As Texting Moves From Simple Prompts to Bottom-Line Actions, R U Ready?

Since smartphones are so ubiquitous, it might be easy for PR pros to overlook mobile as a platform for creating awareness, driving donations and causing sales. But that would be unfortunate. According to mobile experts, communications outreach in this area has never been more fruitful, and will only get better.

Consider that texting has not seen a drop-off in usage. In fact, the practice is growing. A Deloitte study released in Jan. 2012 finds that in 2009 71% of Americans with mobile phones were texting; that figure grew to 78% in 2011. And mobile online search is used by 46% of Americans, compared to 30% in 2009.

Indeed, texting is entering a powerful phase, says Marco Veremis, co-founder and president of Upstream, a mobile marketing company based in San Francisco and London. Texting used to be a prompting activity that was badly integrated with the next step—be it linking to a call center or Web site—says Veremis. This required some initiative on the part of the customer. “Better technology has enabled a more seamless bond between the text and that next step,” he says.

Changes by mobile carriers and the increased usage of MMS (multimedia message service) have also caused the boom in mobile outreach, says James Citron, CEO of Los Angeles-based mobile marketing company Mogreet. In the last two years, carriers streamlined their phone plans for consumers, while more available bandwidth has made it easy for just about everyone with a mobile phone to receive more than a text-only SMS message. MMS allows organizations to send pictures, video, sound and text. “This is akin to the evolution from the black-and-white TV to 42-inch plasmas,” says Citron.

However, it’s not all good. Because of the ease in sending out mobile messages, the volume of texts has increased dramatically, says Veremis. “This is reflected in low consumer response rates,” he says. To combat these rates, large organizations are investing heavily in technologies on the customer relationship management (CRM) side, resulting in improved audience outreach. “Companies are making their messages count,” says Veremis, In other words, they are communicating via mobile less frequently but more effectively.

CARRYING A CONVERSATION

With social conversations so prevalent in PR outreach today, conversing via text might seem clunky in comparison. But there are advances on that front as well. Angela Gillespie, interactive marketing manager at 3Seventy, a mobile communications company based in Austin, Texas, says they offer two-way dialogue SMS, programming immediate responses to customers’ clicks in advance.

The ability to share content a la Facebook and Twitter is also being addressed. Mogreet is launching “MoShare,” a platform similar to social share buttons you see everywhere on the Web. “The MoShare platform grabs content and pushes it in text message format to friends,” says Citron.

With that many advances in mobile communications, you’d think just about every campaign would yield stellar results (see the case studies for more). Yet there are hiccups. A few years ago, Laura Durington, online community manager at Catholic Relief Services, saw promise in text donation campaigns. However, Durington was stymied by the $10 cap that most carriers place on donations, and restrictions on communicating with text donors. “Mobile will still grow as a channel for list building and engagement, and we have changed our strategy to focus on these areas,” says Durington.

R U FOLLOWING THE LAW?

Then there are legal issues to consider. According to attorney Kyle-Beth Hilfer, whose practice areas include advertising, marketing and promotions, marketers are becoming more daring in trying to communicate with consumers on mobile devices. In so doing, they may be losing a clear perspective on laws that govern mobile.

The opt-in required by the consumer is what separates mobile outreach from other platforms. “The opt-in must be specific in nature and limited in scope to pass legal muster,” says Hilfer, who adds that enforcement of federal statutes in this area, as well as state attorneys-general investigations, are on the rise. Legalities of prize promotions and privacy concerns should also be top-of-mind when executing mobile campaigns. Relevant laws pertaining to mobile that PR pros should study include the CAN-SPAM Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and Telemarketing Sales Rule.

Do your homework and mobile could produce a big PR payoff. Gillespie offers three tips to get you started:

1. No one-off campaigns. Mobile efforts should be part of the overall strategy and give customer value over the long term.

2. Choose a vendor wisely. Pick a vendor that understands the space, and that is familiar with your organization’s goals.

3. Think holistically. For best results, you must be mobile-ready throughout the process. “Links to URLs must go to mobile enabled sites,” says Gillespie. “Think everything through.”

With social media firmly embedded in PR programs, mobile just might be the next great PR frontier. So don’t get lost in the land-grab. PRN

CONTACT:

Marco Veremis, [email protected]; James Citron, [email protected]; Angela Gillespie, [email protected]; Laura Durington, [email protected]; Kyle-Beth Hilfer, [email protected].

Follow Scott Van Camp: @svancamp01