140 mobile marketing tips

Push notifications allow an app to notify you of new messages or events without the need to actually open the application, similar to how a text message will make a sound and pop up on your screen.

What are Push Notifications?

SMS = Short Message Service

SMS is used as an acronym for all types of short text messaging up to 160 characters per message.

What are SMS/Text Messages?

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Honor permission. Don’t alienate your audience by sending unsolicited SMS.






Link to a mobile site to facilitate additional interaction.






Encourage consumers to associate your short/long code with your company in their phone. People are more apt to open a text from Best Buy as opposed to 85324.






Reduce call center volume and costs with mobile alerts.






Always include a call to action in push or SMS.






Use targeted push messaging to reengage users who downloaded your app, but haven’t been back.






Promote SMS campaigns in stores, on digital signage and across your website to maximize visibility.






Pair SMS and Email campaigns together to deliver the right message through the right channel at the right time.






Stay true to opt-in policy and honor the expectation of the campaign (no over sending!)






Use SMS to gather feedback from large groups of people (fans, trade show attendees, etc)






SMS is extremely effective for customer acquisition, customer retention, and increasing customer spend (growth).






Building a Mobile App without a solid push strategy is like building a Facebook fan page without a social strategy.






Use SMS to gather new email addresses for your email marketing efforts (Text your email address to # for a special offer!)






SMS & Push Messages can be personalized and segmented just like email, think beyond the “Batch and Blast” mentality.






Shared short codes are a great place to start for those new to SMS marketing as they are cheaper and quicker to implement.






Private short codes should be used by brands looking to own every keyword necessary for a campaign






Vanity short codes can be utilized to enhance branding efforts for a specific campaign






Multiple short codes (or 1 long code) are necessary for International SMS campaigns.






Push messages are essentially free for the end user (recipient), as they aren’t billed on a per message fee like SMS.






When selecting a Keyword for an SMS campaign, the minimum length is 4 characters (i.e. JOIN or SALE).






Honor preference. Some of your customers may prefer to receive certain messages via SMS - you don’t know until you ask.






Similar to the Twitter’s 140character limit, SMS messages in the US can only be 160 characters.






Before launching a SMS campaign, review the Consumer Best Practices, regulations developed by the Mobile Marketing Association.






Get Local - Help your customers feel connected by personalizing the messages, including tailoring them to a specific area or location.






Keep It Simple - When sending messages, use simple plain language with well-known texting shortcuts to avoid ambiguity.






Reach Out and Reply - Talk with your customers and provide advice and tips. In return, you gain valuable feedback and increase customer loyalty.






Make offers time-sensitive or limit uses to increase the engagement of your push or SMS notifications






Train your staff to look for “from” number. If it’s not your short code, make sure they’re a subscriber.






If you’re sending SMS messages internationally, work with a mobile expert to determine a short/long code strategy.






If you’re sending time sensitive emails, SMS should be considered as a much more effective channel for delivery.






The process to transfer or acquire a private short code can take up to 12 weeks. Consider this when planning your SMS messaging campaigns.






Offer instant prizes or gratitude. Don’t make me wait until I spend money with your company.






Do you read your friend’s short text or your dad’s novel? The content matters.






Less is more for SMS Marketing






If your SMS is 200 characters, see if you can make it 160 characters or even less.






Surprise your customers. Show them you remember them by personalizing the message.






Stop telling your SMS consumers what you have, just tell them what is in it for them (i.e. benefits).






Deliver SMS and push coupons to increase redemption rates, as people always have their phones with them.






Be clear and let your customers know what action you want them to take - what, how, when, who. Be direct and precise.






Don’t forget to integrate mobile with social media channels.






Think beyond simple outbound messages and leverage SMS to gain more information about your customers.






Obtain opt-in approval before sending SMS messages. Email opt-in does not equal an SMS opt-in.






Consider requesting a mobile number on your email opt-in forms but do so only if there’s a well-stated benefit to the consumer.






Companies can expect response times to a text message to be within an hour, and within minutes.






With SMS being such an immediate channel, it’s important to test your campaign before going live.






Push messages can drive in App purchases and increase App usage.






Gain Trust through a clear and concise opt-in process. Let your consumers know when and what they’ll be receiving.






Consider mobile in combination with other channels and post across mobile, Facebook, Twitter, email, and any online communications you use.






Before asking if a user wants to opt-in to your push messages, tell them what the benefit of opting in would be.






Each time a user updates your App, an opportunity arises to prompt them to opt into your Push notifications again.





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Use email to promote SMS and Push messaging.






When switching short codes, send a message to inform consumers of the change to increase awareness and engagement.






There are rules and regulations when sending messages to people under the age of 13. Read the MMA guidelines to stay compliant.






Remember that customers pay for text messaging, so don’t send a lot of messages. Three to four per month is plenty.






Use a single marketing platform to obtain reporting across all your marketing channels (e.g. email, social, and mobile).






If you are running a sweepstakes, seek legal guidance when drafting the rules to ensure compliance with laws and regulations.






Enforce a double opt-in for mobile subscribers. After the consumer has opted-in send a confirmation message.






Identify your brand; don’t assume the consumer will identify you through a short/long code number.






When using a vanity short code, be sure to put the number equivalent in parenthesis for ease of use - e.g. TIRES (84737)






Make consumers feel special. Vary your mobile content and offers from those on your site and email.






Avoid hype, slang, and abbreviations.






Allow in-store consumers to sign up for loyalty and charge card programs via mobile as they wait for the checkout process.






Tell users how to opt out of your messages. For example - Text STOP to 80565






Consumers expect immediate responses with mobile. Ensure your communication is real-time, to optimize the consumer’s experience.






When selecting an SMS provider, ask which aggregators the provider uses, as this can affect deliverability.






Use SMS to trigger send an email to deliver content that won’t fit into 160 characters.






Utilize Rich Push to send video, audio, HTML, or maps to your App users.






Do not confuse your customer with too much information in a short amount of words. Keep your focus on one message at a time.






Whatever action you want your customers to take, start with that. Simply use verbs such as: buy, sell, save, jump, run, and purchase, to grab their attention.






Respond Quickly. People’s memories are short when it comes to mobile marketing. Respond quickly once they have opted in.






Do you have mission critical messages? 90% of SMS messages are opened within 3 mins of receipt.






If you need to use text shorthand, then you need to rewrite your message.






Send SMS less frequently than your email marketing campaign (if you send emails three times a week, send SMS once).






If your database of mobile contacts is out of date, it may be a better choice to start from scratch, as people change numbers often.






Don’t include graphics or images, just text.






Streamline communications: “TXT STOP” to unsubscribe, or “TXT HELP” for customer support.






Offer a gift for signing up - discount, free product sample, ebook.






Try including a “scannable” coupon that can be redeemed at your physical stores






Include a forwarding option in your messages.






Encourage more subscribers by offering an immediate discount upon sign up.






Let your customers know that you’re not going to sell or exploit their cell number.






In your privacy statement, let your customers know that their mobile provider may charge them for sending and receiving texts.






Conduct a short SMS Poll - always learn from your consumers about how they view your mobile campaigns and offerings.






Trying to help someone decide dinner plans? Text them around 2:00-4:00 PM.






Include your short code on all your SWAG - you never know where it is going to end up!






Keep your SMS marketing campaign focused on one message. One clear message.






Don’t use all of the character spacing in your messages - you’re taking away space for customers to forward and include their own message.






Short codes need to be easy and relevant to your company.






Vanity (custom) short codes can be difficult to use with the absence of the T9 texting on most mobile phones. Try a random code.






Request - Ask for feedback early and often via email or text a link to an online survey.






Don’t try to sell something in every Push message. Provide value to your App user and build a better relationship






Give your text campaign plenty of time to go through aggregator and carriers, so as not to show up at 2:00 am on your customer’s phone.






Include your business name somewhere in the SMS. It’s easy to get SMS’s confused when other short code initiated messages are coming in frequently.






Because SMS and Push are the most effective forms of interruptive marketing, make sure your message is accurate before sending.






Review tracking and analytics to enhance your SMS and Push campaigns. Discover which campaigns work best for you.






Use SMS text campaigns instead of QR codes since QR codes can be difficult to scan depending on the environment.






What would I do if I received this SMS? Ask yourself this question every time before hitting send.






If a carrier blocks a short code, all senders from that short code are blocked. Owning a private short code alleviates this problem.






Holidays are a great time to do daily campaigns. 12 days of Christmas, 8 Nights of Hanukkah, Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday.






Leverage all of the information you have on your contacts to send them highly personal messages (just like email!)






Allow users to set up SMS or Push alerts based on getting a product (or certain size) back in stock.






Customers have a lot of Apps installed. An effective Push messaging strategy can keep your App top of mind, making it more successful.






Headed to a trade show? Set up a simple text response campaign with your business card information to stand out in the crowd.






Headed to a trade show? Deliver your marketing materials via email after a prospect texts into your short code.






Planning on developing a mobile App for Android or iOS? Now is the time to start planning your Push strategy.






Analytical insights into your SMS and push campaigns is critical to evaluating success and ROI.






As smartphone adoption rates increase, the opportunity for effective Push messaging campaigns will only increase as well.






Make sure your Push messages fit within your app users’ schedule. Let them dictate when they want to receive notifications.






Stay true to your brand. Make sure your mobile messaging stays consistent with the tone your customers are used to.






Don’t repeat information that consumers have already received from your other marketing channels.






Consider a double opt-in even when it’s not required.






Occasionally restate how consumers can opt-out of your campaigns (don’t just mention it after the first message).






Market your SMS campaigns everywhere possible, as your success with SMS is determined by the number of people in the funnel.






Think long-term when it comes to mobile.






Not every phone has the capability to scan a QR code, so consider using SMS campaigns instead, as almost everyone can text with their phone.






SMS and Push are one of thechannels that marketers use that the customer is almost guaranteed to read the message.






Test, test, and test your placement and media of your SMS advertising campaigns.






SMS is no longer viewed as a “high spam” channel. It is used by the best brands to drive real results. It’s time to dedicate budget to this channel.






Welcome emails create excellent visibility and relationship building between the consumer and the brand after SMS opt-in.






Create a targeted email campaign to customers viewing on a mobile device. Offer an incentive to download your app.






Add a pop-up to your website that promotes your mobile app.






Use social channels to promote mobile. Make sure your Facebook pages are mobile optimized for easy viewing.






Take advantage of traditional communication methods by including mobile call-to-actions on an invoice or packaging.






Mobile phone number becomes more valuable when it’s paired with an email address or Twitter handle.






Your welcome strategy for any new mobile customer should include a combination of channels-email, mobile, and social.






Be consistent. Consumers anticipate your message. Do not let them down.






Remember to always review analytics and reports. Data should help define strategy.






Context is key. Be smart about when you send communication, in order to stay relevant.






Try implementing cart abandonment push notifications to draw the consumer back to purchase.






If an email goes unopened, follow up via SMS a week later. Integrate channels.






Use a one-time incentive-based email to reengage lapsed mobile users.






Reward loyal customers with geo-location targeting. If they live close, get them in the door!






Give customers easy access to update message preferences with a unified profile center.






Facebook is the world’s most downloaded app, use it for acquisition.






Don’t think of “welcome” as a single message. It takes time to get to know each other.






Consumers who interact with your brand through mobile-specific channels are among your most engaged.






Customer completely disengaged? Offer a drastic discount for a purchase conversion via your app.






Win-back or comeback programs can be some of the most succesful mobile strategies.






Mobile coupons get 10 times the redemption rate of traditional coupons.

-Mobile Marketing Association





mobile

Connect anywhere, any time with ExactTarget mobile marketing solutions.

We’ll help you every step of the way.

www.ExactTarget.com/GoEverywhere
