Do You Text or SMS?

SMS (short message service) or text messaging has become well-entrenched in Europe and Asia. It has been slow to take off in the United States because of our competing telcos with differing technologies. Teens and the younger generation have been quick to adapt texting as their preferred mode of communication in the U.S. With more and more TV shows using SMS for voting (American Idol and Donald Trump), polling, and for joining fan clubs, its use is becoming more widespread. However, few people use SMS to the fullest advantage. You can use SMS to get instant information, send money, make money, and to save money. It is actually the most powerful marketing tool ever conceived.

Sending a text message consists of two elements. First, you have to send it to either a mobile phone number, email address, or a short code. A short code is usually five or six numbers used for non-personal or commercial messages for convenience so that you don't have to remember or key in a long phone number.

Personal SMS

No wonder the younger generation has already enthusiastically embraced texting as the preferred means of communication over phone calls and email. SMS is fast and efficient. Of course, there's the down side too, and SMS has been used for cheating on tests so that some schools frown on their use. Another negative aspect is the cost of per text messages. Warning: if you plan to text, get an unlimited plan.

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

TV shows such as American Idol have pioneered the use of commercial SMS for voting and polling purposes. While the use of text messaging has been wildly popular and successful for this purpose the problem is that it has only been available to AT&T customers. In order for it to be available across the board to customers of other carriers, a business must have a license from all carriers, which can be prohibitively expense. However, with a company such as Synergetics International/SMS, this is no longer an issue.

Imagine the power of SMS for marketing in a world where everyone has a cell phone these days-people just don't leave home without them. You can reach your audience anywhere, anytime.

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.

Conclusions

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.

Article Source: http://www.christiannotepad.com

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.
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