Tag Archives: sms campaigns

The Power of Text

March 30, 2012

A few nights ago, our client WFAA Channel 8, the ABC affiliate in Dallas, ran a story on the 10pm news and then asked the audience to vote via text at the end of the segment. In ten minutes, over 2000 votes poured in and the station was able to broadcast their audience’s response only thirteen minutes after airing the story.

The same exact question was then put forward to Facebook fans immediately following the broadcast. Twenty-four hours later, the question had received 155 likes and 183 comments. In 24 hours a little over 300 people interacted with the story on Facebook versus over 2000 in ten minutes via text. Why? I could give you lots of stats and theories, but one real human behavior shift comes to the front of my mind. Mobile phone users typically have the phones within arm’s reach 24/7. It takes me less than 25 seconds to text in my opinion and have my voice heard. We as humans want to be part of the news. News has evolved… it’s “our” news now, not just some announcement system.

Next time you are excited over 300 responses to a question on social media, stop and think how much more data you could have gotten if you’d partnered your social media with text. Allowing users multiple platforms with which to interact helps them participate in the community they’re already a part of.

- Jeff Kilman, CEO

Photo credit: Flickr user roland

Text Campaigns for Brands: A Case Study

March 19, 2012

Want your customers to be more loyal to your brand? Then put yourself in the palm of their hand. Literally. SMS is one of the easiest, most cost-efficient ways to communicate with your brand’s loyal customers. And, for those customers that are on the fence about how fabulous your products and services are, SMS marketing is the key to showing them why they can’t live without your brand! If you need more convincing about how to make your brand a superstar using SMS marketing, then read this article for Luxury Daily.

If you’re like me, you prefer to hear an example of how SMS can increase sales and brand loyalty instead. So, I’ll tell you a quick story about one of the clients at Pocketstop.

ALON Brands needed a mobile marketing solution to drive more customers into their stores in West Texas and New Mexico and increase brand loyalty among existing customers. The Pocketstop FREE Gas promotion built a one-to-one relationship between the brand and consumers and it also allowed participants to communicate their preferred method of communication with ALON, via web, text or social media. Other SMS campaigns for ALON, including the DATE NIGHT contest and Customer Appreciation Week further established loyalty among ALON customers, by giving them timely and relevant access to special offers and a chance to win prizes.

Pocketstop helped ALON build a database of over 25,000 loyal customers. The offers sent to the database resulted in double-digit in-store redemptions. People got social with the brand, and we soon saw a Facebook following of over 3500 people and website traffic numbers that spiked 25%.

In a world where I’m constantly bombarded with information and other media competing for my attention, I actually appreciate SMS communication from my favorite stores and organizations. A reminder about a professional organization luncheon that I plan on attending, a coupon from my favorite retailer, or requests for my customer service experience don’t seem intrusive when they are timely and relevant to my wants and needs. And, of course the organization on the other end benefits as much as I do if their SMS message turns into my attendance (and therefore registration fee) at their event, money I spend in their store, or their increase in positive customer service ratings.

- Sandy Taylor, Accounts Manager

Photo credit: Flickr user KB35