you spend planning, creating and distributing your marketing campaigns using SMS marketing. More traditional methods of marketing require extensive planning before they are put into practice. The ability to get you messages into your customers’ hands instantly, as soon as you have something to tell your audience, is a feature that cannot be matched by other forms of marketing. 

2. Enjoy cost-effective results: SMS marketing is one of the cheapest forms of marketing available. You only need to pay out a small sum for the number of text messages you purchase which is minimal when compared to the cost of printed adverts, poster production, TV adverts, etc.

3. Filter out uninterested individuals: Because SMS marketing is an opt-in service you are only targeting the customers who have an actual interested in your product, eliminating the time and money spent contacting individuals who are not willing to interact with your business. 

4. Get straight to the point: The limited characters in a standard text message ensure that the messages you send are precise and contain only the relevant and important information that your customers need to know. This removes the unnecessary waffle that nobody likes to read. 

5. Global marketing reach: With the number of active handsets across the globe now over the billion threshold, you would be crazy not to want to tap into this huge market. Sending text messages is just one of the ways to do this. 

If you would like to know more about how SMS marketing can help your business then please visit the TextAnywhere website for more information, or call our Customer Service team on 08451 221 302.

If you have been thinking about engaging in SMS marketing campaigns but need a bit more information first then read these benefits to find out why SMS marketing should be an essential part of your marketing strategy. 

SMS messages vs. Email messages: Sending bulk SMS messages is quick and easy. Just like sending an email, you can simply write down what you want to say and it will be sent to your client list in a matter of seconds. While email marketing also shares the benefits of being cost-effective and instantaneous, SMS marketing enjoys a higher open rate which is likely to increase conversion rates as a result. 

The reduced number of characters available in a text message also allows you to be clear and concise with what you need to say and won’t make your customers feel put off by large amounts of text. Also, because text messages are delivered to a mobile device, they can be picked up, read and responded to while your customers are on-the-go in a much simpler way than email messages.

SMS coupons vs. Printed coupons: Many businesses have found success by offering discounts and promotions to customers in the form of printed coupons. These coupons can be cashed in at the till or redeemed online by typing in a code. However, the traditional paper method has long carried with it certain disadvantages such as being easily lost, damaged or simply forgotten. Sending the same discount via SMS expunges these issues as most people keep their mobile phone on their person at all times allowing for a higher redemption rate. SMS coupons also enjoy increased shareability as they can be easily forwarded by customers to contacts via text message. 

SMS messages vs. Phone calls: Businesses are starting to recognise that ‘cold calling’ is not the best approach for contacting customers due to its intrusive nature. Because of laws governing SMS marketing and the subsequent inability for companies to acquire client phone numbers without their permission, the customers you contact via SMS will only be customers who are interested in receiving information about your product or service. Unlike a phone call, SMS messages don’t require an immediate response so if you have caught your customers at a bad time or if they are not at home, they can still pick up your message at a later date. 

Other SMS marketing benefits:

1. Because you are only paying for the messages you send, SMS marketing is low-cost and does not require money to be spent on design, print, publication or distribution like other forms of printed marketing. 

2. The information you send your customers can be received quickly and efficiently to ensure practicality for both sides. For instance, appointment reminders sent via text reduce the number of missed appointments and cancellations, which is beneficial for both parties. 

3. Text messages can also be much more highly personalised to target particular customers and customer groups. This will boost positive views of your brand which could translate into a higher number of sales and customer loyalty. 

If you would like to know more about how TextAnywhere can help you with your SMS marketing campaign then please contact a member of our Customer Service team on 08451 221 302, or visit our website. 

Like any marketing campaign you launch, the only way to tell if your SMS marketing campaign is effective is to keep track of it properly. This will help you to highlight the areas that are working well and the areas that require some changes. The best way to do this is to incorporate a number of tracking methods, some of which are listed below. 

Keyword tracking: One way to track the success of your SMS campaigns is by keeping an eye on how many customers respond to certain keywords used in your texts. For example, if you are running a competition that requires customers to text a keyword such as ‘WIN’ to a designated short code to enter then it is wise to monitor how many customers text this short code compared with competitions run in the past. This will help you decide whether running such competitions is worthwhile and which products people are most interested in winning.   

Call tracking: You can also keep tabs on the number of people who are prompted to ring a number supplied by you in your SMS messages. Urging customers to call for a quote on a service, to renew a membership, or simply to request information can all be tracked especially if you set up a number specific for this purpose.

Coupon tracking: It is easy to track how many customers respond to texts containing discounts simply by monitoring how many coupons are redeemed either in-store or online compared with how many messages were sent out in the first place. This will tell you how successful your campaign has been based on the redemption rate and can also be compared with other similar messages sent out in the past. 

Google Analytics: Embedding a URL link into your text messages is a great way to track how many people respond to your messages. For instance, asking your customers to check out a sale on handbags along with a link to the relevant page on your website can be tracked using Google analytics to see how many customers have accessed this particular page using a mobile device. 

There are plenty of ways to track the success of your SMS marketing campaigns and we have produced a short guide to help you further.

To find out more about SMS marketing please visit our website, or contact a member of our Customer Service team on 08451 221 302. 

When running a business, it is important to keep in regular contact with your customers so that you can stay ahead of your competitors and ensure that your customers don’t forget about you. There are a number of ways for you to do this using SMS marketing that can really help.

1. Reward customer loyalty: Show that you appreciate your customers by making sure you reward them for their loyalty. Try sending out exclusive discounts via SMS to customers who shop regularly at your store. This will make your customers feel valued and give them an incentive to keep on returning. Ignoring their loyalty could result in some customers choosing one of your competitors who do reward loyalty instead.  

2. Send regular texts: Make sure you send out SMS messages often enough so that you stay in your customers minds. There’s no point sending out a message a couple of times a year as your customers will soon forget about you. Make sure you stay fresh in people’s minds all year round by sending out regular content that is valuable and informative. For example, sending out information to your customers about the latest product launches or important upcoming events will ensure that you remain foremost in their minds.

3. Remind customers about your monthly e-newsletter: A good way to ensure your customers are getting the latest information about your business is to produce a monthly newsletter via email. SMS messages are a great way to let customers know that your newsletter is due to be released so that they can be sure to check their inboxes. SMS is the perfect way to alert customers as it is fast and likely to be read quickly because people usually have their phones on their person.

4. Reach out to your employees: Sometimes it can be hard to let employees know about important information regarding business. By sending out a mass text message to all employees you can be confident that everyone will receive the latest updates even if they are off sick or unable to make an employee meeting. This is especially helpful if you have an important last minute announcement to make and no time to call a face-to-face meeting. 

SMS is the best tool out there for staying in touch quickly. It is popular, fast and reliable with a variety of uses to suit all businesses. If you would like to know more about how using an SMS service can help your business then please visit the TextAnywhere website or call our Customer Service team on 08451 221 302 who will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

One problem that many businesses struggle with when it comes to marketing is patience - or should that be impatience? Achieving success with a marketing campaign comes from putting in a lot of time and effort and it can sometimes be frustrating when you don’t see immediate results from your efforts. Don’t give up! Read the following advice to help you find out whether your marketing campaign is working as well as it can be and have you reaping the rewards in no time. 

The key to SMS marketing success is measurement.

Consistently keeping track of your SMS marketing will help you to measure how successful each campaign has been and how you have progressed over time. There are several ways to do this and utilising all of these methods together will provide the best overview. Before you start tracking your campaigns you first need to decide what it is you want to get out of them. Whether you want to boost sales through offering discount incentives or to simply raise brand awareness you need to make sure that you’re using the appropriate measurements to monitor this. 

Here are some examples of ways you can track your marketing campaigns with TextAnywhere. 

• Include a link to a website in your SMS messages – this will allow you to monitor how many users have visited your site by clicking on a link from a text message using your website analytics. 

• Use a short code in your messages. This will allow you to track direct responses to messages such as: “Text INFO to 83315”. You can then analyse the responses to this code using TextAnywhere short code reporting.

• Send out SMS based discount coupons. These can then be monitored to see whether they are redeemed by your customers. This will help you to track who is engaging with your product. 

• Supply your customers with a phone number or email address that is specific to your SMS message recipients. This will help you to track interaction with your messages based on how many people contact you using these details. 

These are the main ways you can go about tracking the success of your marketing campaigns and we have also produced a Guide to Measurable SMS Marketing to help you further.

For more information on monitoring your SMS messages please contact the TextAnywhere Customer Service team on 08451 221 302 or visit our website.