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RSSiPhone apps and WAP (mobile Internet) sites, often overshadow SMS (text messaging), as sexier ways to reach mobile phone users. But SMS is fast, effective and provokes action especially in teens and young adults. In fact, a new study from Local Mobile Search says SMS advertising generates response rates two to ten times higher than Internet display ads.
"While much of the ad industry is focused on the iPhone and other smartphones because of the buzz and excitement surrounding these devices, they currently represent only 15% or 16% of total handsets in the U.S.," says the report authored by Opus Senior Analyst Greg Sterling.
But, everyone is texting, especially the under-25 crowd. According to Nielsen Research, teens and young adults say they send almost 3,000 text messages per month compared to making only about 200 calls. That's astounding. So, with that kind of reach, why do some advertisers and marketers tend to ignore it for iPhone apps and mobile web sites?
Lack of understanding. Here are the top 5 myths about SMS advertising we hear everyday:
1. SMS advertising is intrusive.
False. There are very strict guidelines around how and when you can advertise via text messaging. Users must explicitly "opt-in" to receive SMS advertising from a company or engage in a free SMS service that is ad-supported.
2. SMS advertising doesn't have scale or reach
False. ChaCha and 4Info are the two largest SMS players. ChaCha reaches over 2 million monthly unique users (mostly under 25) and serves over 30 million monthly impressions. When you compare that to digital properties and TV or cable shows that reach this audience, it is very competitive.
3. SMS advertising only reaches teens
False. While teens and young adults are 3X more receptive to mobile advertising than their parents, that doesn't eliminate the power of text messaging when it comes to reaching the over 25 crowd. In fact, text messaging among all mobile phone users tripled from 2007-2008 with a reported 2.7 billion text messages sent every day.
4. SMS advertising is only good for direct response
False. SMS is a great way to directly reach users to drive calls, ticket sales and downloads, but it is also an effective way to increase brand metrics (aided, unaided awareness and affinity) by engaging users in conversations about a product or a service.
5. SMS advertising isn't very creative
False! According to many marketers, mobile web sites and mobile banner advertising are the "be-all, end-all," with their ability to deliver splashy, colorful landing pages, images and videos on a mobile phone. But SMS is perhaps the MOST creative way to reach mobile users because it delivers the "holy grail" to advertisers -- the ability to have a direct, 1:1 conversation with a consumer about your product and service.
SMS advertising works. The opt-in process for SMS marketing translates into more targeted advertising and ultimately better results. And even more interestingly - SMS (text messaging) advertising enables marketers to enter into a real dialogue with consumers - something marketers aspire to, but rarely achieve. Studies performed by InsightExpress and Dynamic Logic show that this type of mobile advertising performs better than traditional online advertising across brand metrics including unaided awareness, mobile ad awareness, band affinity and purchase intent. Smart brands like Paramount, the Obama campaign and IKEA are onto this and are using it in unique and creative ways to drive brand metrics and direct response.
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Why does the supermarket industry spends boatloads of cash on newspaper inserts? Because they're simple for consumers to access, and redeem. Yet at many chains, at checkout, they also pump out millions of trees worth of register coupons. Redemption rate of those? Around 3%. Technologically superior, involving data mining software to determine which products should be included based on shopping basket history. An expensive solution that produces marginal returns, forcing supermarkets to continue the "antiquated" coupon inserts. KISS.
When a restaurant is having a slow period, will an iPhone app drive immediate traffic? An SMS broadcast offering 2 for 1 drinks, or free appetizer certainly will. Everyone thinks in terms of the national brands, and ignores the local businesses. With the right form of advertising, any size business will profit from mobile marketing, at low cost. Engagement is easy, reach is immediate, and, contrary to perception, almost all consumers can read a text message.
100% agreement. Follow the consumer. Watch the consumer. They are doing two things in your stores, malls, streets: using their phones to browse and text.
But the shopper is certainly not scanning 2D codes with their phones. They are not opening the security on their Bluetooth settings for inbound offers. They are not all downloading and sticky to a brand’s vanity app to their phone.
The consumer‘s mobile and online toolset is similar; they are both using their browser and messaging as the first data-click. The CMO has to focus on these channels.
Take a Google back into the ‘90s and look at the then-emerging trends on the internet. History tends to repeat itself:
The WEB browser was becoming standard on the desktop in the mid-90s. During this period of enormous growth, businesses entering the Internet arena scrambled to find consumer models that worked.
Many companies were lured into thinking that developing applications on the desktop would give them market share and consumer mindshare: they did neither.
The desktop become too fragmented and difficult to navigate. As the PC browser matured and the speed of the Internet pipe increased, server-side solution that functioned INSIDE the browser i.e. "ASP Applications" became standard fare.
Isolated in the browser, these in-browser solutions need a communication channel to engage and reengage the subscriber. ASP applications used email as this retention tool.
We are presently reinventing the wheel with mobile. With the smartphone revolution, apps are the rage. “I-want-one-too” CEOs are running to their agencies and IT department and developing application that only five percent of consumers are returning to after a lonely month on the phonetop.
We have been using some tools from a company called http://www.redoxygen.com/
They allow us to send text messages from boston to Bangkok from out Micoosoft Outlook and CRM systems
We hear you.. and we hear that from many agencies and marketers. So, we went to Nielsen and pulled some data to find out for ourselves. For instance, we were not surprised that we didn't reach more 18-24 year olds than American Idol, but when we looked at regularly scheduled shows for the 2008-2009 season, we were happy to see that ChaCha out-delivered all cable shows for 18-24 years olds. We were ranked 3rd in this universe for this demo, reaching more users than Family Guy, The Simpsons, America's Got Talent and other highly rated shows. In the online universe during June we ranked 54th among 12-17 year olds and 64th among 18-24 year olds. We out-delivered high profile sites including MTV.com, Nick.com, NBC.com, NBA.com and People.com. Not in the top 25 as compared to online properties, but not bad either if buyers want to reach and engage these key demos.