More and more businesses are getting in on the text message (SMS) marketing scene. That’s because it’s getting harder and harder to deny that text message marketing is here to stay. In a relatively short amount of time, SMS marketing has taken over the marketing world. This is due in large part to a consumer base that is always on the go. There is no faster or more cost effective way to reach these people than through their phones.

Like anything else however, getting into a new type of marketing requires a little know-how. Here are some tips for launching your own mobile marketing campaign for your business.

Three popular uses for text message marketing

SMS marketing campaigns are all about engaging with customers. It’s not enough to send customers texts, you want them texting back. There are three main uses for text message marketing that will generate back and forth communication between your business and your customers:

• Auto-responders are becoming increasingly popular in the world of SMS marketing. They relieve much of the burden of having to answer customer’s FAQs. In addition, customers don’t have to wait on the phone to speak with a customer service representative, they simply text their question and receive an automated reply also via text

• Surveys and polls are great ways to facilitate back and forth communication. You get free feedback from your customers and your customers get more of what they want from you plus the feeling that their opinion is important to you

• Coupons and special deals are the best possible ways to show appreciation to your customers. By sending deals via text you ensure that your customers keep coming back for more

Text messaging laws

Like any form of advertising, text message marketing can be abused. For that reason it is closely regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). If you want to text your customers you have to obtain their permission first. Starting October 16th of this year, the FCC has passed even stricter laws when it comes to getting customers’ permission.  Under the new laws, the customer must sign (either handwritten or electronically) a consent form that authorizes the business to send text messages. The consent form must also spell out that customers may receive automated telemarketing calls. Finally, the consent form must let customers know that their signature of the consent form is not required to make any purchase.

Failing to abide by the FCC laws can cost anywhere from 500 to 1,500 per text message.

Text messaging services

Finally, you’ll want to choose a text message marketing service to provide the necessary infrastructure for your SMS marketing campaign. There are many to choose from so make sure you select one that has the ability to send different types of messages such as auto-responders, surveys and polls, and mobile coupons. Finally, you’ll want to make sure that the messaging service you choose has reporting tools that will enable you to accurately measure the success of your business’s marketing efforts so that you can continue to fine tune them.

Source:  Business News Daily