Text Message Marketing Campaigns

Texting Can Help Diabetes Management, says New Research

Depositphotos_14443899_xs

A brace of new studies suggest that text message programs can aid diabetics as they manage their condition. One major piece of research, published in Health Affairs, was prompted by the understanding that even patients with chronic conditions typically spend no more than a few hours annually in a health care setting, but their overall health was largely determined by the way their diabetes was managed at home.

Conducted by the University of Chicago Medicine, the research looked at one disease management program – mHealth – and its impact on adults with diabetes over the course of six months. The program uses automated text software to engage patients with their own healthcare, and to co-ordinate care efforts made on their behalf by nurses and physicians.

The research was conducted between May 2012 and February 2013. It observed a net cost saving of 8.8% among patients who used the technology, indicating that such programs can help reduce the per capita cost of healthcare. According to the study’s authors, the research provides evidence that text messaging can

“enable health care organizations to effectively support patients beyond the traditional healthcare setting and achieve the triple aim of better health, better health care, and lower costs."

The second study, published in the first 2014 edition of the Journal of Medical Internet Research, found that low-income Latino diabetes patients will accept text messages as a preferred form of behavioral intervention. The trial used a fully-automated text program designed to “increase knowledge, self-efficacy and subsequent disease management and glycemic control.”

In the JMIR research, five focus group interviews were conducted with 24 participants. Researchers sent personalized medication reminders and challenge messages to patients, and found the low-cost strategy to be effective at persuading patients to follow cues.

A similar program was run by the University of Minnesota. Their findings supported those published in the JMIR, indicating that Latino adolescent females – the fastest growing ethnic minority in the United States - were particularly responsive to text messages as a form of diabetes management and glycemic control.

The studies appear to support what the mobile marketing community has known for a long time: text messages work. As a widely available, low-cost technology, texting is fast becoming a vital tool when it comes to engaging patients and encouraging self-care in between doctor’s appointments.

Is Text-to-Donate the Future of Fundraising?

 

 

Depositphotos_7659744_xs

Charity groups and non-profits are always on the lookout for new ways to raise money. There is a lot of competition for such finite resources as public goodwill and generosity, so it’s important to develop fundraising strategies that help you stand out from the crowd. 

One of the most exciting emergent methods of engaging with potential donors is mobile fundraising. Quick and easy for users, text donations have a proven track record, despite having only been around for a scant few years.

One of the first major successes was the United Way text-to-give campaign, which first aired during the 2007 Super Bowl, appealing to viewers on behalf of the recent tsunami in Asia. Using text-to-donate technology, the commercial raised around $10,000 within seconds, and quickly piqued the interest of other fundraisers who saw the potential of mobile campaigning. 

Another global cause to benefit from text-to-donate and mobile promotion was the Haiti relief effort. The Red Cross raised a staggering – and record-breaking - $32 million during the month following the earthquake. Observers put the success down to the simplicity of the donation process: donors could send $10 to the campaign by sending a brief text to a shortcode. The wave of public support for the cause extended to the corporate world, with numerous carriers waiving their usual messaging fees. 

The growing popularity of text-to-donate shows that, in many cases, the only barriers to fundraising are time and convenience, and not generosity. Compared to sending a check, making a phone call, or even visiting a charity website, texting is almost hassle-free for donors. With smartphone penetration expanding rapidly, and the vast majority of the public owning a cell phone of some description, potential donors often have their device to hand when an appeal comes on the television; text-to-donate eliminates the ‘manana-effect’ of even the most well-intentioned citizen.

Let’s say you want to donate to The Red Cross. By sending ‘REDCROSS’ to ‘90999’ you can donate $10 to the organization. The amount is simply added to your next phone bill (or deducted from a prepaid balance on pay-as-you-go handsets). By typing just 13 characters, donors have helped a good cause – probably without even standing up.

Like all mobile campaigns, a key benefit of mobile fundraising is the interaction with a young audience that is statistically less likely to give money to charity. And once they’ve opted in to your contact list, they’re more likely to donate again in the future. 

It’s important to be aware that not all mobile schemes are created equal. Charities don’t necessarily get 100% of the amount donated, and if the donation is deducted from a phone bill, it can take significantly longer to reach it’s destination than, say, a credit card payment made directly on a website. Inconsistencies in processing times notwithstanding, mobile fundraising works, attracting demographics who aren’t usually in the habit of giving money to good causes.

Done right, text-to-donate can help organizations develop long-term relationships with benefactors. And it’s as true for non-profits as it is for commercial enterprise: long-termer are more lucrative than one-timers.

 

 

 

 

SMS and Coupon Codes

Figuring out how to start an SMS campaign is not the easiest task for marketing managers. A great way to launch such campaigns is via the use of mobile coupons. There may be a specific offer relevant to your industry, or your might prefer to come up with targeted promotions for different groups of customers.

A Cellit survey recently indicated that buy-one-get-one coupons were considerably more popular amongst young consumers - around 68% of them prefer this type of coupon. A straight-up freebie with a purchase is more effective than a percentage discount.

Formatting the message in such a way that will engage your audience is a key part of any successful SMS campaign. Here are a few tips to help:

Keep it brief. When crafting your message ensure it is as succinct as can be, while still giving the customer all the instructions they need on how to use  your coupon codes. Use personal language, avoid jargon. Slang, sales-speak, they both stand out - and not in a good way.

Lead the message with your brand name so recipients aren’t just reading (and probably spam filtering) another faceless ‘special offer’. Make sure the offer can be redeemed immediately. Remember, text coupons should reflect the demand for instant value to which smartphone users are becoming accustomed.

 

Mobile Gamers A New Target For Mobile Marketing

An article over at MobileMarketingWatch.com discusses a new trend for mobile marketing in smartphone games. With the mobile gaming industry expected to soon surpass $12 billion in revenue, it makes sense for them to be an ideal marketing target.

“Games are media, and marketers need to think about it as such,” writes ClickZ‘s Matt Kapko. “Facebook’s head of games and other executives at CBS Interactive, IGN, PaeDae, and Scopely encouraged a room full of marketers yesterday to get serious about gaming as a media channel that is on the upswing and ripe for advertising opportunities.”

A challenge, however, is using the mobile gaming medium appropriately for advertising. Matching your ad to the game you choose as a platform, in addition to advertising in a way that can interrupt a gamer's play while still maintaining their interest in your product may been trickier than is seems.

“I think targeting within the games and these overall networks matters a lot and it’s not being done very well right now,” Emrich concludes. “Unfortunately the Internet as a whole and games in particular are still moving toward direct response, and unfortunately that’s still the lowest common denominator when it comes to advertising.”

Read more about this new trend at MobileMarketingWatch.com!

 

 

New Mobile Marketing Guidelines Announced

According to MobileMarketing.com, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) has announced new guidelines for mobile marketing:

 

With mobile advertising rapidly evolving, there is a critical need for standards and guidelines to unify the industry and maximize its potential for growth and development, the MMA said today in its announcement of the finalized guidelines.

 

With the growth of the mobile marketing, it's become increasingly important for the industry to develop a standardized set of guidelines across the board:

 

“Finalizing these guidelines is the culmination of a tremendous amount of effort and input from the industry leaders who are incredibly passionate about bringing a higher level of standardization and accountability to mobile advertising,” says Richy Glassberg, COO of Medialets.

 

Read more about the new guidelines at MobileMarketing.com!

The Mobile Marketing Tracking You've Been Waiting For?

Mobile advertising sales are expected to increase significantly in the coming years. The problem is that a lot of companies are still not completely sure how well their efforts are paying off. Without their confidence in the value of mobile marketing, how long will this trend hold up?

“The most significant issue for ad buyers,” reads a new report from MIT Technology Review, “is that they don’t know if the ads are working, like they do on desktop computers.” The report cites data from the Interactive Advertising Bureau, which indicates that all media depend critically upon reliable metrics for audience reach.

Marketers are desperately looking for a reliable way to keep track of exactly how profitable their mobile marketing efforts are priving out to be - and there may finally be a solution:

A full-service platform, AD-X Tracking monitors clicks, installs and in-app events to provide up-to-the minute intelligence regarding mobile app usage and engagement.

Read more about this breakthrough platform at MobileMarketingWatch.com!

Is Your Business Keeping Up With Mobile Marketing?

It's becoming increasingly important for businesses to get onboard when it comes to mobile marketing. With the consistent increase of those accessing the Internet using smartphones, it's just a matter of time before those without a solid mobile marketing strategy are left in the dust:

The year 2013 will see an increase in the number of people who only access the Internet through their mobile devices, whether tablets or on smartphones. It’s more convenient for people to use their mobile – it’s already switched on and is always with them. For businesses this opens up numerous opportunities for mobile commerce.

But it doesn't stop there:

Retailers will continue to incorporate mobile solutions into their sales strategy by offering special discounts, mobile coupons, mobile shopping etc. with targeted advertising. This trend will further grow in 2013 with retailers looking at new ways to attract and retain customers.

Mobile Apps – The mobile apps have exploded in 2012 with app stores promoting thousands of different applications. This trend will continue in 2013. Mobile apps are very important for mobile marketers to target the type of applications based on the popularity of apps.  The app Internet market was recently estimated to be worth $2.2 billion, according to Forrester Research, which also who predicted that the market will expand by 85 percent. Marketers will increase in-app advertising to generate more revenue in the coming year.

* Cloud – Cloud storage and cloud-based services will become more important in the 2013 and beyond, allowing users to access and share information anywhere. Users will be able to capture and edit data from multiple channels such as desktop, phones and tablets and any changes are automatically pushed to other devices. Consumers were the first adopters of this technology, and now it’s quickly being adopted by business.

To read more, visit Mobile Marketing News.

Mobile Marketing That's Mobile - Engage With Brands In A Taxi

The taxi industry has been dragged into the 21st century by companies like Uber and Hailo, with their e-hailing apps. And now there's more. If you've ever been in the back of an NYC taxicab you're familiar with the video screens. A new program is going to up the ante for mobile marketers looking to engage there:

Taxi riders in New York, San Francisco and other cities will soon be able to use their smartphones to engage with brand content appearing on video screens inside the cabs using either NFC or QR code technology.

Passengers will see video or static messages on the enhanced media screens inside taxis and will be prompted to either tap their phone against the frame of the screen or point their phone at the screen. The program is will begin rolling out to taxis on June 1 and is expected to be available in 5,000 taxis by Sept. 1

Some key details:

Riders with an NFC-enabled smartphone will be able to tap their phone on the video screen’s frame to instantly download rich user content such as music, videos, mobile apps, promotional information, coupons, maps and tips. Users without an NFC-enabled phone will be able to snap a picture of the QR code that appears to access the same content. The content will be location-specific and users will be able to share the campaigns with friends through social media.

Read more at Mobile Marketer.

Are You Comfortable Emailing & Texting With Your Doctor?

There's an interesting story over at The Altantic regarding how comfortable different groups of Americans are when it comes to communicating with their doctors via email and text message. The gist:

The average American writes a novel's worth of email every year. They also read a novel's worth of trend stories about how all we do is text -- how 15 million texts sent every minute are destroying the art of conversation, rotting our souls. Still, only about one in ten Americans has ever emailed or texted with their doctor. The formal in-office face-to-face patient-doctor dynamic is largely sacrosanct.

Here's an interesting chart breaking down the comfort-level by various demographics:

Text-the-doctor
 

Let's dig a bit deeper:

Tech-savvy practices and hospitals are increasingly using remote access systems for patients, where they can log in to a website and get test results or leave messages for physicians, within a secure system, in a limited capacity. That's a good place to start. It keeps all interactions in one HIPAA-compliant place and keeps doctors' personal phones and emails from being overrun by concerned patients. If a busy primary care physician has 1,500 patients, even if each one only emailed him every six months, that would be eight emails 365 days a year.

But some doctors, especially specialists with a smaller patient base who manage fewer chronic conditions, have been able to integrate texting into their practice. There are HIPAA-compliant text and email platforms, and most major insurers are figuring out ways to cover "digital visits.

Read more @ The Atlantic.

Automate Your Text Message Marketing With Recurring & Drip Campaigns

Over the summer we rolled out recurring text messaging campaigns - a great tool that allows you to send the same message to a Group of Contacts at a given time. Recurring messages like these - which can be customized with frequency and duration options - are great for things you need to send out regularly, such as appointment or meeting reminders.

Recurring Text Message Campaigns
 

Last week we added a similar, but even more powerful feature - Drip Campaigns. If you've ever used email marketing software you might be familiar with 'Autoresponders.' That's what Drip Campaigns are like. Simply connect them to a Group of Contacts, set up a series of text messages to go out, each a different number of days after a Contact joins the Group and let us do the rest.

Drip-ct

Login to your Club Texting account now to try out these awesome features!

Sort Your Inbox With Folders

Do you have a lot of incoming messages -- replies, Keyword opt-ins, and poll votes for example? We know that sorting through all of those messages can be a bit overwhelming. No longer!  We're excited to let you know that if you login to your Club Texting account right now, you'll be able to start creating folders and sorting messages into them. If you use the API, we'll be publishing documentation on how to create and manage folders ASAP!

Check them out now @ https://app.clubtexting.com/incoming-messages

Code Samples For The Groups And Contacts APIs - C#, Java, Perl, Python, Ruby!

Want to use the Club Texting web application alongside our text messaging API? Using the web app in conjunction with our recently released Contact and Group APIs allow you to:

  • Send messages inside the app or via API to your Contacts and/or Groups
  • Add/Edit/Remove Contacts and Groups of Contacts via API

Ready to get started? We've got code samples for you in six popular languages:

New to our text messaging APIs? Learn all about them @ the Club Texting Developer Center.

Should You Integrate Texting With Customer Service? YES! [Infographic]

The folks at DemandForce have put together a nice infographic describing the benefits of integrating text messaging into your customer service channels. Take a look:

Text-messaging-for-customer-service-infographic
 

Obama Campaign Almost Ready To Accept SMS Donations

It looks like political text-to-donate has rapidly become a reality. Reuters reports that Americans can expect to see prominent call-to-actions in the next week or so:

In the coming days, voters are likely to start seeing a message on video screens at Obama rallies, at the end of ads or on fliers, encouraging them "to contribute $10 to Obama for America, text GIVE to 62262." The numbers spells out "OBAMA."

The campaign of Republican Mitt Romney, Obama's rival in the November 6 election, will soon start accepting donations as well, a campaign official said on Thursday. Its number is expected to be 466488 ("GOMITT"), already used to contact supporters by text.

It appears that the campaigns are wrapping up carrier negotiations:

Marking the beginning of what could be a revolution in U.S. campaign finance, the Obama campaign said on Thursday it is wrapping up agreements with Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp, U.S. Cellular and T-Mobile USA - a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG - to open the floodgate for donations by text this week.

...

The Obama campaign said agreements with other phone companies - including AT&T Inc, the second-largest after Verizon - were anticipated "in the near future."

Read more at Reuters. Want to reach out to voters? Learn more about text messaging for political campaigns.

Why Do We Love SMS So Much?

Before you head out for your summer weekend, check out this interesting story over at TheNextWeb about our global love for text messaging:

Acision, known for its mobile messaging solutions has conducted a study into the world of the SMS. It’s a technology that is more than twenty years old but it is still one of the most widely used communications methods in the world.

So why do we love SMS? Acision worked with Internet psychologist Graham Jones to look at survey results from the UK and find out why it’s so popular in the broadband era.
...

Over half of all respondents in the survey said they still need text or would be lost without it. It should be noted that there are many Internet communications services that can be linked to SMS too.

But the main reasons why we still use a technology this old, is likely to be related to reliability, or, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.

“The findings of this study show that text messaging remains popular, and I believe this comes down to trust and reliability. If a user sends a message via a social network, it may feel less immediate, and there are more technological hurdles which could hinder the delivery. Texting however often elicits an immediate response.

Jones also feels that the expansion of choice for text-based communications may be leading users back to the devil they know, “The introduction of a plethora of new messaging services may mean that people may get confused and fall back on the reliable SMS. Running in the back of the human mind is the need to do everything with the least possible effort, and we instinctively search for the easiest way to communicate. This is why we rely on and still love text messaging.”

Read more at TheNextWeb.

Great Do's And Dont's Of Mobile Marketing

The always great Mobile Marketer has a piece up today, The Do's And Don't Of Mobile Marketing. Here's a taste:

Don’t chase so-called shiny objects while neglecting the products and services in mobile that work.
Companies should stop looking at what the latest trend is and figure out what medium works best for them.

“The objectives are to sell more product, and to drive engagement and loyalty,” Mr. Hasen said. “If you spend only against the newest products, you likely will only move your business backward.”

Read all of the do's and don'ts at Mobile Marketer.

Welcome To A Brand New Club Texting

If you've logged into Club Texting today you've already seen the brand new release of our text message marketing software. Some great new features include:

  • XLS/XLSX Uploading - No more CSVs (unless you want to use a CSV)
  • Polling And Voting - We've got a great new tool to help you build and run SMS Text-2-Vote campaigns!
  • Updated Contacts - Sort, segment and browse your contacts with ease
  • New APIs - Manage your contacts and Groups via the API
  • New Interface - We've cleaned up Club Texting's UI so it's even easier to use!

Login now to see what's new!

    Manage Your Club Texting Contacts With New APIs

    We rolled out some new APIs this morning - which allow you to manage your Club Texting account's Contacts & Groups. Want to learn more? Check out the documentation here. The new APIs allow you to

    • Create A Contact / Group
    • Update A Contact / Group
    • Delete A Contact / Group
    • Get All Contacts / Group
    • Get One Contact / Group

    We've also got PHP code samples available; other languages will be updated soon! Get started with our text messaging API now.

    Your Mobile Website: One URL To Rule Them All?

    Cindy Krum of MarketingLand has a great, thorough column exploring the pros and cons of running your mobile website on your primary domain or on a subdomain a la m.domain.com:

    The Bing statement about mobile SEO last month, which followed Google’s announcement about the new smartphone crawler in December, has sparked some discussion, and given mobile SEO some time in the spotlight.

    The debate has been interesting, but all of it seems to focus a bit too much on the wrong question. The search engines all emphatically instruct webmasters not to make decisions purely on the SEO implications, but to also consider the user experience.

    While I always take this suggestion with a very large and suspicious grain of salt, I do think it is important to consider the users who access the site….as well as the marketing managers who have to promote the mobile content and the developers who maintain the site, (and who will readily tell you that they almost always get the short end of the stick, whether you are talking about mobile design and development, or just about anything else … poor misunderstood souls!).

    Ms. Krum follows this intro with tables of pros/cons for same URLs/mobile URLs from the perspective of marketers, developers, SEOs and users. Read the article now.

    How Much Credit Does The iPhone Deserve For The Success Of Mobile Marketing?

    There's an interesting opinion piece up today at Mobile Marketer - here's the gist of it:

    Apple's iPhone taught consumers that sharing information about their location and other data about themselves via a mobile device can be fun and beneficial, opening the door for marketers to target consumers via mobile. However, with many brands still lacking a robust mobile strategy, marketers are looking for the next big advancement that could pave the way for the channel to reach critical mass.

    “Given how important the iPhone was – and is – to defining the modern smartphone experience, it would be difficult to name any developments that came after that wouldn't trace its origins back to the iPhone,” said Chia Chen, New York-based North American mobile practice lead at Digitas.

    So far, but such a long way to go:

    However, despite all the advances in mobile marketing, there are still a large number of marketers doing very little or nothing in the channel. Since this has nothing to with the need for better technology or analytics, mobile marketing is likely to not make another big advance until marketers make it a bigger priority.

    Read more at Mobile Marketer.

    Pages

    Get started for free!

    Sign up now