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Opt It is the premiere provider of text messaging for brands and businesses.
July 15, 2010 by Jessica Zorawski
July’s issue of Nightclub & Bar Magazine creates a spotlight for one of Opt It’s loyal partners, Wicker Park Tavern. The article talks about how the partnership with Opt It and the establishment’s text message marketing campaigns have increased traffic for the hoppin’ Chicago bar. Wicker Park Tavern’s General Manager, Daryl Havrish, describes his reasons behind the choice to use mobile marketing. He talks in detail about the behavior of the bar’s clientele, whose fingers constantly switch from beer mug to cell phone. “One of the easiest ways to pull these technologically savvy bar-goers into your venue is reaching them by text” says Havrish, whose experience has taught him that mobile marketing is the most powerful way to reach his customer base.
Havrish talks about the beginning stages of the campaign, a point at which it was necessary to invest a bit more time into the marketing initiative. “I think it’s important for management to start these campaigns,” Havrish says. “But when it takes off, it’s OK to empower your staff to run them.” Delegating the responsibility to send out text messages to employees is simplified by Opt It’s software -you can edit security settings and assign only certain capabilities to employees. Also, the software allows you to pre-schedule messages, turning the task of creating a text message into one that can be done at any time during an employee’s shift, and it only takes a few seconds.
Not sure which member of your staff is best fit to take on your mobile campaign? Havrish recommends a seasoned and young member of your staff, who is fresh and focused, and your team here at Opt It agrees. Creating messages for your cientele that are original and animated is one of the most successful ways to keep them coming in the door. A young mind with an understanding of the preferences of your customers is ideal for the undertaking.
July 14, 2010 by Jessica Zorawski
This week comScore, Inc. reported that mobile content usage continues to steadily increase, especially when it comes to the total amount of text messages sent. In April 2010, 64.6 percent of the 234 million American mobile phone users used text messaging to communicate, representing a total of 152 million people. With 156 million Americans falling between the ages of 15-64, according to CIA Factbook, it’s safe to assume that the vast majority of the American population with significant purchasing power is using text messaging.
Compare the 64.6 percent of mobile subscribers that send text messages with the amount of mobile users utilizing a browser (31.1 percent) and the amount that downloaded apps (29.8 percent). Clearly, there is still a significantly higher portion of the population using text messaging instead of mobile apps and mobile Internet. For businesses and marketers searching for ways to make contact with the majority of the population, text messaging via the mobile channel is the communication form with the most power and reach available today.
July 12, 2010 by Jessica Zorawski
It’s a common practice for folks to take their mobile phone along anytime they go shopping. A recent study conducted by InsightExpress reports that 4 out of 5 people reported using their mobile phone during shopping trips. However, who are these “people”? And what exactly is meant by “using their mobile phone while shopping”? (Many of us might be imagining a man in the milk aisle, calling his wife to ask whether she prefers 2% or skim.)
The truth is, that stereotype no longer exists. Men ages 25-34 are now looking at their phone to browse coupons that have been sent to them, and they’re doing this more than any other group of consumers. Here are percentages of men, compared to the general population, that used a mobile coupon last month, by location:
- Electronics store – 30 percent (general population 10 percent)
- Clothing store – 33 percent (general population 15 percent)
- Department store – 30 percent (general population 15 percent)
- Service location – 16 percent (general population 7 percent)
According to a recent article by Dan Butcher titled “Who is today’s mobile shopper – and why it’s not her”,10 percent of consumers made a special trip to the store after receiving a mobile coupon and for 18-34 year olds, the figure jumps to 20 percent. Since a younger generation’s actions typically predict future trends, this is likely an indicator that the acceptance of mobile coupons by the general population has already begun.
These figures show the evolution of consumer buying behavior, something that marketers need to understand in order to properly communicate with their audience.
Even in a world of constantly changing consumer behavior, a few things do remain consistent: people are always looking for a deal and shopping is still a social function. So how can you tie the knowledge of these constants into your mobile coupons?
Providing your customers with mobile coupons makes finding a bargain even easier, a conveniance they’re sure to appreciate. The social aspect of shopping may mean your customer is shopping with a group with whom they might share your coupon, stretching your brand’s reach far beyond your customer base.
The bottom line is this: if you want to convince your customers it’s time to check out your latest offerings, especially males and the younger population, send them a mobile coupon.
July 9, 2010 by Jessica Zorawski
After months of development and testing, sleepless nights and overdosing on Starbucks double shots, Opt It Mobile 3.0, or in human terms, our text message marketing software, has finally been released.
If you ask Team Opt It, what’s the best part about Opt It Mobile 3.0? In a world of complicated software and endless workarounds used to get business done, Opt It Mobile’s new release puts “simple” back into “solution”. The entirely revamped system is the most user-friendly text messaging application for businesses on the market today.
Here at Opt It, we take customer recommendations seriously. Suggestions from our customers, combined with a pretty impressive design and development team, has resulted in a great application. Throughout the process of building 3.0, our top priority was to create an intuitive system with ease-of-use that is second-to-none. We’re sure we’ve succeeded in reaching that goal and are proud to pass it along to you.
We understand that customers don’t need to spend endless work hours trying to figure out a complicated system. With Opt It, that won’t happen. You’ll be focused on what’s most important to you– reaching your customers and building revenue.
There’s a new feel to the Opt It software. As one novice user put it, “When I’m working with it, I know all the old functionality I love is still there, there’s just a more intuitive way of using it to my advantage.” The bottom line is – it’s easy to use. And with fresh features like our filters and Inbox functionality, it’s more effective than ever at helping you to launch and maintain a thriving text message marketing campaign.
We are more than excited to share with you all of the new capabilities and features you are now receiving by being a part of the Opt It family:
- Increased Speed- Our newly updated platform to send out your messages is now even faster when sending, receiving and delivering your content.
- Advanced Filters- We have introduced a new concept called Filters. In all parts of the software, it is now much easier to find specific information using filters, and you can save a filter that you use regularly to search data within your account with great speed and accuracy.
- Message Clone- If you want to send the same message again to another keyword or group, just hit Clone by the recently sent message and it will automatically generate the message again so you do not have to re-type.
- Send to Multiple Keywords- You can now send a message to multiple keywords, so if you have multiple locations that are offering the same special you can save some time and send the same message to all of your keywords.
- Advanced Help Section- You now have 40 new pages of Support documents, all made to address specific questions and topics. Use these and save yourself time in getting your questions answered.
- Assigning Members to Keywords- It just got easier to assign a member to a keyword- if you want to add a member manually, it is now a much easier procedure to do so.
- Sign Up Form Widget- you can now set any of the optional fields you want to obtain from your customers as required, increasing the amount of information you can acquire through this process.
- Phone Status- Now you can see the status of a members phone number so that you can monitor whether all of your members have good, working numbers. Delete the phone numbers that are no longer working to save money.
- Message a Single Person- Now you are able to send a message to a single person, which comes in handy when someone responds to your message with a specific question. This really allows you to carry on a direct one-to-one conversation.
Stay tuned for more exciting details about Opt It Mobile 3.0.
Enjoy – Team Opt It
June 20, 2010 by Molly Anderson
When you sign on with Opt It, you’re getting much more than text message marketing software. The truth is you’re benefitting from our combined years of experience and industry best practices in every mobile campaign you run on the Opt It Mobile platform. Those best practices include our understanding of the important legal hurdles that exist within the juvenile mobile marketing space. A recent Mobile Marketer article by Giselle Tsirulnik discusses how to avoid possible legal pitfalls in your mobile marketing campaigns.
Priority number one is to ensure that all mobile campaigns are indeed opt-in based. While telephone marketers need only be concerned with the fact that consumers can opt-out, mobile marketing may only be sent to consumers that have consented to receive information via text message. Opt It requires clients to hold campaigns that are 100 percent opt-in.
In addition, Opt It is legally compliant and compliant with the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), the body that publishes the standards and best practices for our industry. Contact us to find out more about how Opt It can help your business harness the power of mobile marketing now, while navigating the legal requirements in our industry.
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