Many of your customers will be out celebrating on New Year's Eve.

It's hard to believe that 2014 is already coming to a close. With New Year's Eve just around the corner, many business owners have begun developing creative strategies to reach potential customers on the evening of December 31st. After all, it is one of the most popular nights out of the year. If your restaurant or club is hosting a special event in honor of the holiday, you may want to consider adding texting to your New Year's Eve marketing toolkit. Here are four reasons text marketing is an effective channel for your upcoming promotions.

New Year's Eve is one of the Most Popular Nights Out of the Year

Visit any major city or small town on New Year's Eve night, and you'll notice that the local establishments are packed with patrons decked out in their finest attire. The sheer amount of people out on the town represents an important opportunity for business owners. Chances are good that potential customers will be checking their phones frequently to see where their friends are hanging out. A well-crafted text promotion can help you connect with all these people directly.

Potential Patrons are on the Move

Restaurants and clubs can count on their customers being out and about on New Year's Eve. While some may have purchased tickets for events in advance, many others will be hopping from place to place meeting up with different groups of friends. A text campaign can help you connect with potential customers while they're on the go. Well-timed promotions could entice them to make their next stop at your establishment.

Your Customers are Texting

Just four short years ago, approximately 60% of smartphone users sent and received texts. Today, over 81% of smartphone users communicate via text message. If you're interested in attracting the attention of younger customers, the numbers are even more promising. In recent years, the average number of texts sent and received has been climbing steadily. Potential customers in the 18-24 age demographic send and receive an average of 2,022 and 1,831 texts each month, respectively. Their older peers in the 25-34 demographic send approximately 1,130 and receive 1,110. These numbers represent a key opportunity for businesses interested in reaching younger audiences on New Year's Eve.

Open Rates for Text Campaigns are Impressive

If you're investing in a marketing campaign, you want to be sure that you're getting a good return. Text marketing provides one of the best returns in the business. Open rates for text messages are close to 100 percent, whereas average email open rates are only about 22 percent. When customers opt-in to receive text communications from your business, you can feel confident that they're getting your message.

Connect with potential patrons via text message this New Year's Eve.

Text marketing should be a key component of your marketing toolkit this New Year's Eve. The fast-paced nature of the evening aligns perfectly with a well-crafted text campaign. Your customers will be on the move, checking their phones and communicating via text frequently, and they'll be looking for fun places to spend their evening. If you want to connect with new customers over the upcoming holiday, try ClubTexting for free!

Author Bio: Jess Shepard is a content writer who enjoys researching and writing about marketing, small business, and entrepreneurship.
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Banks are using mobile and text messaging more frequently to reach new customers.

Business owners are always looking for ways to make their customers' lives easier. Exceptional service is what keeps companies in business. In recent years, banks and credit unions have been exploring digital channels to share important information with their customers, reach a broader audience, and make banking even more convenient. If you're in the financial services industry and you've been thinking about how you can use mobile to enhance your customer service, there are a number of approaches you can take. Here are three ways banks can use texting services to connect with their customers.

Sharing Time-Sensitive Notifications

The financial industry moves fast, and sometimes customers have trouble keeping up. Text message notifications can serve as a useful tool for banking customers who are interested in receiving up-to-the-minute information about their account. Banks can partner with texting services to convey important pieces of data to their customers. For example, if there are any suspicious transactions on an account, texts can be used to notify account holders quickly. Instant notification can be also be used as a money management tool. Account holders could opt-in to receive notifications about low account balances, overdraft transfers, or information about upcoming credit card payments.

Making Banking More Convenient

As texting has become more prevalent over the past decade, more banks and credit unions have been using it as a tool to make banking more convenient for their customers. Banks pair up with communications providers to create an intuitive system that makes sense for users. Account holders who sign up for text message banking can text codes to a designated phone number in order to take specific actions. For example, a text banking service might allow customers to check their balances, review recent account activity, schedule credit card payments, search through transactions, and find ATM locations nearby. Many accountholders prefer the convenience of text banking because it enables them to easily manage their personal finances while on the go.

Marketing Products and Services

Whether you're interested in reaching new customers or sharing information about products and services with your existing audience, text message marketing can help you accomplish your goals. Consider working with a communications provider to develop a location-based text marketing effort to connect with potential customers. For example, you may want to use geo-location technology to target mobile users at nearby ATM locations with well-crafted messages. Including information about why your products and services would be valuable to them will increase opt-in rates for your campaign. Maybe your bank offers free checking, an industry-leading rate on savings accounts, or exclusive benefits for new members. Conveying the benefits of banking with you via text message marketing will help convert potential customers into loyal ones.

Many mobile users enjoy the convenience of interacting with their bank while on the go.

If you're in the financial services industry and you've been thinking of exploring mobile to reach a broader audience and improve your customer service, a texting service can help you accomplish your goals. Texting can be used to share time-sensitive alerts, make banking more convenient, and convey information about relevant products or services to customers. What are you waiting for? Try ClubTexting for free, and start reaching a broader audience today.

Author Bio: Jess Shepard is a content writer who enjoys researching and writing about marketing, small business, and entrepreneurship.

Text marketing is a great way to get the party started at your bar.

You've got an incredible music lineup and an impressive array of beers on tap at your bar, now all you need are more customers! Whether you're a bar owner that's recently established their first business or you're simply interested in driving more foot traffic to your business, text marketing is a great way to connect with a young audience.

The proof is in the numbers. According to recent data, 91% of mobile users in the 18-34 age demographic use their devices to send and receive text messages. Open rates for text messages hover around 99%. By comparison, average email open rates are around 33%. The bottom line is that texting is an effective way your customers. Here are three ways your business can use text marketing to increase your patronage.

Share information about special events

Does your bar have any upcoming events on the calendar? Maybe you have a monthly ladies' night or you've got a special performer on the schedule in the near future. Text marketing is a great way to get the word out to potential customers about these exclusive events. Work with a communications provider to create a campaign to help increase your foot traffic on special nights.

Incentivize your marketing

One of the challenges that many businesses face with their mobile marketing efforts is getting customers to opt-in to receive communications from their establishment. If you are interested in increasing your mobile subscriptions, you may want to consider offering an incentive for those who choose to opt-in. For example, if you're trying to increase patronage during slower lunch time hours, sharing an offer for a free appetizer or discounted meal might help drive more traffic to your business. Alternatively, if you're trying to get more customers through the door at night, you may want to text them an offer for a free drink. Providing a little incentive can help increase your campaign opt-in rates, and give your text marketing efforts a boost.

Pay attention to timing

Close to 90% of text messages are opened within three minutes of receipt. If you are planning to use text marketing for your business, spend some time thinking about timing. Consider how timing relates to your campaign goals. For example, if you are hoping to attract customers for happy hour, you'll want to schedule your campaign accordingly. Most people are leaving work at 5PM, so you may want to entice the commuter crowd with a well-timed offer just before they head out the door at 4:45PM. Timing is a critical component of any effective text marketing effort. Effective scheduling can help you attract the right crowd at the right time.

Timing is everything when it comes to text marketing campaigns.

Text message marketing is a great way to connect with younger consumers and drive traffic to your business. Bars can use texting to share information about special events, entice potential customers with unique offers, and increase their patronage. The key is to create a well-timed campaign that will reach your target customers at the perfect moment. If you're interested in exploring text message marketing for your business, try ClubTexting for free today.

Author Bio: Jess Shepard is a content writer who enjoys researching and writing about marketing, small business, and entrepreneurship.

By now, you may have heard that mobile marketing is the way to go if you want to reach customers anywhere in the most reliable way possible. After all, 98 percent of text messages are opened by the recipient. But how do you use keywords to get customers to sign up for your mobile list? What are keywords, anyway?

Keywords are a great way to get customers to join your loyalty programs.

What is a Keyword?

A keyword is a short word or phrase, which may include numbers, that customers text to opt-in to a mobile list. For example, 'Text FLOWERS to 25827 to join our text messaging list' is an example of an advertisement using the keyword "FLOWERS." That would be a good keyword for a florist.

How Do Keywords Work?

Customers text your keyword to the specified short code to join your contact list. They then receive a legally required automated response that thanks them for joining and tells them how to opt out if they no longer want to receive messages. Keywords usually identify a product, service, business or action. Businesses use them to entice customers to opt in to loyalty programs and special mobile offers. You can have as many keywords as you like.

What are the Benefits of Using Keywords in SMS Marketing?

Keywords offer customers a way to immediately engage with your brand when they see your advertisements. Use them on billboards, flyers and in commercials. Put them on your website and post about them on social media by incorporating them into branded graphics and videos.

Some businesses choose to have multiple keywords because it helps them break customers down into specific groups for more targeted advertisements. Keywords also provide the ability to track traditional advertising campaigns.

What Makes a Good Keyword?

Not all keywords are good ones. Combinations of letters and numbers are difficult to remember and should be avoided, if possible. Single words are best because some customers may add a space between multi-word keywords.

You can use multiple keywords to segment users by different campaigns and interests.

You'll also want to keep the following pointers in mind when selecting your keywords:

• Keep keywords as short as possible. Stick to words or phrases that are 10 letters or fewer, and the shorter they are, the better.
• Ditch the special characters. While it may look fun to throw in a dollar sign or asterisk, it's more work for the user because he or she will have to switch from the letters to the numbers. Make it as easy as possible for customers to type in your keyword.
• Try your keywords on different phones to see if the word or phrase gets autocorrected to something else. This may be a problem for brand, product or program names that are not made up of common words and phrases. If your keyword gets autocorrected, consider choosing a more common phrase or purchasing the autocorrected keywords as well.

Now you know what keywords are, how they work and how to choose a good one. Want to give it a whirl? Try ClubTexting for free.

Text message marketing is a great way to connect with customers.

Texting is big business. Recent data estimates that US mobile users in the 18 to 24 age demographic send an average of 67 text messages per day. Text message marketing represents an important opportunity for brands interested in reaching younger audiences. If you're thinking of adding texting to your enterprise marketing toolkit, there are several approaches you can take to develop an effective campaign. Here are five tips for making your next text message marketing campaign a success.

Create an Offer They Cannot Refuse

Few people can resist a good deal. If you want to improve foot traffic to your business, consider developing an offer that your customers simply cannot refuse. For example, you may want to offer returning customers a free drink or appetizer or exclusive VIP privileges for an evening. Take a look at past print and social media campaigns to determine which deals were most appealing to customers, and use that information to develop offers for upcoming text campaigns.

Make It a Limited Time Offer

Another effective way to get a good return on your text message marketing efforts is to create a sense of urgency for your customers. Consider putting a time table on your offer to improve campaign conversions. Making your offer valid for one night or one weekend only will entice more customers to take advantage of the good deal.

Craft a Clear Call to Action

Providing an attractive limited time offer may not be enough to get customers through the door. It's also important to have an effective call to action for your text message marketing campaign. A call to action provides customers with directions on how to take advantage of the deal your business is providing. Examples of effective calls to action might include, "Show this offer to your server to redeem your free drink" or "Present this deal at the door for VIP access."

Present your customers with a text message offer they cannot refuse.

Provide Your Business Name

While it may seem like a simple step, clarifying that the text message is from your brand is an important part of the process. Provide your business name in the first message to your customers to eliminate any possible confusion. This serves two purposes. Not only does it clarify things for your target audience, it also helps minimize any possible frustration among your customers. Always keep in mind that there are few things more frustrating than receiving an anonymous text message from a business.

If you're interested in driving foot traffic to your business, text message marketing is a great way to do it. Whether you're just launching your first campaign or you have considerable experience using mobile marketing to reach your customers, there are a few steps you can take to make your next text message marketing effort more effective. Creating an offer your customers can't refuse, making it a limited time deal, writing an effective call to action, and clarifying that the message they're receiving is from your brand can help improve your campaign conversions. Try ClubTexting for free to connect with more customers today!

Author Bio: Jess Shepard is a content writer who enjoys researching and writing about marketing, small business, and entrepreneurship.

Businesses are using text marketing to make connections with customers.

Smartphones have revolutionized the way people communicate. Not only have they made it easier for people to connect with friends and family on the go, they've also changed the way that consumers interact with businesses. If you are a business owner that's interested in building relationships with your customers, text marketing is a great way to accomplish your goals. Text campaigns are versatile, easy to implement, and highly effective. Here's why text marketing campaigns are a guaranteed read, along with some key takeaways for business owners interested in mobile.

Cell phone ownership is increasing
It's no secret that cell phone ownership is increasing. A decade ago, only 65 percent of US adults owned smartphones. In ten years that figure has soared to a whopping 91 percent. Data suggests that cell phone adoption rates are increasing not only in the US, but among international consumers as well. This is good news for business owners who are interested in reaching a broad range of global mobile users.

People are texting more frequently
Many people prefer the efficiency of text messages as a communication tool. Sending a text is faster and easier than making a phone call, so it isn't a surprise that texting has become more popular in recent years. According to 2013 data, 81 percent of mobile owners use their phones to text, an increase of nearly 20 percent over the span of four years. As communicating via text has become more prevalent, consumers have begun interacting with businesses more frequently via this channel.

Customers are using mobile coupons
The key to any good text message marketing campaign is getting potential subscribers to opt-in to receive communications from your business. Recent data suggests that mobile coupon redemption rates have improved in recent years, which signals an increase in opt-ins for companies using text marketing to reach their customers. If you can entice potential subscribers to opt-in for your text communications, the possibilities are endless for your business.

Open rates are high
One of the biggest benefits of text marketing campaigns are the phenomenal open rates. Companies that use text messaging to reach their subscribers enjoy up to a 98 percent rate of receipt. For comparison's sake, email marketers report an average open rate of just 22 percent. With open rates soaring close to 100 percent, there is significant potential for businesses interested in communicating with customers via text message. There's arguably no better way to engage with your audience and build customer loyalty over time.

Open rates are impressive for text marketing campaigns.

Many businesses are exploring text marketing as a way of reaching their target customers. As cell phone ownership has increased globally, people have begun communicating via text message more frequently. Consumers are also using mobile coupons more often, signaling an uptick in subscriber opt-in rates, and open rates for text messages are nearly 100 percent. Text marketing represents an important opportunity for companies interested in engaging with customers. If you're interested in staying connected with your audience, try ClubTexting for free today.

Author Bio: Jess Shepard is a content writer who enjoys researching and writing about marketing, small business, and entrepreneurship.

An effective call to action can help make your text marketing campaign a success.

Open rates for text message marketing campaigns hovered around 98 percent in 2014. If your company hasn't starting using text marketing to connect with customers, you could be missing out on an important opportunity. Here are a few tips for businesses that are interested in getting started with text message marketing and here's why having an effective call to action is a critical step towards campaign success.

Crafting a successful campaign starts with an opt-in
The first step towards crafting a successful text message marketing effort is getting potential subscribers to opt-in to receive communications from your business. Businesses need to provide customers with an opt-in option in accordance with anti-spam regulations. The most common question among companies that are just getting started with text marketing is: how do I get my customers to opt in? There are a few different approaches you can take.

Crafting effective calls to action
Whether you're new to text marketing and you want to grow your subscriber list or you're a veteran text marketer that's simply interested in increasing customer opt-ins, an enticing call to action is the key to success. As you're thinking about your call to action, it's important to remember that consumers are inundated with marketing messages via email, mail, and the Internet. In order to get potential subscribers to opt-in for text communications, the language you use in your call to action needs to be irresistible and convey value. Here are some examples of effective calls to action that you can use as inspiration.

Potential subscribers are more likely to opt-in if your call to action is compelling.

Good CTAs create a sense of urgency
A limited-time opt-in offer creates a sense of urgency. Setting a designated amount of time for a deal can increase the likelihood that potential subscribers will opt-in to receive communications from your company. For example, a business might use the following limited-time call to action in order to increase their subscription rates.

• Text "okay" to 123-456-7890 within the next 24 hours to receive a special deal.
• Text "yes" to 123-456-7890 by midnight to receive an instant 30% discount.

Effective CTAs offer unique benefits to customers
The best calls to action offer unique benefits like discounts, coupons, or free products and services for customers who opt-in. After all, it's incredibly difficult to resist a good deal! Examples of calls to action that offer special benefits for customers include the following.

• Send a text to 123-456-7890 to receive a 15% off discount for preferred customers.
• Text "yes" to 123-456-7890 for your exclusive Black Friday discount.

Keep calls to action clear and concise
You have limited time to make a connection with a potential subscriber. To increase your opt-in rates, it's important to keep your calls to action concise. Providing simple instructions and illustrating benefits clearly can help improve your business campaigns.

Text marketing is an effective way to reach new customers. If you're thinking about adding text messages to your business marketing toolkit, there are a few important things to remember. First, your goal is to get customers to opt-in. To do this, you need to create compelling calls to action that entice customers to participate in your campaign. Creating urgency and providing benefits can help increase your opt-in rates. To learn more about why text marketing is so effective, see this blog post from ClubTexting.com.

Jess Shepard is a content writer who enjoys researching and writing about marketing, small business, and entrepreneurship.

There's no getting around it: Americans are addicted to their cell phones. It's hard to walk around a busy sidewalk without bumping into somebody with their nose buried into their phone. Walking around without a cell phone is likely to bring nervous, cold sweats and a desire to return to the safety of home quickly.

The good news is that this presents a terrific opportunity for businesses to use text message marketing to reach an over-increasing audience. Before delving into the implications of this epidemic, let's take a look at some statistics:

The Numbers Don't Lie

The statistics about cell phones in America are startling. Recent research found that in the United States, an estimated 90% of adults own a cell phone, and an estimated 58% own a smartphone.

Here are some additional statistics about cell phone use in America:

• • 2 out of 3 people check their phones for messages even when they don't receive a notification.

• • 29% of owners say they couldn't live without their cell phone.

• • 98% of Americans between the ages of 18-29 own a cell phone, and 97% of Americans aged between 30-49 own one.

• • 34% of Americans use their phones as their primary internet device.

Could these statistics just prove that Americans are addicted to technology in general? Possibly, but there is still a larger opportunity in text message marketing than other methods. Compared to the 90% of Americans with a cell phone, only 83.8% of American families have a computer in their home as of the 2013 census.

It's clear that cell phones are a major part of our daily life, and it's our duty as marketers to take advantage of that.

No matter how much we wish they did, numbers never lie!

Text Messages Are Perfect For Our Brains

The National Center for Biotechnology Information, located in the U.S. Library of Medicine, found that the average human's attention span has dropped 33% between 2000 and 2013. This leaves us with an average attention span of only 8 seconds.

Text messages fit this new mentality perfectly. A text message can be easily opened, scanned, processed, and deleted. Email messages or other, lengthier marketing materials take more effort and are more likely to be ignored. By taking advantage of our increasing need to process information quickly, you will find that less can be more.

Text messages are like perfect little appetizers for your brain!

Nobody Reads Emails

Not only are we dependent on our cell phones, but we trust our text messages much more. MailChimp conducted a survey on email open rate by industry, and found that rates varied from a 13.2% open rate (daily deals and e-coupons) to 30.71% (hobbies). The majority of open rates fell between 20% and 25%.

Consider, however, what happens when you receive a text message. It's usually opened right away, and read before it's deleted. There's no spam filter blocking your messages and making it difficult to reach your targets. In fact, it's estimated that a text message's read rate is 98%!

It's clear that there is significant opportunity for text message marketing. If you want to give it a try for your business, we'll give you the chance to do so for free! Sign up for your free trial by clicking here!

Starbucks is one of the most popular brands in the United States, but did you know that they're also an innovator when it comes to SMS marketing? Starbucks was one of the first companies to fully embrace mobile applications, and they continued their mobile focus by launching several successful SMS marketing campaigns.

Here are three lessons that you can learn from the success of Starbucks:

SMS Helps Increase Brand Loyalty

Major companies are investing in mobile marketing efforts, such as SMS, to help boost their brand loyalty. By closely tying in SMS marketing to mobile apps, loyalty memberships and exclusive perks, customers will have more reasons to choose your brand and return repeatedly.

After Starbucks SMS marketing push, they found that their mobile sales had increased a whopping 75% over last year. In addition, they found that twice as many customers were using their mobile app for payments (ten million people total). Because of the SMS campaign, these customers are now more fully integrated with Starbucks, and much more likely to continue returning to them.

SMS marketing campaigns sometimes feel like they're printing money!

It Helps You Stay Relevant

One of the most difficult challenges marketers face is staying relevant in an increasingly agile world. Marketing campaigns can be outdated before they go live, but SMS marketing is instant. Starbucks was able to take advantage of this by launching an extremely successful campaign for iced coffee drinks throughout the summer. They offered coupon codes, happy hours, and random deals throughout the summer. They added to the campaign by adding humorous, surprising touches, like a picture of a cat in outer space.

Starbucks has also had great success with their 12 Days of Christmas promotion where they offered a different gift for sale each week. Some of the most popular items they offered included refillable coffee mugs that could be used throughout the next month of January. By offering deals to drive the Starbucks brand for Christmas gifts, they were also able to incentivize the recipients of the gifts to return often the next month- turning them into customers, as well!

SMS Marketing Works Hand-In-Hand With Social Media

One of the reasons that Starbucks' SMS campaigns are successful is their terrific integration with social media. Starbucks uses their online presence to drive traffic to SMS, and vice-versa. This provides a great opportunity to grow your social media presence while also focusing on customer loyalty and sales!

This is how Starbucks was able to leverage their social media presence:

• • Offering incentives. Many of the opt-in forms posted by Starbucks promised gifts, coupons, or other promotions. Incentives have been proven to drive email subscriptions, so it isn't surprising that it would help boost SMS subscriptions, too.

• • Using media to stand out. Starbucks was able to grab attention by posting Facebook pictures of frappuncinos with faces in them, and tweeting pictures of dogs with coffee on a beach. The pictures were relevant, humorous, and demanded attention.

• • Drove awareness. Throughout their summer campaign, Starbucks continued to send out social media messages, which continued to get shared, favorited, and commented on. Their tight, relevant marketing message reached enough people to have a significant effect on mobile sales and app signups.

Social media is an SMS marketer's greatest ally!

Do you think you have what it takes to match Starbucks success? Give it a try for free by taking advantage of our free trial here!

Americans have come to expect coupons. It's part of the shopping experience. But even if you have a global reach, everyone appreciates a good deal. The problem most marketers have is using coupons without devaluing the brand. Can it be done? Yes! Use these five tips to bring in business with coupons.

Coupons are a marketer's best friend.

1. Offer Coupons to Make Your Customers Feel Good

Who doesn't enjoy getting a good deal? Coupons evoke positive feelings in shoppers, and happy customers are likely to buy more and come back for repeat visits. Simply put, using coupons helps shoppers feel good about their purchases.

2. Encourage Shoppers to Try New Products or Services at Lower Prices

People work hard for their money, and they're hesitant to spend it on products or services that they've never tried before. But offering a discount can encourage people to try your product or service when they would have never done so at the regular price.

3. Build Your Customer List Using Coupons

If you want loyal customers, you have to build up your preferred customers lists. One of the best ways to encourage shoppers to sign up for future promotions is to offer a high-value coupon for their next shopping visit. For example, some stores offer coupons for 50% off a regularly priced item or $5 off $25 or more for the customer's next visit after list signup.

4. Target Former and Existing Customers with Enticing Discounts

Some customers drift away over time. They may be shopping with your competitors, or perhaps they don't feel they have a need for your product or service right now. A coupon can attract existing customers who need a reminder or nudge and can even bring back old customers if the price is right. Continue to offer rewards to encourage customer loyalty.

5. Help Customers Save Time by Offering Mobile Coupons

A coupon's value is based not only on its face value, but also in how much time it takes to find the coupon (and in the case of traditional coupons, clip and organize them). Help your customers save time by offering a mobile coupon instead of a paper one. Not only are mobile coupons more convenient, they're 10 times more likely to be redeemed than traditional coupons. They're also easier to keep up with because mobile phone users have their phones with them an average of 22 hours a day.

Get coupons to your customers quickly via SMS messages.

Last year, more than 66 million digital coupons were redeemed. Isn't it time you started using coupons in your marketing? We can get the word out fast with our mass texting service.

As more people carry their smartphones and tablets with them everywhere they go, mobile marketing continues to grow. Text messages provide marketers with the perfect medium to reach and engage with customers using devices they always have on hand. Not convinced? Here are 10 amazing stats that prove you need to go mobile with your messages.

Using a mass texting service to send SMS messages is the best way to reach your customers on the go.

1. Tick-tock: 90 percent of text messages are read within three minutes of receiving them. Can you say the same for your email marketing messages or direct mail advertisements? (Source: MobileSQUARED)

2. Worried your text message will go unopened? Not likely. 98 percent of all SMS messages are opened, while 84 percent of Facebook updates, 71 percent of tweets and 88 percent of emails are ignored. Mobile users place great importance on text messages and aren't likely to ignore them. (Sources: Techipedia and Mashable)

3. Mobile ad spending increased by 100 percent in 2013 and is expected to increase another 62 percent in 2014. (Source: Mobile Marketing Watch)

4. Mobile users want to hear from you! 70 percent of users say they'd like to receive offers on their phones. (Source: 60-Second Marketer)

5. People check their phones 150 times a day, including 23 times a day for messages, 18 times to check the time, and 22 times for phone calls. At other times, they're likely taking or sharing photos, using social media or playing games. (Source: ABC News)

6. When mobile messages are part of a marketing effort that's spread across other channels, 43 percent of consumers are more likely to make a purchase. (Source: Responsys)

7. On average, each person receives only 178 text messages per month compared to 1,216 emails per month. Do you see how much easier it is to get noticed through SMS marketing? (Source: Oxygen 8)

8. Offers, including coupons, discounts, special offers and loyalty program participation, are redeemed 8 times more frequently via SMS than email. (Source: Venture Beat)

9. The average person responds to email messages in 90 minutes, but you only need to wait a mere 90 seconds for a response to a text message. (Source: Branding Networks)

10. URL click through rate is significantly higher for mobile messages: 19 percent for SMS messages compared to only 4.2 percent in emails. (Source: Oxygen 8)

Want to reach your customers anytime, anywhere? Send a text message!

The time to jump on the mobile marketing bandwagon is now. App development can be challenging, and mobile websites can be expensive to build. SMS marketing using a mass texting service provides businesses and nonprofits with an affordable way to reach mobile users quickly. More importantly, it helps you reach users in a way that's proven to convert.

While some companies choose to utilize email as a means of communicating with potential and current customers, many more are finding that mass texting is a better option. Mass text messaging services offer many benefits and make for easy communication. Here are four times when mass texting easily beats emailing.

Last Minute Schedule Change

If you're holding an event and have a last-minute schedule change, you want to make sure that as many people as possible are informed. Some businesses may choose to email these changes, but not everyone may see the email in time! With the use of mass text messaging, you can get the changes sent to everyone's phones right away.

Since so many people have cell phones with them at all times, they will be very likely to see a text message pop up on their phone and get the location, time, or date change instantly.

If you need to alert individuals of a schedule change as soon as possible, texting is the way to go!

Fast Responses Needed

There may come a time when you need an answer quickly. Whether you're asking for someone to come help at an event or you're polling your customers to learn their opinion, you will likely want to get results fast. With text messaging, this is possible.

Think about how many times you've likely sent out important emails in the past only to get responses day later or no response at all. With texting, you're making it easier for individuals to communicate with you quickly so that you get the information that you need.

Last Minute Deals and Offers

At some point, you may decide to offer a special deal or discount to potential customers. This is a great way to get more people through your doors and increase sales during a slower time of year. With the use of text messaging, you can reach potential customers more quickly.

An email message may sit in their inboxes for a long time or it may never even get read. A text message, on the other hand, is easy to look at. You can include a code or secret message in order to entice people to take advantage of the deal once in the checkout line.

Share a great deal with text message marketing.

Add Subscribers Instantly

With text message marketing, it's pretty easy to add new subscribers. If you're a restaurant for example, you can place signs at each table offering a percentage discount to individuals who subscribe to the text messaging club. You can provide a code number for individuals to text and they will be instantly added to the subscription service once they send a message.

This is a great way to get more potential customers interested in your marketing messages more easily. With email, it's more difficult to have messages sent automatically to new subscribers.

As you can see, mass text messaging is often the best way to communicate. You can reach a large number of people quickly and are more likely to have your message be read.

Ready to see the difference? Try ClubTexting for free.

This article is about the ways one can keep in touch with members of their community group, including mass texting as one of the best ways to stay in-touch.

An important part of a community group or program is keeping everyone close together. A tightly knit community group will be able to get the help that is needed during difficult times and will be more likely to participate in group activities and events. Luckily, there are numerous ways in which communities can communicate. This can help them keep close. Take a look at the following information to learn more.

Communicate with Mass Texting

These days, most people are in front of their phone all of the time. If you want to be able to reach a large amount of people easily, mass text messaging is a great communication option. You can sign up for a mass texting service so that that it's easy to send messages whenever you want. You can schedule texts to go out at certain times or can compose one last minute.

This is a great way to inform your community about upcoming events, or to ask for help for a fundraiser. You can also let everyone know about time or location changes easily so that no one is confused. Whether you're communicating with a business, religious, or personal community, this is a great way to do it. Talk to a mass text messaging company to learn more about how to get started with this service.

Mass texting makes it easy to send messages to your group members.

Use Social Media for Real-Time Results

Another great way to communicate with your community is through social media. This is a great way to get real-time results. Social media offers many ways to communicate. You can discuss things through private messaging or by posting on profiles.

Many communities choose to set up a personal group to communicate. You can post group updates, pictures, and events. This is a great way to offer a place for individuals to check in and learn more about the community group. These days, there are many great social media websites to choose from.

Social media offers a fun way to communicate with members of your community.

Hold Monthly Meetings

Sometimes it's best to communicate in person. You may find that you're able to get your points across better and lessen confusion. Whether you have a big or small community, it's recommended that you hold regular meetings to discuss important topics.

You can choose how often you meet. It may make sense to meet every two weeks or once a week. At in-person meetings, you can discuss upcoming events or talk about new changes to the community. This is also a great way to vote on an issue because everyone can speak their mind and hear each other out.

Send Out Newsletters

Another great way to communicate with your group is through newsletters. Some groups choose to send these in the mail, by email, or by handing these out at events. This is a great to highlight your group's achievements and share news. This can also help your group feel close by offering the chance to learn more about other members.

Consider getting a team together to create the newsletter. They can decide how often the communication piece will go out and what the content will be, and you can also take contributions from other members. This can be a fun way to communicate as a group.

As you can see, your community group can stay close by communicating well in many great ways.

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Political campaigns are rife with successes and failures. And while they may drive constituents crazy during election years, businesses can glean valuable lessons from political campaigns. Here are eight lessons you can put into practice to benefit your business.

Political campaigns can offer businesses valuable insight into the dos and don'ts of reaching customers.

1. Embrace big data

Today, it's easier than ever to collect data about your customers. Big data played a big role in President Obama's re-election in 2012. You may not need to collect quite so many data points, but focusing on a few that are relevant to your business can help you determine how to best approach or persuade certain customers to buy, donate or engage with your brand.

2. Experiment with social media

Traditional advertising is expensive, so businesses have to stick with proven advertising methods to make the most of their money. Fortunately, social media offers the perfect opportunity for advertising experimentation because of the low cost of advertising and engaging. If you want to try something new, see how it lands on your social platforms first.

3. Meet with your advertising team more frequently

Politicians don't have the benefit of waiting months to see how their campaigns are going. They have to reevaluate their strategies every single day. And while that may be unrealistic for a business, more frequent meetings (weekly, for example) can be beneficial. Technology has made data collection easy, so there's no reason not to gauge your customers' responses to your ads frequently.

Don't be afraid to change your advertising campaign if research shows it's not being well received.

4. Choose your words carefully

One misspoken word can completely alienate important demographic groups. When it comes to advertising, choose your words carefully. You don't want to end up making a "binders full of women" mistake reminiscent of the Romney campaign (unless you want to end up on the wrong side of a viral meme).

5. Don't be afraid to show your personality

Where many politicians fail in this social era is the inability to connect with voters on a personal level. And if you can't connect with your customers in a more personal way, your business may be poised to fail, too. No matter what kind of image you want to project, you don't have to be stuffy and impersonal. Interject some personality into your ads and interactions - it will make your brand more memorable.

6. Keep ads consistent across all your advertising channels

You can't portray a hipster image on social media and a conservative image on television as some politicians have tried to do. Customers can sniff out inauthenticity from a mile away. Whatever you do, make sure that your branding and your message are consistent across all your advertising channels.

7. Go mobile

Sharing on mobile devices is easy--with a couple of taps, users can share your message with their friends on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and through other channels. Targeting mobile users through SMS messages is one of the best ways you can spend your advertising dollars. Club Texting can help you with this, and you can even try it for free.

Target mobile users through SMS messages to reach your customers on the go.

8. Encourage mobile users to take action

With mobile users in particular, it's important for businesses to use action statements rather than making polite requests. During the 2008 and 2012 political campaigns, analysts found that statements like, "Help get this message out" were more effective than requests such as, "Will you please vote for me?" So rather than making a hard sale by asking directly for a donation or purchase each time, mix up your messages to ask your customers to spread the word.

No matter how small or big your business is, these lessons transcend business size. By watching and learning from past and future political campaigns, you can gain valuable insight on ways to better connect with your own constituents -- that is, your customers.

If you haven't considered SMS marketing for your business, take a look at the following statistics. Among 18 to 44-year olds who have smartphones, 79 percent have them with them 22 hours a day. Not all mobile phones are smartphones, of course, but 81 percent of mobile customers use SMS messaging. That's a huge market, and as you can see, it's not just for teenagers. If you want to tap into this market, keep reading for three ways you can use text message marketing in your business.

Smartphone users almost always have their devices on hand. SMS marketing is a great way to reach these highly connected users.

1. Use text messages for time-sensitive communications.

If you're having a slow day and want to offer customers a discount for stopping by, text messaging is the perfect way to get that message to your customers. Of course, with time sensitive messages, you want to give your customers enough time to take advantage of the offer. If you plan to offer half off milkshakes from 6 pm - 8 pm, for instance, your message should be sent early in the day so customers can plan accordingly.

2. Use SMS marketing programs to reward loyal customers.

People value their phone privacy. If a customer has given you his or her mobile number - a number that allows you to reach the customer any time, day or night - you can bet that person is a loyal customer. So, with that in mind, you should make your text messages meaningful, valuable and timely. Don't interrupt dinnertime, for instance, with a text message. And don't send SMS messages for every little promotion you offer - save it for big discounts, free upgrades and other VIP offers.

3. Use text messages to remind customers of appointments.

If your business is service-based, SMS reminders are a convenient, non-intrusive way to remind patients and clients of their appointments. These services are popular with dentists, stylists and other professionals that operate on a tight schedule. Offering text appointment reminders is a great way to build your SMS marketing list, too.

Offering appointment reminders is a great way to build your text message marketing list.

Before you jump into text message marketing, keep these things in mind:

• Establish a relationship with clients first. Text message marketing doesn't work well for cold leads.
• Provide social login options to make it easy for customers to log in and interact with your site when clicking a link from a text message.
• Use SMS marketing in conjunction with your campaigns across social media, email and your website for the greatest effectiveness.

Remember, text messages are a communication medium that people consider extremely important. Users open 98 percent of their SMS messages, and most are opened in three minutes or less. Provide value and engage your customers, and you'll have a happy and effective SMS marketing list.

The key to the success of any restaurant is developing a reputation that keeps current and new customers coming back. Word of mouth for a restaurant can mean the difference between success and failure. At Club Texting, we can put together an SMS text marketing campaign that will bring business to your restaurant and keep your business growing.

According to Mobile Marketing Watch, nearly nine out of every 10 text message recipients open the messages they receive. With Club Texting's SMS text marketing expertise, you can start generating more business for your fast food or fine dining restaurant and build the kind of reputation you have always wanted.

Get your restaurant marketing message in front of hungry customers.

Text Messages Are Environmentally Friendly

Since you are trying to establish a positive reputation for your restaurant, you should start with the fact that SMS text marketing does not waste paper or other materials. This environmentally friendly angle is extremely important to a large contingency of potential clients and will help to enhance your restaurant's reputation.

Text Messages Are Instant

People often make their meal plans in an instant. In some cases, you can get people to clip a coupon from the newspaper and then make the trek out to your location, but you can bring in even more customers if you cut down on the amount of work a customer has to do to enjoy your food.

A text message is delivered in an instant and you can have customers show your text message at the door of your restaurant to receive instant discounts. Your customers never have to worry about clipping coupons and you get to attract that crowd who is not sure what they want to do for lunch.

Text Messages Are Effective

According to Mobile Marketing Ratings, a restaurant owner can spend a small amount of money on a text messaging campaign and see big results.

For example, if you decide to put out an SMS text marketing message that offers a free drink with every meal purchased, then you know that at least 90 percent of those messages will be read. When new customers start cashing in that coupon to take advantage of the deal, that is when you will see the significant return on your text marketing message.

Fill your restaurant with happy customers by using SMS text marketing.

Text Messages Are Easy

Most restaurant owners are used to having to pay high prices for glossy newspaper ads that include coupons and color graphics. But with text messaging, all you need to do is write up a very short message and then reap the rewards. Text messaging is extremely simple and Club Texting can show you how to turn a very concise marketing message into a significant increase in business.

Whether your restaurant serves fine cuisine or you pride yourself on owning the best burger joint in town, you can benefit from the power of SMS text marketing. You will be able to reach a large audience who will read and respond to your message. When compared to the costs of doing most traditional forms of marketing, SMS text marketing is extremely cost effective and has a very high return on investment.

George N Root III is a professional freelance writer who has expertise in topics such as Internet marketing, business, advertising, and personal finance.

Winning any kind of political campaign requires the ability to motivate your voting base. Whether you are trying to get a candidate elected or you want to get a resolution to pass, you will need to educate your voting base and get them motivated enough to head out to the polls and make a difference.

Bulk text messaging is a specialty of Club Texting and it is something that can play a pivotal role in your next campaign. According to Fox News, approximately 4.3 billion text messages get sent every single day. The best part is that most people take the time to read their texts. You can use bulk text messaging to your advantage in your next campaign and see positive results at the polls.

Texting helps you to reach your voter base.

Rally Your Voter Base

The E-Commerce Times points out that mobile advertising is a nearly $9 billion per year industry. No industry sees growth like that without getting results and that is why you need to contact Club Texting to help enhance your chances at your next political campaign.

Bulk emails can be ignored, but bulk text messaging can help to remind your voter base about Election Day and get them motivated to go out and vote. You can also get polling information to your voter base and make sure that everyone knows where to go to cast their votes.

Do Voter Polls

One of the more convenient features of text messaging is that it is instantly interactive. You can use bulk text messaging to find out if your targeted voter base plans on voting in your favor or not. You can determine what information your voter base needs to cast the right vote, and you can let your candidate know if their message is getting out to the people or not.

Gauge voter reaction with bulk text messaging.

Keep Your Volunteers Updated On Current Events

Your campaign volunteers are some of the most motivated people in your organization. When you want to give them something to be excited about, then text them the latest poll numbers or your candidate's newest talking points. In those moments right before the polls close, you can get your volunteers the current information they need to educate the population and bring in more votes.

Direct Your Campaign

In the heat of a campaign, not everyone has the time to pick up the phone and have a conversation about what needs to be done. But you can use text messaging to send out directives to your volunteers and campaign workers and make sure that your campaign stays focused at all times. You can react quickly to changes in the campaign through the use of instant text messaging.

Club Texting has all of the services your campaign needs to be successful. Whether you are trying to get the voters out to the polls or you need to give your campaign workers critical information in a moment's notice, bulk text messaging will be a critical tool that you can use to win your next political campaign.

George N Root III is a professional freelance writer who has expertise in topics such as Internet marketing, business, advertising, and personal finance.

Everyone's glued to their phones these days, and that fact can make your business money. Here's why:

Texts are proven to be the fastest way to get in front of your prospects and customers, since most messages are read within 10 minutes of being received. Now, texting isn't your only marketing option of course, so let's talk through some of the other most common outreach options available:

Three Familiar Ways to Remind Customers You Exist

"Nice to meet you... remember me?"

There's many, many options for reaching out to your prospects and customers these days, and they each have their pros and cons. But do keep in mind that depending on what you're selling, a multi-pronged approach may provide the best results, rather than depending on just one contact method.

Some well known options available to you:

Call Me, Maybe?

Cold calling has worked, and continues to work, to create new customers. But like many things, it's not as easy as it used to be, and you need to be prepared to put in a lot of time working the list and dealing with (often very rude) rejections.

In a nutshell: Cold calling is a tried and true, but slow and expensive way to build a business. Plus it requires a skin as thick as a rhino's.

However, if you're working from a list of warm prospects, or even better calling your customer list, the entire experience can be radically different. In this instance you may find they're delighted to hear from you and make the time to talk to you at length, for the simple reason that by now they're pretty sure you can help them.

And depending on the type of business you're in, actually speaking to your prospects and your customers may be vital for maintaining, and developing, the relationship. You're unlikely to secure a multi-million dollar contract without speaking to your customer, of course!

Snail Mail Gets There in the End

Sometimes getting something physical into the hands of your prospects or customers can really help you stand out from the crowd. Of course whatever you send out will have a lot of competition in the mailbox so don't rest on your laurels just yet. But a few tips for helping your mail get opened, and read, include:

• • Hand writing the address.

• • Using an actual stamp.

• • Sending it in a way that requires a signature. Even potentially using a courier service like Federal Express.

Direct mail is generally not a fast nor inexpensive way to contact prospects or customers, but depending how valuable they are to you, getting in front of them in this way may be what it takes to capture their attention, and the sale.

Email Isn't Dead Quite Yet

Email continues to be a fast and cheap way to send out your message. The problem though is that it's less effective than it used to be. Often your email simply gets ignored, or filed away to be read later. Or worst case scenario your email ends up automatically mislabeled and banished to the spam folder.

Of course this is assuming you actually have permission to send the email, by having an existing relationship with the sender in some way, and making it easy for them to unsubscribe. On the other hand, unsolicited email can potentially cause real problems for you (depending how many people you email), and is often best avoided.

All this said, building and regularly contacting the email list you've built of prospects and customers is very worthwhile, but it's important you don't expect miracles from it. The open, read, and response rates used to be incredible, but no longer. These days, if you're looking for almost instant open and read rates, it comes down to...

Nobody Can Resist a Text Message

"Can't... resist... reading... immediately..."

Texts get read and opened almost instantly. Using a texting service to build, manage, and broadcast to your list makes the whole process almost effortless and ensures you stay within the letter of the law.

So it's strongly recommended you get your prospects and customers to give you their mobile number, and their permission for you to stay in touch. Or if you're looking to build your list from people you've had no contact with yet, advertise a way for them to opt-in to your list by giving them something in return. For example:

Text Offer12 to 123456 to get daily discounts direct to your phone!

Texting continues to remain a great way to get your message out almost instantly, and for some offers it may be all you need to do. But, contacting your prospects multiple times, and in multiple ways, may really be required to get the response you're looking for. This is especially true if what you're offering has a complicated sales process (a service for example), a high price point, or both.

And special offers, especially time-limited offers, consistently work fantastically to drive response. But just contacting your list when you want something from them may use up their good will. Keeping your list warm by getting in touch regularly with freebies, news, or other things that may be of value to them can really help increase your response rate when you do want your list to respond.

So whether you're selling low priced items to consumers, or high price-point services to businesses, making texting an ongoing marketing channel for your business can help drive fast response, increase brand awareness in your market, and grow sales.

This article was written by Louis Allport, an experienced marketer who enjoys sharing his experience with other businesses. He lives in the UK and has been marketing and publishing online for over 15 years.

What's the key to making sure that your company's marketing text messages get read? Make sure that they have content that will make customers happy! While text message marketing can be a great way to reach out to potential and current customers, you need to make sure that your message is well thought out so that you get the results that you want. Take a look at the following information to better understand some marketing text messages that will make customers happy.

Free Offers!

Who doesn't like the word free? Putting a free offer in a text message will make your customers happy because they're able to try out your brand and keep more money in their pocket.

Restaurants and bars may consider offering free appetizers or drinks with a purchase. Club owners, on the other hand, may want to offer a free cover deal for a certain night of the week. This is a great way to bring new people into your establishment.

Make sure that your free item has value so that more people are willing to visit your establishment.

Sending the right text messages can help your brand be more successful

Text About Discounts or Deals

If you're not going to offer something free, giving away discounts or deals is the next best thing. In today's economy, more people are looking for ways to save money on their everyday spending. Offering a dollar amount off or a buy one get one deal is a great way to keep your business sales coming in. These types of text messages work well.

Consider sending deals and discount texts in the middle of the week, so that you can spark weekend plans between current and potential customers. If you offer a deal that is too good to pass up, they may choose you over the competition.

Send Funny and Creative Texts

No matter what type of message you send, it can pay off to use humor. This goes along well because customers will be more likely to appreciate your messages and continue to look at them in the future.

If you have text messages that are creative and stand out, you will continue to attract more people to your brand. Individuals may even share your messages with their friends and family!

Customers appreciate well thought out marketing messages.

Don't Forget About Current Events

Customers like to read text messages that relate to current events. Do you have a community festival that will be in the area soon? Is there a sporting event coming up at the end of the week? These are great ways to communicate with your customers. Use these events as a way to spark conversation.

Take a look at a calendar and plan out some future text messages based on upcoming events. Customers will be going out for these events, so essential to make your establishment an option.

These are some tips on how to create marketing text messages that your customers will want to read. With careful planning, you can create a stellar mass text messaging plan that will bring in new faces and more business.

Natasha Etzel is a writer who writes on a variety of topics, including online marketing and business marketing.

They may be watching the game, but that doesn't mean they're not also watching their phones. Whether it's football, baseball, hockey or soccer, and whether it's being viewed at home or right in the stadium, at that moment you have a tremendous marketing opportunity.

And since over 90% of text messages are read within three minutes of being received, by communicating via text you guarantee your subscribers will receive, and read, your message.

Some of the biggest teams in the world have been using text marketing for years to:

• • Gain new subscribers.

• • Communicate with existing subscribers, often.

• • Sell more.

Here's How Text Message Marketing Works in the Big Leagues

"Hands up if you got my text."

For years top tier sports teams have used SMS to communicate with their subscribers (either existing customers, or people who just opted in to receive updates via text). These updates include:

• • Game dates and times.

• • The latest scores.

• • Statistics on the current game, past games, and future games.

• • Player statistics.

• • Surveys and polls.

• • And of course, special offers.

And a live game is an ideal time to communicate with your list since they're so emotionally involved with what's happening right now. Of course they may wait for an advertising break to read (and respond to) your message, but this is one of the very best times to communicate with them.

But it doesn't just have to be about communicating with current subscribers. You also need to keep growing your list, since without new blood your list will naturally shrink over time as people unsubscribe or change their number.

So while their attention is really focused on the game, advertising to grow your list can work wonders. But just asking viewers to "Subscribe for updates" generally doesn't cut it.

Like all direct response advertising, give them a great reason to respond right now. Perhaps in return for subscribing they can start to receive special offers (that the general public don't see), or even to have their name and number placed into a draw with game tickets as the prize.

Panic! at Madison Square Garden?

Madison Square Garden ran the "50 Greatest Moments at Madison Square Garden" text marketing campaign. MSG offered viewers access to special content, in return for subscribing to their text updates list.

This was promoted a number of ways, including:

• • At hockey games for the New York Rangers, a code and number were given out. By subscribing, you entered into the opportunity to win a Rangers Prize Pack. This part of the campaign resulted in 300 fans joining the MSG text messaging list.

• • At a star-studded Halloween party, promotional cards were handed out. By texting "MSG50" to 25827, subscribers were entered into a draw to win tickets to see either Dane Cook, or Panic! at the Disco.

The ongoing promotions for this campaign turned out to be one of the most successful in the MSG Network's history, and it continues to regularly send mass text messages with news, content, and offers.

Text Marketing in the Little Leagues Too?

"Why haven't you responded to my text?"

It's not just the big leagues benefiting from text marketing. However big or small your players, leagues and clubs all over the country are seeing the benefits that come from text message marketing.

Using text updates is ideal for broadcasting:

• Changes to schedules.

• Updates to policies.

• Major league announcements and other news.

• Plus, of course, emergency notifications.

Read and response rates for email continue to drop, so the speed at which a new text message is read makes this one of the most attractive and effective ways to broadcast updates, almost instantaneously.

This article was written by Louis Allport, an experienced marketer who enjoys sharing his experience with other businesses. He lives in the UK and has been marketing and publishing online for over 15 years.