Ez Texting SMS Marketing News

Mobile Marketer just released their Mobile Outlook for 2010, and while we're still reading through it, one article has already stood out - Giselle Tsirulnik's Nothing compares to ubiquity of SMS marketing:

SMS is becoming more recognized and accepted, as evidenced by increased brand adoption and budgets.

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Some industry experts argue that SMS will become irrelevant with the growth of the mobile Web, which is expected to reach nearly 100 million unique users per month in 2010, according to Millennial Media.

But nothing will beat the ubiquity and reach of SMS.

Discount retailer Target taps SMS on an ongoing basis to connect with consumers. Target has used text messaging in select advertising and marketing campaigns to be fresh and innovative, connecting with consumers to reflect their wants and needs.

“Text messaging is layered into a campaign if we believe it aligns with our overall strategy or adds an element of interest or surprise for our guests,” said Sara Boehle, spokeswoman at Target, Minneapolis."

Read the entire article (page 40) and download the entire report (PDF)

Have you seen the Ez Texting video guide to group text messaging? In five minutes you'll learn all about group text messaging, short codes, Keywords, and how to get started with Ez Texting.

Ready to start? Check out our pricing and start your free trial.

As you probably already know, Haiti has been devastated by 7.0 magnitude earthquake:

The earthquake, the worst in the region in more than 200 years, left the country in a shambles. As night fell in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, fires burned near the shoreline downtown, but otherwise the city fell into darkness. The electricity was out, telephones were not working and relief workers struggled to make their way through streets blocked by rubble.

So what can you do to help? The New York Times has a collection of information. If you want to donate money to relief efforts right now, using your cell phone, you have three options:

• You can text HAITI to 90999 to donate $10 to Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti.
• To make a $5 donation from your phone text "ONEHEART" to 85944 & confirm by replying "YES", or go to www.sophiasheart.org to make a donation.
• Text the word “Haiti” to 85944 to donate $5 on behalf of the Rescue Union Mission and MedCorp International.
• Text the word “Haiti” to 25383 to donate $5 On behalf of the Internal Rescue Committee.
• Or, you can donate $5 to Earthquake Relief In Haiti by texting YELE to 501501 and visit www.yele.org (supported by Wycelf Jean)
  

P.S.  In the past we've covered other mobile-based charity efforts. Read about them.

Last week we launched our Small Business SMS Marketing Resource Center - Today we're excited to announce that we've opened the doors to our new resource center just for real estate firms. Whether you're a Realtor, a property developer, or a management firm, we've got info, tips, and case studies that will help you launch your firm's first text messaging campaign.

Want to learn more? Visit the Real Estate Resource Center and start texting today!

MediaPost's OnlineMediaDaily reports on some findings that should clear up whether or not its time for your brand to launch its first SMS marketing campaign:

The stereotypes of the teenager whose thumbs are surgically attached to his or her mobile device and the older parent who sees the same as a phone without wires are, like most stereotypes, not entirely inaccurate -- but also not very reliable either.

According to new research by mobile messaging company Tekelec, 60% of those over 45 were found to be just as likely to use SMS as they were to make voice calls from their mobile device. The survey of 500 people in North America and Europe also found that text messaging is gaining on email as the preferred means of daily international communication, with 32% of responses across all ages preferring SMS, compared to 33% for email. And nearly a third of respondents said their use of SMS would increase in 2010.

Learn more about SMS Marketing in our post - What Is SMS Marketing?

JP Morgan is out with their 2010 Internet Industry Outlook. If they're right, the mobile world is set to keep on growing:

JP Morgan’s leading industry analyst Imran Kahn released the 328-page Interest Industry outlook which notes that total U.S. mobile advertising for 2009 is estimated at $2.6 billion, up 62 percent, with $2.3 billion of that from text messaging. Just 178 million was mobile search, and $140 million was display. Both of these were up 80 percent last year.

Turn to 2010, and mobile advertising is, according to Kahn, forecast to grow 45 percent to $3.8 billion ($3.2 billion SMS advertising, $253 million mobile display, and $31 million mobile search.)

Read more:
Mobile Marketing Watch
OnlineMediaDaily

It's a New Year and now is the time for your small business to evaluate and advance your marketing efforts. Have you considered SMS Marketing yet? If not, be sure to read Duct Tape Marketing's essential blog post, What Small Business Needs to Do to Get Ready for Mobile Marketing Now. Here's an excerpt:

Mobile marketing has taken far longer to evolve than people imagined, but I believe we are on the doorstep of an evolution in marketing that will rival social media in terms of impact.

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Text messages get read – depending on the source, research suggests it’s over 90%. So, at some point, small businesses will need to embrace text message (also called SMS) campaigns. This new frontier will eventually suffer fatigue in ways the email enjoys currently, but done right, it is a powerful new tool. One very simple principle to get started – this is not another broadcast channel, it’s a way to offer useful information to people who want to receive it.

Ready to take the next step? Visit Ez Texting's SMS Marketing For Small Businesses Resource Center and then launch your first mobile marketing campaign in minutes.

Mobile Marketing Watch has picked up on a press release that has huge implications for the future of mobile advertising:

The planned $750M acquisition of AdMob by Google announced earlier this year is stuck in limbo as two consumer groups today began to lobby the FTC to block the purchase, claiming it is anti-competitive and raises privacy concerns.

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With $22 billion in expected revenue this year, the deal, which could help Google become a monopoly in the mobile advertising space in time, needs to be carefully scrutinized by the FTC and anti-trust groups, however, it may still pass. This greatly concerns many involved in the space.

“The mobile sector is the next frontier of the digital revolution. Without vigorous competition and strong privacy guarantees this vital and growing segment of the online economy will be stifled,” wrote John M. Simpson, consumer advocate at Consumer Watchdog and CDD Executive Director Jeffery A. Chester, in a statement.

Head over to Mobile Marketing Watch to read more.

Another day, another SMS marketing success story. Of note, this one involves one of the decade's best personal branders:

HairTech International is using mobile marketing to promote the launch of Paris Hilton's huge new line of hair and beauty products.

The campaign, which kicked off in late November, already has budding socialites and fans opting-in to receive product information and giveaways via mobile from Ms. Hilton. Velti is powering the campaign.

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The mobile program is focused around a certified, Velti-powered short code (text keyword PARIS to short code 72747) that enables fans to log on to a mobile Web site to learn about Ms. Hilton's new line, sign up for giveaways and get text alerts about upcoming promotions.

As a call to action the short code has a powerful media schedule behind it including social-media initiatives - with tweets to Ms. Hilton's 1 million Twitter followers and communications to her 140,000 Facebook friends.

For the large (and growing) group of developers who have hooked their own apps up to Ez Texting's Group SMS API, we've got some great news. Our new Developer Center is now open for business! We've added lots of new code samples, a partner showcase, a community forum, and more.

If you haven't worked with Ez Texting's group text messaging API in the past, we've got some news for you as well. Our own development team has put together an easy to follow, five step getting started guide. Follow the guide and you'll be sending out messages through our SMS gateway in minutes!

Whether you're an independent developer or you work on a team at Fortune 500 company, we're here to provide you with the right tools and the support you deserve. Ready to partner with us? Visit the Ez Texting Developer Center.