How to Get Text Message Advertising Started for Your Business

text message advertisingWould you like to get your company going with text message advertising? Would you like to send text coupons and deals to your current and future customers on their mobile phones so they come into your business on slow days? Allowed me to help you get started!

The first step is to decide how you’re going to be using text message advertising.

If you own a coffee shop, for instance, your methods will be far different from those used for a doctor’s office or nightclub.
There are many options to choose from, so have a look at the text message advertising features available and decide which may work for you:

  • Mobile coupons
  • Plain text messages
  • Pictures, audio or video messages
  • Coupon tracking
  • Mobile polls
  • Text to win campaigns
  • Confirm appointments and appointment reminders

A coffee shop probably will never have the need to confirm appointments and may not need to conduct mobile polls. A nightclub, however, may need more customer interaction with mobile polling and surveys. A doctor’s office will likely want to send appointment reminders but probably won’t have the need for mobile coupons.

Once you’ve decided on the text message advertising features you’re most likely to use, you need to find a company that offers the text message advertising features you need as well as those on your wish list.

You can search locally to see if there is a company that suits your needs, or you may choose to go with a company that does business throughout the nation. The most important thing you’ll want to consider is customer service. Some text message advertising companies only offer email support, so you may end up waiting if you have a problem or need answers quickly. Also pay attention to whether or not the text message advertising company bundles sending messages into their service fee or whether you have to do it all yourself. Keep in mind that there will always be a learning curve when deciding to take on new marketing methods yourself.

Once you find a text message advertising company with good customer support, you need to take a look at their service plans. You’ll want to buy a package that is close to the amount of texts you’ll be sending every month. Also ask your carrier if these credits can roll over for the first few months while you get your subscriber list built.

Now that you’ve chosen a text message advertising vendor to work with, you need to start building your subscriber list. Let your customers know in every way you can that you are offering text message advertising deals. Put up signs to let them know what they’ll get when they text your keyword to your short code. Make sure you let them know the value and that you want to give them the best deals you have to offer. Hand out flyers advertising the program with every receipt, or put your message right on your receipts. Have your cashiers and greeters tell everyone, and most importantly, put the message on all your marketing materials and on your website and social media pages.

Once you have a list going, start blasting out your coupons and messages, and track the results. Each business is different, and soon you’ll see when sending your messages is most effective. As your list grows, so will your responsive customers buying from you!

To find out more about affordable text message advertising for your business, visit http://www.mutinymarketing.com/text-message-advertising/, or sign up on the right for a free demo account.

Text message advertising is an amazing way to touch your customers and keep them coming back as well as entice new prospects to try out your business. Both open and response rates with this type of mobile marketing are extremely high, and you’ll see immediate benefits from very little work.