Text messaging has become a popular form of communication, with over 3.5 billion messages sent daily in the US. SMS marketing allows companies to reach customers nearly instantly, with open rates around 97% and responses within an hour. When done properly through opt-in programs, text marketing allows businesses to build customer databases and engage customers through targeted offers and promotions sent via short codes. While it requires an initial investment, text marketing can be a cost-effective way for businesses to acquire new customers when supported by traditional advertising.

1. Why should I care about SMS (text messages)? “ text messaging” , also called SMS (for short message service ), has exploded in this country. Some 3.5 billion text messages are sent and received every day, according to CTIA, the wireless industry trade group. That is more than the number of cellphone calls and a threefold jump from 2007 , with some of the biggest increases occurring in people over the age of 30 .

2. Why text messages? It’s also the one form of communication that many people are tethered to 24/7 . Which helps explain why, at a time when in-boxes fill with hundreds of never-opened e-mail messages from direct marketers. 97 percent of all SMS marketing messages are opened 83 percent within one hour , according to the latest cell-carrier research.

3. Why text messages? “I like to think of it as the certified mail of digital communications,” said Jeff Lee , president of Distributive Networks , a text-messaging application and consulting firm based in Washington. “ When you want to be sure people see something, send it by text.” Mr. Lee’s company worked with the Obama campaign on its use of SMS in August 2008 to announce Joe Biden as its pick for vice president. An estimated 2.9 million people registered to receive the text. The promotion generated millions of new mobile phone numbers, which the campaign then used to send out more texts drumming up donations and volunteers.

5. What not to Do? Don’t even think about doing it the illegal way. While SMS is less plagued by spam than e-mail, it’s not without its bottom feeders. Spammers using automated dialers can hack into the nation’s SMS infrastructure through the Web and blast out millions of texts to random cellphone numbers. If you were considering hiring one of these firms to do your marketing, DON’T. When working with SMS distribution group ask the following questions: 1. How was the list acquired? 2. Single or double opt-in? 3. Who owns the list? 4. Can you export the data?

6. Why text messages? You basically have three (legitimate) options. 1. When selecting a service provider, the choice comes down to how much you want to spend and what you need your text-messaging service to do. The simplest and cheapest option is to hire the text-messaging equivalent of the old Valpak mailings. For example, MobiQpons is an iPhone app with a geo-locator that automatically sends people text coupons when they are shopping in the vicinity of participating businesses; New York-focused 8Coupons is a Web-based service that allows users to text themselves the coupons they want. This approach, which has become increasingly popular with neighborhood boutiques, restaurants and the like, costs as little as several dollars a day. One thing it won’t allow you to do is capture recipients’ cell numbers — arguably the key feature of the most successful text-message marketing campaigns . Options!

7. 2. Another option is the custom approach specialized in by Distributive Networks. This involves registering for your own proprietary “short code,” the technical name for the five or six-digit phone number that dialers use to access a text marketing campaign. Example: Advantages here are that you can choose a vanity short code like OBAMA (62262), and you have free rein over the type of standardized information that you can solicit from callers. Disadvantages are that it will take at least eight weeks for your registration to be processed by the industry’s official short-code gatekeepers, and it will run you thousands of dollars in licensing, activation and hosting fees. 3. Off-the-shelf platform offered by local media companies (usually bundled with larger media buys) or HipCricket (many of whose earliest clients were radio stations) that lets you share a short code. Depending on whether you also hire an interactive agency to shape your marketing strategy, you may be able to get up and going for as little as $500 a month. *Text Message Campaigns have a 160 character limit. Options!

8. Small business associations and groups across the nation are working together to build a shared database and sharing the expense. Keeping the investment at a minimal while building a shared database. Chambers Shopping Centers Communities Business Groups How does using SMS benefit each business in the group. Latest Trends Keeps cost down. Building a large more diverse list Helping fellow business owners reach new customers Win a new car! Buy one get one free! 50% OFF!

9. Why text messages? 3. Text marketing MUST be supported by traditional marketing. Of course, to capture people’s cell numbers, you need some way to get their attention. What are your current resources at your disposal? Restaurant tabletops Live events Sidewalk signs Web site Social media pages Traditional Media – TV, billboards, newspaper or radio spots Promotions!

10. Consumer sends message to advertiser and then opts in to receive the offer and additional messages. How it works Consumer texts keyword to 64988 Auto Reply asks consumer for OK to receive coupon and additional offers Consumer texts back permission (opting in for additional messages) Auto Reply sends coupon and phone number is added to database EXAMPLE: “ Text ‘symphony’ to 46988” “ Text ‘football’ to 46988” “ Text ‘beer’ to 46988” Fund Raising Examples “ Text ‘HOPE’ to 90999 to make a $5 donation to St. Judes” “ Text ‘your zip code’ to 27297 for area Arby’s offers”

11. You now has permission to contact them because users have opted in. *Can incorporate your existing cell phone data base Long-term Usage of Database See Mobile Marketing Associations’s Best Practices Guide for rules on contacting Future promotional text message example: “ We’ve grown! Stop by our new location at I-75 and Shelly Drive! Show this coupon and receive a $5 car wash!”

12. Why text messages? Geo-Locator (automatically sends people text coupons when they are shopping in the vicinity of participating businesses) MobiQpons 8Coupons Distributive Networks 3cinteractive iLoop Local Media Partners KJRH Cox Radio List of Service Providers