November 10, 2010 by Jessica Zorawski
Last week, comScore , a renowned digital market research company, released its findings on mobile usage throughout the third quarter of 2010. We discussed second quarter results earlier this year in the blog post titled “Mobile Content Usage Continues to Raise.” Third quarter results only confirm the conclusions made in July; mobile content usage shows no sign of slowing down.
Survey results show that text messaging continues to be the leading form of communication and interaction for cell phone users. Sixty-seven percent of American mobile device owners now use text messaging, up by 1.4 percentage points from last quarter. Usage of all mobile device functions has increased, exemplifying the continuously growing popularity of the device. The evolution of the cell phone functioning only as a speaking devices into one that people communicate with in all sorts of ways proves that mobile device usage is not a trend, but a new way of life.
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October 29, 2010 by Jessica Zorawski
One of the hardest tasks for marketers in the steep competition of the digital age is to build and retain brand awareness. With so much the clutter when it comes to consumer ads, marketers must continually look to new communication mediums in order to capture their customers’ attention. Think about the last time you really looked at your customers. What was the one thing all of them had in common? The answer is simple: a cell phone.
In addition to the challenge of getting a brand message out and into the minds of target consumers, marketers may feel that it’ is hard to control the messages that consumers receive. Gain that control by pin pointing the specific channels that allow your marketing team to manage the brand message that your clients hear. Utilizing Opt It’s text message marketing tool is one of the most powerful ways to do this. (No one can spray paint over this ad!)
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October 22, 2010 by Jessica Zorawski
For loyal Opt It customers, it’s easy to see the value that text messaging brings to the marketing and communication of a product or service, or even the entire brand itself. It’s pretty simple to understand the impact that sending a text message right before the dinner hour means to restaurants or the power of a reminder text to patients has the day before an appointment for doctors. However, after a while the question becomes, how do I keep my texting campaign fresh in the eyes of customers?
Solution 1: Vary the content of your text messages. For example, if a restaurant is always sending out a message with its lunch specials, it should instead promote a breakfast or beverage item every couple of texts so that customers do not get accustomed to a certain schedule.
Solution 2: Use the Reports section of Opt It Mobile to monitor the activity of your campaign. For example, you can track the time of day that the majority of people text in. If you know your business gets the highest amount of opt ins at noon, you should send a text with a special pertaining to that hour. (For instance, a salon might send out a special for a half hour manicure to take advantage of the lunch crowd.).
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October 14, 2010 by Jessica Zorawski
President Obama himself started a movement in 2008 when he announced his Vice President pick over a mass text message, and this trend is steadily gaining popularity among political candidates running for election this fall.
Former CEO of Hewlitt Packard and California Senate hopeful Carly Fiorina, as well as former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, who’s also California’s Republican nominee for governor, are just a couple of many politicians that have realized the power of holding their voters’ cell phone numbers and who are creating text message marketing campaigns to reach those voters.
“We’re definitely embarking on new technology,” said Marson Harrison, a spokesman for Carly Fiorina’s campaign, to Fox News. “Many campaigns haven’t been brave enough and bold enough to step into this realm. We’re very comfortable, had excellent results and again we’ve made thousands of calls through this technology.”
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October 7, 2010 by Jessica Zorawski
This week, InsightExpress reported very encouraging news regarding consumers and mobile coupons. When the research company asked consumers whether they had made a special trip into a store after receiving a mobile coupon, 10 percent of consumers said yes. For the age range of 18-24, that percentage jumped to 20 percent.
Motivating your consumers to change all of their plans in order to come into your store is no easy task. Mobile coupons offer a truly unique and simple way to affect your consumer’s behavior in such an instantaneous way. Forty-five percent of consumers said that they prefer for mobile coupons to be sent to them, giving the store owner the control of which items should be offered.
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