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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 is a quick and simple procedure. You can send a message to a mobile phone number, an email address, or a short code. Short codes are usually five or six digit numbers used for mobile marketing convenience so that you don't have to enter 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, just input the recipient's cell phone number in the To: box, key in a short message (no more than 160 characters), and push send. Alternatively, you can send a text message from a phone to an email address. Some phones display a character count. Some more sophisticated phones offer a popup menu with canned text with phrases such as "On phone," "Call me later," "Want to do lunch?" You can created your own phrases too. Some devices also offer a popup grid full of graphic emoticons, which are fun. 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. There are many advantages to texting over email and phone calls. The human mind can assimilate the information from text messages much faster than listening to speech and all the social amenities involved. You can archive text messages and search them for relevant information. An SMS message is never cut off by bad reception nor misunderstood because of line noise. Texting reaches recipients instantly, even if when they cannot talk on the phone or get to a computer to do email. You can send links on Web enabled phones with maps. Texting is terrific for noisy environments and for people finding one another in crowded places. Texting is great for casual flirting and for building good karma with thoughtful messages and reminders. Busy people can become more efficient through SMS. 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. I will examine the possibilities of commercial SMS in more detail in a future article, so stay tuned. Observations With text messaging, you can quickly send/receive information, make reservations, make contributions, send money, receive money, make money, and save money. I will be discussing all of these aspects in future articles. SMS is a powerful way to target consumers on the move because it goes where the customers are. Most consumers find the novelty of SMS fun and engaging. Email has become snail mail compared to the efficiency of SMS. Texting will soon become the preferred marketing method of large and small businesses because the future is in mobile technology. As Bill Gates has predicted, mobile phones are the future, not laptops, and not Pocket PCs. Mobile marketing will expand accordingly.
Article Source: http://www.content.onlypunjab.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. Click here to get your own unique version of this article.
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