Thursday, May 31, 2012
By Ryann T, Follow me on Google+
Over the last two years there has been a proliferation of mobile messaging apps such as WhatsApp and iMessage, and social media messaging tools like Twitter. These applications allow the user to send and receive text messages for free without having to use up data from a cell phone package. As innovative as these applications are, peer to peer text messaging usage continues to grow to unprecedented levels. In a recent report by Informa Telecoms and Media, the projections for SMS usage over the next five years will increase. The report projects that global SMS traffic will increase from 1.6 trillion messages in 2011 to 7.7 trillion messages in 2016. This data makes it clear that the popularity of the medium doesn't seem to be slowing down. As mobile phone usage becomes more ubiquitous, it becomes critical for marketers to make text marketing an integral component of their campaigns. SMS marketing has some key advantages over other mediums. SMS text messaging is able to break through the clutter vying for your customer’s attention. This is reflected in the extremely high open rates. With SMS, your message is being read by 95% of recipients within 15 minutes of being sent. This is in sharp contrast to email marketing, which has an open rate of less than 20%. In addition to the high open rates, SMS text messaging creates an immediate customer interactivity that other marketing mediums lack. With the advent of textable long codes, businesses can use their main ten digit phone line to send and receive text messages. Traditionally, in order for an organization to text market they would have to go through the very laborious process of buying an expensive short code. Textable long codes have enabled a company to bypass that process entirely. In addition to being able to respond to mobile offers, the redemption rates on mobile offers are higher than other marketing mediums. Traditional media like coupons, newspaper ads, radio or direct mail have an average redemption rate of 2%. Conversely, SMS marketing redemption rates of average 20% or higher. These high redemption rates make it a highly desirable medium to convey marketing offers. The relative low cost of SMS technology also make it an ideal way to market a product. On a per customer acquisition model, text marketing is the cheapest and most effective way to reach your customers with a message in minutes. It doesn’t take weeks like traditional media. With all the benefits of text messaging, it is clear that personal SMS use will continue to go up. As the popularity of SMS goes up, it is critical for marketers to make SMS an integral portion of their marketing strategy and stay ahead of the competition.