Smart phones can sometimes feel as an extension of oneself. Individuals are in constant interaction with their phones — multitasking between interacting with the world, checking phones for updates and/or looking at the news.
I am no different from most smartphone users — relying on smartphone apps for the most rudimentary of tasks including daily organizers, email apps, GPS systems, and more. Actually, it was the constant interaction with my smartphone that led me to an article titled Text Messaging Apps Help Marketers Expand Their Research.
In it, a recent Gartner report predicts that by 2017, mobile apps will have been downloaded more than 268 billion times, creating around $77 billion in revenue for enterprising companies.
I also most importantly use my Smartphone to receive/send quick text messages throughout the day; thus I’m constantly checking my phone. According to this article, the average 18-24 year old sends and receives about 110 texts per day. And with the dependent relationship between an individual and their smartphone, comes a profitable opportunity for direct marketers.
These astounding numbers, and an increasing dependence on smartphones, has resulted in marketers using text message marketing a.k.a. SMS marketing. Marketers value this kind of marketing because it allows for a quick, more intimate, and direct connection to the consumer.
Marketing with mobile apps, and on smartphones is allowing direct marketing to rapidly expand. Companies like Facebook, for example, are realizing the importance of direct marketing. Facebook recently acquired the popular messaging app WhatsApp for $19 billion.
With WhatsApp users pay 99 cents per year allowing them to text worldwide; making it a very useful app for countries where text messaging is expensive. WhatsApp is not only valuable for consumers however. It also allows marketers to directly reach consumers outside of the United States.
Text messages are effective because they allow marketers to be more concise than by using another important form of direct marketing like e-mail. With messaging apps, direct marketers generally limit the messages to 160 characters.
Furthermore, because the consumer can sign up to receive messages from companies that interest them, direct marketing more easily permits niche marketing. With the increasing amount of text messages being sent (over 3,200 per month per individual), SMS marketing is becoming a critical part of every marketing campaign. In fact, as suggested by this article, SMS marketing should be a major part of every marketing campaign.
Perhaps this type of direct marketing will eventually become the most effective in catching the consumer’s eye.
Source:
Smith, Natasha D. “Text-Messaging Apps Help Marketers Expand Their Reach.” Direct Marketing News. N.p., 27 Feb. 2014. Web.
Randi Siegel is a sophomore at The George Washington University in Washington D.C. She is a Business Administration major with a concentration in Marketing and a minor in Art History. As a college student, she was recently the Director of Marketing for the Alpha Kappa Psi professional business fraternity and the Vice President of Marketing for the non-profit organization Strive for College, where she also mentored high school students regarding the college application process during weekly classroom visits. Working with these organizations has both helped her develop an understanding of how to market for a range of demographics and to perfect her multitasking and administration skills. As a summer marketing intern for the American Cancer Society, she designed flyers and awards and made presentations, as well as assisted in every way possible with creative ideas.