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The Virtues Of SMS Or Text Messaging |
By:
Timothy S. Hillebrand, Ph |
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The Virtues of SMS or Text Messaging
by Timothy S. Hillebrand, Ph
The use of SMS (short message service) also known as text messaging has been well-ensconced in Europe and Asia for some time now. Teens have enthusiastically embraced it in the United States. But, it has only begun to emerge in the United States as a marketing tool because of all of our competing phone companies with differing technologies. Most people are unaware that SMS can be used to get instant information, send money, make money, and to save money.
SMS or texting involves sending a short text message limited to 160 characters to a cell phone number, email address, or short code. A short code is a five or six digit number used for commercial convenience so that you don't have to remember or to key in a whole long phone number.
Personal SMS
No wonder teens have eagerly accepted texting as their preferred mode of communication. It is easy to do and fast-much more efficient than email. One negative aspect of SMS is that it can be used for cheating on tests and some schools frown upon it for good reason.
To text someone, go to the messaging area of your phone's functions and select SMS or Text Message. Enter the recipient's phone number in the To: field and then type your message in the message field. Select Send, and off it goes.
More sophisticated phones worth their salt will offer a countdown log in the corner of the input screen indicating how many characters you've typed and how many remain. Some more sophisticated phones offer canned messages that you can tap on and edit to save inputting time and effort. Examples of canned messages are "in a meeting, on a call, running late, where are you? Can you talk now, call me, email me, wanna do lunch?" Some devices such as my Treo 750 also offer a popup grid full of emoticons.
With the limitation of 160 characters combined with the cumbersome tasking of inputting text on a phone keypad, text users have come up with a language of their own to save time and strokes. For instance, 2GTBT=too good to be true; 143=I love you; 404=I don't know. Go to www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp for a good reference for text messaging abbreviations. There is also a chart with an array of emoticons on the bottom of the same page.
SMS offers many advantages over phone calls and email. Our minds can more quickly process short text messages than long, convoluted voice communications. Many phones allow you to archive messages in related strings for easy search and retrieval. SMS messages never get cut off because of bad reception. Nor do they get misunderstood because of line noise. SMS messages reach their destination instantly, even when the recipient cannot talk because he is in a meeting or otherwise occupied. You can embed URLs and links in a text message. Web enabled phones can then link to the Web directly from the message. Texting is fun for flirting and for accumulating good karma with thoughtful messages and reminders. Use SMS to find people in noisy, crowded places. Busy people can become even more effective with texting.
Commercial SMS
We are only beginning to see the emergence of SMS marketing in the United States. For instance, TV shows such as American Idol have used it successfully for voting. The millions and millions of responders are evidence of its popularity and acceptance. Unfortunately, voting was only open to AT&T customers. The problem is that all the different carriers in the United States have competing and differing technology. Fortunately, there are companies like Synergetics (www.synergetics.org/sms) that make it possible to bridge the gap across platforms.
SMS marketing is the most powerful form of marketing ever conceived because virtually everyone has a cell phone these days, and no one leaves home without one. This makes it possible to reach a customer anytime anywhere. No other media can do that.
Unlike email in which must despised SPAM has become widespread, SMS is not subject to SPAM. That is because the receiver must request the information and can instantly opt out by simply texting back the word STOP.
In future articles, we will examine the various applications of SMS mobile marketing and take a look at how certain businesses have used it successfully.
Observations
SMS allows people to communicate quickly and concisely under conditions where it may not be possible otherwise. You can use SMS to send and receive information, make reservations, make contributions, send money, receive money, make money, and save money. We will elaborate on each of these topics in future discussions and show how SMS is a highly effective means of reaching a targeted market. Most consumers are enthusiastic about texting and find it fun. I predict that SMS will soon become the future of marketing. This back just a few years ago when most people didn't have a clue what www meant. Now, if a company has no Website, it has no credibility.
About the author: Timothy S. Hillebrand, Ph.D. is a retired archaeologist who has a newfound passion for mobile technology and has published hundreds of articles on the subject. His most recent passion is SMS. To find out more about text messaging for fun and profit, visit his SMS Blog. Get your own completely unique content version of this article.
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Article Source: http://www.statssheet.com/articles/article54258.html |
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