In the world of marketing, strategies are always evolving. Most marketers have already tapped into email marketing, and are playing with pay per click and search engine marketing - but how many people have given mobile marketing (SMS) a try? In an attempt to get ahead of the curve, some folks are dabbling into SMS, but the difficulty is that they are entering a world that few have ventured into. So what approach might you consider, and what role does email play?

Think about your vendor - are they willing to work with you, help you with setup and strategize for optimum performance? Make sure you partner with a company that is willing and able to evolve with SMS and your marketing goals. If you start off on the right foot, you’ll have a higher probability of success and higher ROI. That means you’ll have to know carrier requirements, and understand how every message should be laid out and scheduled - the mobile marketing game is vastly different from email marketing.

Now consider how SMS will fit in with the rest of your marketing. If you have a physical event, allow customers to subscribe their mobile phone numbers with an opportunity to receive future SMS offers. Or you can take the route of using your existing email marketing campaigns to build a mobile opt-in list. For example, save some real estate within the email design for SMS opt-in to give email readers the option to subscribe to the mobile version. To play a bit on the conservative side, you can perform a split test between the two email designs and see what kind of interest there is in SMS, and even track if people interact with your emails differently because of the SMS opt-in option. Once you've established a mobile mailing list, you can also track the difference in open and clickthrough rates of the email versus the mobile version of the campaign.

There are a many variables to consider when it comes to SMS marketing, but one thing’s for sure: the sooner you start, the more you’ll know. And at any rate, mobile marketing will become the norm sooner than later. So now is the time to get on the wagon and get ahead of your competition. But take the time to do your research to assure you can keep pace.

For more mobile marketing how-to information read:

• SMS + Email Marketing How-to Guide
• 9 Tips for Successful SMS Mobile Marketing
• Boost Your Email Marketing with SMS: 4 Good Reasons
• Mobile Marketing - Jump in Now if You Want Holiday Jingle
• Mobile vs Email Marketing Best Practices - Cut from the same fabric?
• Lyris Mobile Marketing How-to Guide

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About the Author

Ghia Espino is an account manager at Lyris. She strategizes with clients to improve their online marketing performance and works as their Lyris advocate.

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