Mobile Marketing Ideas for Christmas
I hate to say it, but Christmas is coming and it will hopefully be a busy time for many of us. As a marketer or business owner we are all going to be need to do everything we can to maximise the opportunities this period offers by ensuring maximum exposure for our businesses, products and services. And don’t forget, the increased footfall over the Christmas period is also an excellent opportunity to grow your direct marketing database in preparation for your New Year marketing efforts.
uMobilize Feature on TodayFM Sunday Business Show
uMobilize Promotions co-founder Philip Culbert was a guest on the TodayFM Sunday Business Show last Sunday. Philip was very happy to be asked to participate in The Sunday Business Show paper review with host Anton Savage.
Use SMS Marketing to get the most from your Daily Deal
The growth of the Daily Deals phenomenon in the last number of years, and in particular the growth of Daily Deals behemoth Groupon has been quite phenomenal. Last year, Groupon revenues grew more than 22,000 percent to $713 million. Revenue in Q1 2011 has been even more impressive, with sales of $644, up 13,575 percent from last year.
Use QR Codes to Deliver your Mobile Marketing message
Quick Respose Codes (QR Codes) have been around for a while, but are really starting to make an impact on the public consciousness. This is being driven by a range of innovative marketing campaigns that are utilising QR codes in a quirky, eye-catching ways. QR Codes are simply 2 dimensional barcodes that can be scanned using a qr reader on your smartphone. The barcode can be anything, but many marketeers are using QR codes to display mobile website URLs, that when scanned display a websites with promotional messages, mobile newsletters or other calls to action. And the good news for marketeers is that you do not need a massive marketing budget to run a quirky, eye-catching campaign that will help you promote your brand and communicate with your customers. Here are a few examples we have come across that caught our eye.
Enhance your SMS Marketing using the Mobile Web
In a relatively short period of time mobile phones and smart phones have gone from being a luxury item to a must have item that we cannot do without. This point is clearly illustrated by the fact that smart phone sales in 2010 passed 300 million (up 74% on 2009). This potential direct connection offered to so many consumers has made marketing via mobile devices one of the most successful and effective forms of marketing available to us today.
Gather Opt-Ins and Sales Leads with SMS Short Codes
SMS Short codes are memorable 5 digit numbers (e.g. 51444) widely used in SMS Marketing to gather sales leads, promote discount offers, as part of charity campaigns and more. Short codes are designed to be easier to read and remembered than normal telephone numbers and can be used to capture consumer mobile phone numbers (and other data) for direct marketing purposes and as a direct response tool for TV, Radio and Print advertising.
Mobile Apps vs Mobile Websites - Round 1
As more and more mobile smartphones are sold, the buzz around mobile apps gets ever louder. So, every business should rush out and get a mobile app developed - right? Maybe not.
Can Text Message Marketing work for Retailers?
A recent ComReg market report showed mobile penetration in Ireland running at 117.3%. This penetration along with the ultra-high read rates of text messages (98% of text messages sent are read, 90% within 10 minutes) presents a real opportunity for retailers of all sizes to create simple, cost-effective sales and marketing campaigns. There are currently over 5 billion mobile phones in the world, and every one of them can send and receive a text message. In The UK alone over 265 million text message are sent every day. SMS is simple, reliable and immediate and most importantly at a time when all businesses are watching their bottom line, it is an extremely cost effective way to communicate with your customers.
Build your SMS Marketing Opt-in List on Facebook
Here at uConnect we are very excited about our new Facebook Mobile Club App. uConnect clients have always been able to build up their opt-in database of mobile numbers directly from their website by adding a uConnect pop-up form to their website. But many of you have told us that your facebook fan pages are more active that your websites. So we have now released the uConnect Mobile Club Facebook app. This app can be installed directly onto your facbook fan page allowing you gather customer mobile phone numbers directly from Facebook.
Does your Hotel have a Mobile Optimised Website?
With a recent forecast from Gartner predicting that by the end of 2011, over 85 percent of handsets shipped globally will include some form of browser it seems that the trend for consumers to access the web on their mobile devices will continue to grow.
uConnect SMS Marketing Service gets a Refresh
Monday 27th of January saw the latest release of uConnect, the leading internet-based SMS Marketing and Bulk Text Messaging Service. Packed full of new features and usability improvements uConnect will help all business owners get the most out of their mobile and SMS marketing campaigns.
uConnect gets a Shiny New User Interface
We are very happy to launch the latest version of uConnect. A big thank you to all our users who have given us such great feedback and suggestions. We have made a lot of usability improvements and added some nice new features to help you get the most out of uConnect and your SMS Messaging and Text Message Marketing campaigns.Read on to learn a little more about the latest version of uConnect.
Benefits of SMS Marketing Campaigns for Restaurants
With the Restaurant Association of Ireland recently reporting that 1 Restaurant Per day was closing in Ireland and that 80% of Irish Restaurants were running at a loss this is a difficult time for Irish Restaurateurs. Increasing your businesses visibility and building a strong relationship with your customers has never been more important.
uConnect links with R353 to offer Mobile Coupons!
uConnect mobile coupons are similar to traditional paper coupons, with one crucial difference! The coupons are sent to and redeemed directly on your mobile phone. Using uConnect you can quickly build an eye catching, graphical mobile coupon using your business logo or an image appropriate to your business. You can then send the mobile coupon directly to your mobile club or host it directly on your own website. And now all members of RendezVous353, the business and social networking site aimed at the 80 million strong global Irish Diaspora, can avail of a range of special mobile coupons from businesses all over the world.
Busy Lizzie add Text Message Marketing to their Portfolio
Busy Lizzie, one of Irelands leading business services companies offer a variety of services especially geared toward Small and Medium businesses that need an extra hand daily, weekly, monthly or on a project by project basis. Their goal is to make their clients lives easier and reduce their bottom line, and adding the uConnect text message marketing service to their portfolio will help them do this.
Is Mobile Marketing part of your Direct Marketing Strategy?
The rise in the number of consumers purchasing smartphones along with the increased affordability of data plans has made mobile an increasingly attractive direct marketing option for marketers. Indeed not having a mobile marketing strategy and SMS Marketing program means you are passing up an opportunity to engage with your customers in a very targeted and personal way. However, a common mistake made by many businesses who do dip their toes into the mobile marketing field is to run their mobile marketing campaign as a stand-alone effort and then write off mobile when they don’t get the results they expect. Mobile marketing, and in particular SMS Marketing , is more effective when it is integrated into your overall marketing strategy and run as a supplement to your existing marketing efforts.
ToysRUs Mobile Marketing Program for On-The-Go Shoppers
At uMobilize we feel mobile marketing is a great way for retailers to connect with their customers, and ToysRUs obviously agree with us. They are now using a combination of mobile coupons and text message marketing to provide shoppers with new way of taking advantage of their promotions.
uMobilize chosen as Microsoft Bizspark StartUp of the Day
uMobilize Promotions are very proud to have been selected as the Microsoft Bizspark Start-Up of the Day. It is a great endorsment of uConnect and we would like to thank Microsoft for the recognition.
Christmas 2010 - Text Message Top-up
It's been a while since we ran our last offer, and with the festive season nearly upon us, we're in a giving mood. Due to the increase in the number of messages sent through uConnect, we can now buy in even greater bulk, so we think it's only right to pass the savings on to you. Not only that, we're also offering a 10% top-up on any messages you buy between now and the end of the year. Start Your Free Trial
uMobilize will be at TechLudd 2010
uMobilize Promotions will be exhibiting at TechLudd Limerick, in The Absolute Hotel on Thursday 18th November, 2010.
Visit us at The Midwest Showcase
We're delighted to be exhibiting at The Midwest Showcase in Thomand Park, Limerick on October 21st, 2010. The Midwest Showcase aims to bring together the best examples of local entreprenuership, so we'll be in some excellent company. Drop over to our stand to find out about our SMS and text message marketing solutions. We've a fantastic special offer on the day. Looking forward to seeing you there.
uConnect featured in Focusme magazine
Big thanks to Kehlan Kirwan for the recent article published in Focusme magazine. Focusme magazines mission is to promote local industry and commerce in the mid-west by focussing on small to medium enterprises. Check out a full transcript of the article here:
August 2010 - SMS Marketing offer
To promote the new release of our "Mobile Club" website sign-up form, we will create a branded banner and promotional image for your business when you set up your uConnect Mobile Club before the end of the month. You'll have another great way to get new leads for your marketing campaigns.
Start Building your Sms Marketing Mobile Club
If you are interested in sending out offers using text messages but aren't sure how to get that list of mobile numbers together, we have the answers. Create a "Mobile Club" in uConnect and you'll get two great tools to help you capture subscribers: a free txt2join keyword and a free sign-up form that you can easily brand and add to your website. Best of all, it only takes a few minutes to get it all set up.
Limerick Leader focuses on Mobile Marketing
Interest in mobile marketing has increased thanks to a recent article published by Nick Rabbitt in the business section of the Limerick Leader. uConnect has been up and running in its present form for a month or two and we are already getting a positive reaction from SME's who are realising the significant cost benefit and advantage that text message marketing has to offer over traditional advertising.
Limerick Milk Market Embraces Mobile Marketing
The Milk Market in Limerick City is one of Ireland’s best attended markets, which has been operating since 1852. On June 26th, the Milk Market has launched a "Mobile Club" that people can easily subscribe to by visiting their website or texting the Milk Market txt2join keyword to the uConnect number.
Text Marketing to Grow in 2010/2011
According to the Mobile Marketing Association, text message marketing (also referred to as SMS marketing) is already the most widely-used form of mobile marketing, and at uMobilize Promotions we expect 2010 and 2011 to see a far greater adoption of text message marketing (sms marketing). Here are some of the reasons why:
How to Start an SMS Marketing Campaign
An SMS marketing campaign can be a powerful way to promote your brand or service. But to get the most out of your Mobile Marketing campaign here are a few things to consider.
5 Good Reasons to consider SMS Marketing
Have you ever thought about using SMS marketing or mobile marketing for your business? Here are 5 good reasons why you should consider using SMS marketing:
