Synagogues are now adding modern tools to add younger church goers to their congregations. Churches and synagogues are now sending out text message blasts to distribute information and to ask their members questions via text messaging. While some churches have never embraced the computer age and never thought about sending emails, some religious organizations have already moved past the email stage by using text blasts for churches.

Bulk text messaging for churches is a novel way to stay in touch with the congregation that is quick and gets results. A church leader can prepare his weekend message by sending out a question to his congregation via text and uses their responses in his sermon. It is a way to keep the members involved in church, while at the same time keeping them active listening for a response they may have given. It is a great way to get the pastor and the congregation on the same page.

SMS marketing companies are utilizing bulk SMS marketing all the time so why can’t churches get their share of pie? Churches can use the text messages to boost attendance on Sunday or just ask their congregation what they would like to see that would enhance their experience in church.

Later generation members of the church group may see SMS messages as invasive or too advanced. Even the older members of the congregation will soon understand that SMS text messages could change the face of the church experience forever. The possibilities can be endless by using SMS messages for everything from daily verses, to small group updates, to exciting giveaways to keep the congregation involved.

Another wonderful aspect of bulk SMS messaging for churches is the process of collections for church programs or charities. SMS messages can be sent out reminding the congregation of a specific charity or possibly reminders to bring clothes for Goodwill or Toys for Tots. Bulk SMS messages are personal, so it is a great way for churches to engage their parishioners at a higher level.

The most apparent group that can be moved to become more involved in the church is the young church goers. As the church utilizes sending and receiving information via text messaging it will teach the youngest members not only more about the church but it will create a feeling of community. This method of communication is second nature to today’s youth, so it will make it easier for them to connect with and discuss things with the older church members.

Jeffrey Arnold is a nationally recognized SMS marketing and search engine marketing expert. He will work with you to formulate the most powerful SMS marketing campaign possible. Visit his site for a FREE TRIAL of his texting software and try the service to determine if using text message marketing for churches is for you.

In a nutshell, Mobile Marketing is interactive marketing at its very best. It enables businesses to communicate and engage with their customers, in a fast, live, effective, direct way via their mobile device or network and it is very effective. But does mobile marketing effectively complement the world of Television and if so, how?

Traditional advertising such as mailers, magazines, radio and most popular, through the medium of television is an important part of American culture but going forward it is good business sense to understand mobile’s role within the marketing mix. Whilst currently mobile marketing doesn’t compete on the scale of television advertising for example, it is certainly making its mark and smart business are sitting up and taking note. Whilst those traditional marketing channels are without doubt experiencing various levels of decline, mobile marketing is celebrating triple-digit growth annually.

Take the very popular, high-rating American Idol reality show for example. Voters were asked to SMS their votes to eliminate singers in order to select an ultimate winner for the show. Over 20 million mobile users texted their votes in each week – a phenomenal response – demonstrating that mobiles and television can complement one another to great effect. This is interactive television viewing to get excited about and viewers did just that. Anyone who watched it would remember that AT&T was at the forefront of this campaign.

Consumers are more than ready for mobile marketingwith almost 200 million active SMS users in the US. Mobile marketing is cutting edge and we are seeing more and more television networks turning more of their advertising budget over to it. Why? because it turns the traditional static campaign into an interactive one.

It seems the partnership between mobile and television, whilst still relatively in its infancy, is set to grow at a rapid rate. Consumer-driven, the possibilities are endless and it’s an exciting time to be involved in mobile marketing.

Learn more about Mobile Marketing. Stop by www.txt2get.com where you can find out all about TXT2GET and what it can do for you.

A product label sits there, day after day, waiting to be selected in a supermarket. While protecting a brand is important, why not use your product label as your marketing tool?

Why not take the marketing straight to the shop shelves? A product sits there, branded and ready to be selected. But why not up your chances of being selected by including your competition, discount or offer right there on the box.

Subtle differences in packaging grab the attention of consumers. A business could develop a limited edition print run, a temporary cover over package, or a sticker. With limited print run labelling becoming more common, why not include a text based call to action, rather than a labour intensive – for both customer and business – web or print based competition or offer.

A major American food producer chose to use a mobile marketing based competition and campaign when they rebranded their products. The competition, directly on the label made customers interact with their product differently, and they took their successful marketing campaign directly to the supermarket shelves.

Businesses could also choose to use product labelling for market research. When redesigning brands, why not skip the focus groups and take the decision directly to the consumer? Let them text in which colour label they prefer on the shelf, or which product name they like the best. Include a text based call to action right there on the label you are testing, and get real consumer feedback.

Mobile marketing takes your marketing campaign directly to the consumer. By including mobile marketing on your product labels, you are ensuring that your campaign is directly reaching customers. They might pick up a newspaper advertising a product, but you can measure how many people are actually seeing your on product advertising, just by measuring sales.

You’ll find more information on www.txt2get.com about how we can help your brand grab that customer’s attention.

Simply put, one of the most important technological developments in recent years has been the advent of social networking. Allowing users to connect and interact with friends, relatives or just generally people of similar interest and hobbies, social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace have become very popular in a short space of time. As mobile devices are now capable of running social networking applications, the opportunities for advertisers are exciting.

Modern day social networking services have their roots in early online communities such as geocities and other forums through which users could exchange information; often by linking email addresses to online content. Over the last decade, however, these online communities have been quickly replaced by sophisticated platforms that allow users to create a profile which letting them post content, interact with other users as well as an ever expanding array of other functions. The largest social network service is currently Facebook which has over 500 million users of which at least 100 million have access via mobile devices.

The injection of mobile technology into social networking is where it becomes really exciting for advertisers though. Recently, Red Bull used the location-based social networking service Whrrl to create the Red Bull Society as part of its promotion for the New York Air Race. Individuals who joined up to the society were able to access ticket information, drink specials or other exclusive content through their mobile phones. The notable feature about the Red Bull campaign was that the content reflected a members physical location keeping them up to date with any local developments or offers they may benefit from.

With social networking heavyweights starting to show interest in location based services, the use of social networking as a marketing tool will continue to be refined.

Giants such as Facebook have started to integrate it into their platforms and considering their reach, it is an exciting prospect for marketers. The ability to infer a user’s preferences from their whereabouts will allow advertisers to tailor their content accordingly making for more relevant and effective marketing.

Want to combine mobile marketing with your social media? Then visit www.txt2get.com today and find out how.

It use to be that when you saw someone using their cell phone they were conversing. Nowadays, more and more people are busy typing their messages to their friends and family.

It is not that troublesome to understand how powerful a text message from computer actually is. There are those who text many times per day without realizing how businesses are starting to use this technology.

It is sufficiently clear that sending a text alert is no longer just for pleasure. Millions of people using cell phones also use it to stay in touch local store owners and retail stores they like to shop with.

If a local business wants to build their customer list and stay ahead of their competitors, they need to seriously start using mobile ads sent by a powerful SMS software.

There are many good SMS software companies that will help you to send a text message from computer to all your customers that subscribe to your rewards club.

Let us take a closer look at 5 different ways of driving more profits to your online or offline business in a very quick manner:

1. Contests – This can be an enjoyable way to build your clientele roster throughout the year by allowing your customers to have fun answering questions for a special prize or discount at your store. They may even send their text to their friends and family and you will now receive referrals.

2. Polls – This is a good way of getting necessary feedback on new merchandise or foods you have at your location. They can vote for their favorite or just give you important feedback. Invite them to share this with their friends on Facebook or Twitter and you may end up getting referrals.

3. News/Updates – People are busier than ever. That is why most mobile users are always doing something on their mobile device. Keep them posted on news from your industry or articles on your website. People want to keep current in whatever industry that interests them.

4. Memberships Sites – Your customer will like the fact that you stay in touch if in turn you give them strong reasons to be part of your store membership.

5. SMS Mobile Coupons – If you want people to come back and buy from you in the future, give them a reason to come back with a mobile coupon. Tell them to come in and show you their text mobile coupon and give them an additional discount and then another coupon for their next visit.

There are 3 important things to keep in mind to keep your customer happy:

- Don’t be a nuisance or you will lose clients. Text during business hours only. Also, keep alerts short and simple. Limit your messages to once or twice a week at the most.

- Expensive doesn’t mean the best anymore. Find a shared SMS software system that will build your database and automatically promote your company with mobile APPS and a mobile website. This will make your promotional tasks easy and enjoyable.

- A good way to be right to the point is to tell them who you are up front in your text. Then proceed to share with them what your offer is or new item you are bringing to their attention. The incentive is vital. But the practice of quickly getting to the point is even more important.

You can log in and send a text alert to your buyers in a matter of minutes. So, there is no good excuse not to be utilizing SMS advertising with an awesome SMS software.

Business owners and church organizations who are wanting to stay in touch with their clients and members will want to take advantage of what many professionals are calling the best marketing software available.

I don’t know of any other advertising or information alert venue for staying in touch with your customer, church member or student where they actually read your important text message within minutes of receiving it.

Paper coupons are becoming less profitable when only one-half of one percent of the nation uses them. To the contrary, mobile coupons being sent via mobile SMS marketing have redemption rates as high as 9 to 24 percent. Now that is profitable.

I think a lot of this has to do with the simple fact that this mobile coupon is carried with them at all times. All they have to do is check their saved text messages and there it is ready to be used.

In conclusion, with SMS software, you indeed have the best of both worlds. You save everyone on your list time and money, while making your location more profitable. Now that’s a real win-win situation.

The immediacy of SMS software and SMS marketing is currently unparalleled by any other advertising channel. Church Marketing The rise of text SMS messaging can be attributed to its low cost and ease of use. How do you incorporate this mobile SMS marketing into what you are doing with your business advertising?

Mobile applications date back to the first cellphones nearly twenty years ago. However, it is in recent years that they have really been put front and centre with the release of advanced smartphones such as the iPhone and Blackberry. In short, mobile applications are programs, often downloadable, that allow phones to serve an extraordinary range of functions. Amongst other things, they come in the form of productivity assistants, communicative and social networking agents, or just straight entertainment in the way of games and music players. The thing about mobile applications is that there is no limit to what they can be and what they can do. With the rapid development of mobile phone technology and dramatically improved infrastructure, there are very few constraints on what applications can do.

Mobile applications first came about around the same time as mobile phones. In particular, SMS messaging was one of the first applications to be incorporated into handsets and is still the most widely used today. However, early mobile applications were constrained by the phones of the time and their limited capacity to access the Internet.

The introduction of Apple’s iPhone effectively turned the mobile phone industry on its head. It brought about the rapid development of thousands of different downloadable applications serving to facilitate communication and social networking, productivity and entertainment. Some of the most popular of these applications include Facebook for iPhone and a GPS navigation assistant from TomTom. As Apple’s competitors have moved quickly to launch their own smartphones that can compete with the iPhone, an incredible array of applications have emerged in very little time.

Currently, most mobile applications are downloadable and for offline use. Google though is hard at work on developing web-based applications. While this means users will require a reliable internet connection, wireless networks are quickly becoming more dependable and far reaching. Offering applications that don’t need to be downloaded allows developers a far greater scope to be creative and push the limits of what is possible. Along with the development of 4G networks capable of handling far greater quantities of information, it is clear that both the quality and complexity of applications will continue to develop substantially.

Because mobile applications are so widely used, they represent a largely untapped medium through which businesses can advertise. Through sponsoring the development of applications to inserting a company logo into an applications title card, mobile applications have enormous potential as an effective marketing tool.

To find out more on how you can use mobile applications to increase the success of your mobile marketing campaigns, visit www.txt2get.com today.

Telstra has announced plans to cut internet access of 1.6 million Blackberry and iPhone users. The announcement follows the telco’s loss of millions from customers overspending and failing to pay bills.

An “app cap” will be applied and internet access will be barred from users of smartphones until the next cycle. Telstra is expected to have the cap implemented by the end of this financial year.

Telstra’s chief financial offerice, John Stanhope, says the main problem is when customers refuse to pay an unexpected large bill.

“It [app cap] stops the charge, but it also stops the service,” Stanhope says.

Frequent users of mobile internet are likely to be inconvenienced by the barring, however, businesses with internet advertising will be hit hardest by the “app caps”.

Telstra has advised the “app cap” is not expected to affect the SMS service. SMS has already proved to be a reliable and cost-effective way to connect with customers. Customers now have greater incentive to lower their mobile phone bills and avoid “bill shock” by using SMS rather than mobile internet.

Digital and traditional advertisers are turning to SMS mobile marketing in increasing numbers. The mobile marketing company TXT2GET has been offering advertisers mobile keywords as an alternative form of marketing to retain customers and increase advertising response.

“By using SMS keywords in advertising a marketer can double or triple responses to advertising. It also helps them measure what’s WORKING and what’s not,” says TXT2GET’s Australian Country Manager Andrew Campbell, “Sydney’s talkback radio station 2UE was able to increase audience interaction by using SMS. They asked listeners to enter a competition by texting 2UE to 19 33 33. By the end of their 7-day campaign, over 1000 entries were received, more than double the usual response.”

With Telstra’s internet barring, accessing the internet to visit a website to complete a form will not always be possible. The unaltered SMS service, however, will ensure Telstra’s 1.6 million smartphone customers ability to interact and communicate with companies using TXT2GET keywords.

TXT2GET is offering a Free Trial to use their mobile marketing tool. See what their service can do for your business

The Seven Network has disclosed details of a new digital channel, called 7mate. The channel will be the first commercial network in Australia to have three channels. The network hopes to capture the mass male market with its broadcast of the Australian Rules grand final. 7mate will also offer sport, comedy and movies which are all targeted at men ages 16 to 49.

Seven’s Director of Programming and Production, Tim Worner, says, “We are after the most elusive demographic in media and we think we’ve got the offering to get them.”

It is expected a wave of new-media marketing will follow the network’s move. The narrowed market of the 7mate channel will be advantageous to many businesses, but the ability to interact with that market effectively remains possible with mobile marketing only.

Technological advancements are manoeuvring businesses towards new-media methods of customer interaction. A recent poll by digital marketing agency, Defakto, showed 80% of people believed text provided a quicker response compared to voicemail or email. Mobile marketing company, TXT2GET (www.txt2get.com.au), claims quick responses are generated by automated responses and SMS keywords.

Country Manager of TXT2GET, Andrew Campbell explains, “SMS is an instant response mechanism. It’s easy and simple for people to use and that is why you get higher response rates and improved customer experience.”

Traditionally, television advertisements have provided customers with limited options should they require more information. 1300 numbers have a reputation of placing customers on hold, while internet access is still unavailable to all- but texting has proved to be simple and convenient. The service encourages viewers to simply text a keyword to 19 33 33 in order to participate in competitions, receive mobile coupons or seek more information. Businesses that have used TXT2GET keywords have been able to double and triple advertising responses.

New marketing strategies are essential with technological advancements. Text Marketing can increase business interaction with customers. Try out TXT2GET – Mobile Marketing Australia Free Trial .

Businesses work to attract new business, but what about the clients a business already has? The traditional loyalty programmes are a go-to system, but once the information is gathered, are you actually utilising that valuable resource to its full potential?

Mobile marketing is the next step in loyalty programmes. Customers can go online to view rewards information, but how can they redeem a reward instantly? The answer lies in mobile marketing. Rewards can be assigned a keyword that customers can send via SMS to redeem their rewards and have a voucher sent directly to their mobile. The customer then has a voucher that they can instantly spend at participating retailers.

To ensure the business’s loyalty programme stays fresh, mobile marketing calls to action can be sent directly to participating customers’ phones. This could include an SMS message to respond to, a reminder their offer is about to expire or even a link to choose a new reward.

The cost of paper-based loyalty programmes, and the time involved in managing them meant that they were often the first thing to be neglected when things got busy. The ease of use and low entry costs of a mobile marketing system mean that a business can adopt a mobile-based loyalty programme and keep it alive with very little administration time.

Efficient, simple and cost effective mobile marketing allows a business to create a loyal and active customer base, all serviced by a mobile loyalty programme. Businesses can have customers carry their brand with them, wherever they go. Those businesses not taking part in mobile marketing will soon wonder why they are being left behind while others increase their market share.

When planning how to revitalise your loyalty programme, or reward your loyal customers, make sure that you investigate how you can create a mobile marketing based loyal brand following.

Visit www.txt2get.com to learn more about the Mobile Marketing channel and how easy it is to use.

Interacting with customers can be easy with mobile marketing SMS campaigns. It offers customers a chance to win prizes, while companies have the chance to double and triple ad responses.

Set up and running of an SMS campaign is easy. Whether you set up a competition that places keywords on products as Australia Post did, or use a keyword in a series of TV ads like Telstra Shop- all of these competitions can be run using TXT2GET keywords. It is a cost-effective method that requires minimal manual administration and has the potential of doubling and tripling responses to a promotion.

Here is how Sydney’s leading talkback radio station, 2UE, used TXT2GET keywords to make their campaign a success. 2UE was able to achieve objectives of audience retention and increase participation using mobile marketing.

2UE gave audiences a chance to win a holiday to Hunter Valley during Food & Wine Month by running the ‘Tim Webster Hunter Valley Escape Competition’. The competition was promoted on live radio and published in 13 national and community Fairfax Media publications.

In order to enter the competition, listeners were asked to SMS the keyword 2UE954 and their name to 19 33 33; while readers of the newspapers texted 2UE and their details to the same number.

The flexibility of mobile marketing gave 2UE the ability to use multiple key words and keep track of them by following the real time response reports. In 2UE’s promotion, keywords 2UE954 and 2UE were used to differentiate between radio and print responses.

Companies can use multiple keywords and still have all of their responses conveniently streamlined into one system. 2UE was able to determine additional characteristics, behaviors and sources of the audience based on real time response reports.

SMS campaigns are advantageous for the company and consumer. Mobile technology replaces manual administration and the sorting of paper entries. For the customer, the process of entering a competition using SMS is faster and easier than filling out an online entry form.

2UE’s Hunter Valley competition received an overwhelming number of responses during the 7 days of the campaign.By the end of campaign over 1000 entries were received. More than double the amount of immediate responses usually generated from short term campaigns.

“We’re very happy. It was interesting to see success of live radio reads and the ability to track immediate responses,” says Rebecca Coleman, 2UE Promotions Manager, “We also gained great insight into both listeners and readers and their habits by being able to see exactly when they responded. People that texted after seeing the newspaper ads did so on the day the newspaper went to print, but also during the following few days.”

This promotional campaign was a success for 2UE. Mobile marketing helped 2UE reach its objectives.

For a practical free trial of a mobile marketing tool, visit – www.txt2get.com.au.