When you woke up this morning, your first move was most likely a reach for your cell phone. You may also find yourself immediately checking your phone when you start your lunch break. Let’s be honest though…chances are your cell phone is next to you at your desk vibrating, bleeping, and lighting up with an alert from someone or something waiting to gauge your attention, and you couldn’t resist to take a quick peek at your phone in between your ordinary daily activities.
The prevalence of cell phones and increasing usage of text messaging is no surprise to anyone living in the moment of 2016’s digital dominance. Today, over five billion people own cell phones, and 86 percent of Americans are active mobile phone owners. While we internally thrive off the presence and use of our mobile devices, it is also no surprise that we are a society infatuated with simplistic and instantaneous products and services, making Short Message Service (SMS) or commonly known as “text messaging” a progressive, enlightening component of our daily lives.
Today, 91 percent of all US mobile phone users keep their phones within arm’s reach at all times, and 90 percent of all text messages are read within three minutes of their delivery. Text messaging is undoubtedly a heavily relied upon resource for communicating and sending quick updates or insights from one party to another, and though we often associate the primary usage of mobile devices with communicating, cell phone owners are utilizing their devices to complete a variety of everyday tasks. For example, in the past year:
- 57 percent of people have used their phone to do online banking.
- 44 percent have used their phone to look up real estate listings or other information about a place to live.
- 43 percent have used their phone to look up information about a job, resulting in 18 percent of users submitting a job application via mobile phone.
- 40 percent have used their phone to look up government services or content.
- 30 percent have used their phone to take a class or search educational information.
- 62 percent of smartphone owners have searched for information about a health condition through their mobile device.
What is SMS Marketing?
We could talk endlessly about the numerous uses and benefits of SMS, but one of the most revolutionary practices making a huge standout recently is SMS marketing. SMS marketing is a way for a mobile phone user to subscribe to a specific program by sending a keyword as a message to a short code. The mobile phone number is then placed into a system and sends an automatic text back to the user. When the user is added into the system, they will be the recipient of marketing messages and alerts.
What are the benefits of SMS Marketing?
For both businesses and subscribers, SMS marketing offers multiple unique, exclusive ways to send and receive messages, including sales and coupons, loyalty programs and rewards, classified listings, surveys and contests, reminders, and even internal employee communications. The average person views their phone 46 times per day, with the average Americans checking their phones about 8 billion times per day. We are undoubtedly a society that has accustomed ourselves to ensuring our phones are within arm’s reach, frequently checking for updates or incoming messages. For any business trying to establish successful marketing tactics, SMS provides plenty of opportunities to both manage and measure their overall effectiveness.
We can help!
If you are looking for an impactful way to execute your advertising campaign and connect audience engagement to your brand, SMS marketing can be a valuable option for both you and your customers. Reach out to Amplified Digital today so we can help you implement effective SMS strategies to amplify your brand and exceed your goals!