9 Tips About SMS Advertising Companies You Can t Afford To Miss

SMS stands for Short Message Service and are generally 160 character text messages sent between mobile devices. SMS uses a unique network that alerts the recipient the next the message arrives. SMS is a really fast and personal communication method on par with a telephone call in perceived trust.

SMS marketing is the practice of building lists of mobile numbers than sending SMS advertising messages to those lists. Lists may be built in numerous ways but there are actually compliance rules set through the ACMA on how people consent to be opted into your lists. Unsolicited commercial messages sent to a person is called spam and is illegal under the Australian Spam Act 2003. Mobile marketers usually use an online SMS system to manage the SMS sending process. These bulk SMS systems range in price and functionality. The very best SMS marketing platforms have the best combination of cheap SMS and web SMS features. Ensure you only deal with a reputable SMS gateway as delivery reliability may differ a lot.

The idea behind consent is that the recipient should want to receive your message and find it useful once they do. You'll find two kinds of consent.

An opt-in checkbox on a web subscribe form. This checkbox must not be checked by default, the individual completing the form must willingly select the checkbox to indicate they want to hear from you.
If someone completes an offline form like a survey or enters a competition, you may only contact them if it was explained to them that they might be contacted by e-mail And they ticked a box indicating they might like to be contacted.
Customers who have purchased from you in the last 2 years.
If a person provides you with their business card and also you have explained to them that you will be in touch, you can contact them. If they dropped their business card in a fishbowl at a trade show, there must be a sign indicating they will be contacted by SMS.
The recipient must be clearly aware that he or she may receive commercial messages in the future. You can't send an electronic message to seek consent: this is in itself a commercial message, because it seeks to set up a business relationship. Keep a record of consent, you may need to prove it later.

Through an existing business relationship. If an organisation has a strong relationship with the owner of the number for example a club member or service subscriber receiving messages could possibly be implied.
Through conspicuous publication of a work-related number.
Consent may also be implied through the publishing of numbers on web sites, in magazines or any other publications. The recipient must be identified as relevant to your message. eg if you want to send a message information regarding a technology product the recipient has to be identified as the IT manager. If there is a statement that unsolicited commercial messages are not wanted you cannot infer consent.

Building a mobile marketing list should be done with care and good intention. As mobile numbers and SMS are a very personal way to communicate, people do not want to receive messages from you that waste their time and are not relevant. By opting people in correctly and only sending them relevant and useful messages will they stay on your list.