We allow ourselves a moment to gloat over our catchy slogan and funky graphics on our fabulous advertisement...until we realise that our quarry has probably forgotten who we are 5 seconds after seeing our advertising masterpiece.
All because they had no way of responding in a way that's convenient for them.
Did you know that the mobile phone has an 82% penetration into the Australian market? And 85% of the mobile phone—toting public uses SMS — short message service — to send text messages.
These thumb jockeys are all potential customers and are probably looking at your ad right now. They're not going to call your 1800 number or remember your website, but they might let their thumbs do the walking.
Let me give you a scenario: I'm on the train reading the morning paper and see an ad for a great holiday package. When I get to my station, I put the paper in the bin, holiday company forgotten. A wasted opportunity for you.
By adding a simple call to action to any advertisement, you can get a response from your target audience, plus track when that response came in.
A call to action using SMS can be as simple as this: For further details SMS the code SUN to 0429 555 555 and we'll send you more info.
Using the holiday example above, I could request a brochure to be sent to my email address or a reply text message with the company's website be sent back to my phone so I can follow up later.
The point is, I have responded to your advertisement in a way that's convenient for me.
And you can see exactly what time I did respond, making your ad very trackable.
Our company recently worked on a campaign for the infamous Melbourne Oyster Bar. They took out a small display in Melbourne's Herald Sun with the usual call to action. We also included an offer for a special lunch voucher using our Virtual Post SMS to Email system. Consumers had to SMS the code MOB followed by their email address to request a voucher be emailed to them. 328 people did just that.
A great response from one small ad. That's the equivalent of 328 people ringing the restaurant. Imagine the response from a national campaign!
Consumers were able to get coupons for Dunkin Donuts by responding to billboards, radio, and POS ads. By sending a code to the number, consumers received a free gift coupon exchangeable at local outlets. Sales were reportedly up 9% within the first three weeks of the campaign.
McDonald's SIP N' FLIP SMS Instant Win campaign attracted over 3 million entries in 4 weeks.
There are many ways you can use an SMS call to action in your advertising. For example, to generate enquiries about your business, to offer mobile coupons and vouchers to the public which they can redeem at your stores, to run a competition etc etc.
The benefits are numerous. An SMS call to action in your ads:
- Makes your ads perform better
- Gets information out to consumers instantly
- Gives you instant research data
- Introduces a viral component
- Builds a database for follow—up marketing
- Gives anybody with a mobile phone the chance to respond to your message.
That's a pretty powerful marketing tool!