Ez Texting SMS Marketing News

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

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.

What is SMS Marketing? We get this question a lot at Ez Texting. It's actually a really simple concept, so let's jump right in. We all know what text messages are. SMS Marketing are advertisements delivered via text messages. That's the basic definition. Is there more? Definitely - but nothing too complicated:

• Mobile Coupons - Deliver a coupon code as a text message to your customers.
• Sale & Event Reminders - Make sure your customers know about upcoming events at your store.
• Mobile Contests & Mobile Polling - Your customers can text in Keywords to a short code to vote or join a contents. When the event is over, you'll have collected their information so you can contact them in the future.
• And...anything else you can imagine that you can express in 160 characters!

Leare more about SMS Marketing at Ez Texting.

Or, if you're really interested, we suggest you check out our white paper, Mobile Marketing with Text Messaging.

MobileCrunch asks the question:

If your carrier offered to take a hefty chunk of change off the cost of a mobile handset be it that you let them put advertisements on the home screen, would you take the deal? Nokia thinks you might.

Our source deep within Nokia’s headquarters has just leaked us a bunch of information about the company’s future operating system release, Maemo “Harmattan”. It’s jam-packed full of unexpected twists, including their new-found love for home screen ads.

Visit MobileCrunch to read through their evidence and analysis.

What's so smart about the ad? App Store, App Store, App Store:

Visit Mobile Marketer to learn more and view the ad.

Each day, the American consumer is exposed to thousands of advertisements, but how many of those do they actually recall? A recent Mobile Response Survey found that mobile/SMS marketing recall rates were extremely high compared to other forms of media.

Some key findings:

58 percent of consumers are interested in receiving mobile coupons.

First, let's dispense with the bad:

Most forms of mobile advertising are still annoying to a sufficient number of people to engender caution, according to a report by analyst group Forrester.

But there is a silver lining:

Anyway, Forrester claims that SMS is the most effective form of marketing because of the way people use their handsets, saying “text messaging is more likely to be successful than mechanisms involving mobile data, including couponing and [two-dimensional bar] codes”. The recommendation is to combine text messaging with out-of-home, or things like send-to-a-friend messages and referral incentives.

Read more at mocoNews.