Month: May 2020

Over 92% of people in the Nigeria have mobile phones. SMS marketing is one of the best ways to reach out to them in a personal way. But for your marketing to be a real success, you need to get replies. Using a short code with keywords offers many benefits for your marketing.

1. The short code becomes identifiable with your brand. Recognition is important in marketing. When you’re competing for attention among other text messages you’ll want your customers to know the message is from you so they won’t ignore it.
2. A short code is easy to type. If you want to have people send you messages, they’ll need to reply to your message, or type in your contact number. A short code is a five digit number so it ends up being much easier for people to enter it into their mobile than a traditional 11 digit number.
3. Short means easy to remember. To maximize your mobile marketing investment, you’ll want to advertise your mobile campaigns on multiple channels. If people see printed material, or hear your short code on the radio, they can remember it well enough to respond to your call to action.
4. Short codes are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year even when the office or competitors are closed.
5.  Short codes are a great marketing tool as they get potential customers to take action immediately by send the SMS – with no restrictions such as opening hours.
6. Short codes can be used globally via mobile phone devices, to target all different markets, which in turn reduces marketing costs as the same number can be used worldwide.
7. You can accurately measure the success of a particular short code campaign immediately through the web management platform.
8. Short codes are a very effective and cheap method of marketing or communicating special promotions to your loyal customers.
9. SMS short codes is a short number to place on promotion material namely TV ads and other printed ads (magazines, transit advertising, billboards etc…).
   
   

Most businesses use some form of sms or other electronic communication to keep in contact with customers, but many of them neglect one of the most potentially profitable forms of contact: the newsletter. Sending an electronic newsletter is a great way to give customers “added value” in the form of interesting content, information, and valuable tips, as well as keeping them informed of sales and specials.

Understanding the Newsletter Concept

From a customer service standpoint, some companies do not understand what a quality customer newsletter should contain. These are the businesses that try a newsletter briefly and then give up, having come to the conclusion that the newsletter is a waste of time. The reality is that the structure and content of your newsletter is essential to its success. A really good newsletter can bring you increased sales, impress your customers so that they become repeat customers, and enhance your image as an expert in your industry.

Newsletters have four times the readership of a traditional ad. This is largely because the readers find quality information, not just fluff or advertising. Remember to view your newsletter from your customers’ perspective. It should not be solely about “tooting your own horn.” It is fine to mention an upcoming event or a milestone your company has achieved, but if it is all about you or all about the company, readers will quickly lose interest. If you give them valuable, timely information and advice, they will read every issue.

Timing Is Everything

Most newsletters these days are electronic. That is, they are sent via sms to subscribers, or visitors to your site read them on your newsletter page. For these electronic newsletters, monthly issues are the industry norm. This is often enough to keep customer interest without being intrusive or repetitive. It also gives you ample time, providing you work ahead, to get a solid, informative newsletter together on a regular basis.

If you are sending out a print newsletter, once a month is an option, but because of the high cost of printing and mailing, many businesses offer a quarterly print version of their newsletter. Usually these are mailed to interested customers who do not have Internet access or simply prefer the print medium. If you decide to send out a quarterly version, consider picking and choosing only the best articles and advice from your monthly electronic issues and combine them into one terrific version that is sort of a Reader’s Digest version of the previous three months’ issues.

Content Is King

Generally, you should keep a newsletter relatively short, but pack it with information in short sets. This is not the place for 2,000-word articles or in-depth coverage. In the Information Age, readers get bored more quickly than they did a generation ago, so articles of no more than about 500 words are ideal for newsletters.

Intersperse these with shorter tidbits (anywhere from 25 to 250 words) that offer interesting statistics or little-known facts that are related to your customers’ needs and concerns. The shorter pieces help break up the page visually, much like illustrations. They keep the readers’ eyes from getting bored. They also are good for readers who are just browsing. If there are a few short pieces, they are apt to read these and come back later to read the longer articles. If all of the writing is long and runs together, the reader may get bored and toss it aside without ever reading anything.

The only exception is if you run a series on a particular topic. These are nice because they keep readers coming back each issue to read the next installment, so if you have a topic that is particularly complex, considering breaking it up into units over a few issues.

Newsletters can be a valuable way to keep in touch with current customers and generate new ones. The key is to produce a newsletter that is full of relevant information for your customers so that they feel they are getting real value, not just a lengthy sales pitch. Properly written and designed, an electronic newsletter is one of the least costly – and most effective – forms of customer service you can provide.

Talk to any marketer these days and you’ll be told the same thing: You need an sms list and you need to work hard at building that list.

Part of building a successful list is sending regular sms newsletters.

But what is the purpose of a newsletter? How will it help you build your business?

The purpose of an sms newsletter is to give those on your list updates pertaining to your business, products, and services. However, it’s not something that’s generally used for a hard sell. An sms newsletter should feel like an update from an interesting, helpful friend, rather than a pushy salesperson.

That’s not to say that these newsletters are simply used to keep in touch. They can be used to motivate your customers to take action, like making a purchase or checking out your latest blog post.

Newsletters are often the life force of your marketing campaign. Over the past decade, sms marketing has proven to be significantly more successful than social media marketing.

You’re 40 times more likely to get new customers from sms marketing than from Facebook or Twitter.

Your sms list is also a safer bet than followers on social media. At any point, a social media site can shut down and you’ll lose access to your audience. But an sms list is something that you own.

How to measure the success of your sms newsletter

To ensure success with your sms marketing campaign, you need to have a good plan. Part of that plan is testing out what works and what doesn’t, and sms marketing platforms have metrics that can tell you whether your sms are working or not.

These metrics tell you:

•           How many people open your sms

•           How many people click on links within your sms

•           How many people unsubscribe from your list

Pay close attention to these metrics after each campaign. They’ll show you where you need to make adjustments and whether any changes you’re making are paying off. For instance, if you’ve had a lot of unopened sms and decide to write more personalized copy for your next campaign, you should definitely see an increase in your open and click-through rates.

A Sender ID is the name or number that identifies the sender of an SMS message. Sender ID is the name or number which appears on the mobile phone as the sender of an SMS (It is used to identify who’s sending the message to the recipient).

You must have noticed through sending of bulk SMS from your registered bulk SMS account that the maximum number of characters allowed for sender ID is 11 characters. Sometimes though you have sender IDs you wish to use for your messages which are more than 11 characters. Although it cannot be increased more than 11 characters, the good thing is there are ways you could optimize this.

• Use acronyms more when they are applicable: Usually, the desired sender IDs for many messages can be shortened through the use of acronyms without affecting its weight or affecting the recipient’s understanding of the name. Associations, businesses and various organizations could use this comfortably, and their names will not be lost. Even for individuals, long names can be fitted in with the use of initials and pet names.
• Limit the use of ‘space’ ‘commas’ or other punctuation marks or remove them all together characters includes in text messages are spaces, commas, full stops, exclamation marks, quotation marks and other punctuation marks. It is most advisable then to avoid them in sender IDs.
• Use Camel Case : This is the writing of compound words such that each word or abbreviation begins with a capital letter. For example, if a person’s name is Kelvin Segun, using this as a sender ID and typing it with the space as it is will be 12 characters and so the system won’t take it all, thereby removing the last letter. Whereas camel case could be used to make it all fit in as just 11 characters i.e. you have KelvinSegun.  Also do same with business names.

Sender ID Registration

Due to the increase in the volume of fraudulent text messages that some unscrupulous customers (fruadsters/419) are sending, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has mandated that all sender ID must be registered.

Also your messages will not be delivered if your sender ID has not been registered, but your units will be deducted. Therefore it is advisable to confirm if your sender ID has been registered before sending SMS messages.

The registration process takes will take a minimum of 48 hours before the submitted sender ID can be registered. Furthermore, make sure that all sender IDs to be submitted for registration are not more than 11 characters including space and/or any special character like @,&,$,! etc.  Any sender ID that is submitted twice or more or longer that 11 characters length will be ignored and not be registered. You can register as many sender ID as you like.

For Ozioma app users, kindly submit the request to register your sender ID through Ozioma app at the compose SMS page. You will also need to provide a sample message too. For more information you can contact us on 08093159330 or 07026788205. To create a free Ozioma account for your personal use or business simply click on https://app.ozioma.net

Have you ever seen a message just pop up on your phone screen without you opening your inbox? well that pop up message is called a Flash SMS.

Flash SMS also known as class 0 SMS is a type of SMS that appears directly on the main screen without user interaction and is not automatically stored in the inbox. As such, Flash SMS is a value-added-service to a standard SMS delivery. Its most commonly used to deliver sensitive information and to immediately catch a recipient’s attention.

Reasons to Use Flash SMS

• Flash SMS pulls the attention of the user. Whenever somebody gets a pop up displayed on his/her screen it catches their attention immediately.
• The chances of ignoring a flash message is very less, as it directly reaches on the full screen of the mobile and the user actively needs to close it.
• Also flash SMS can be used in case of emergencies or if you want to send confidential information such as One Time Pins (OTP) or other sensitive information that shouldn’t be seen by others.
• As it does not get stored in the inbox, it saves your phone’s memory.

Flash SMS is ideal for industries, companies, agencies, offices and organizations etc, who have to dispatch any important message which requires instant reaction. These days it is very famous for advertising purposes, marketing, promotion etc where you need to grab the attention of your reader.

It is used when information to be conveyed is urgent like OTP, PIN etc. Ideally it should be used when you want to make sure that the receiver reads the message.

SMS Blast is a bulk SMS text message that is sent to a large number of mobile phone numbers simultaneously via an automated text messaging system. Using SMS blast is a simple and cost-effective way to communicate in real time with a large number of mobile phone users.

Many organizations use a text blasting system in order to “text blast” large groups of people simultaneously. This is because a text message blast is simple to organize, inexpensive to run, and more effective at immediately reaching a large number of people than any other channel of communication.

SMS text blasting is most commonly used by the retail industry as a key part of a mobile marketing strategy. However, many different types of organization also take advantage of text blast services in order to generate engagement and build relationships within their communities.

One of the advantages that a text blasting system has over other channels of communication is that it is a permission-based activity. People have to opt in to receive text blast messages and are therefore more receptive to those messages, and more likely to engage with the sender or share the text blast messages with friends, families and colleagues.

Other Uses of a Text Blasting Service

There are many, many other uses of a text blasting service – both commercial and non-commercial. Home buyers can be kept up-to-date with new listings and price drops via an SMS blast. Parents can be sent school consent forms in a text blast, community volunteers can be coordinated with a text message blast, and voters can be encouraged to get out and vote using a text blasting service.

Access to text blast software can also be important during emergencies when data networks often get overloaded. Being able to remain in contact with employees, students, parents and personnel may be vital during security alerts, power outages or inclement weather. The text blasting service can help keep everyone safe, or advise them of last minute closures, cancellations or changes of venue.

Other uses of the text blaster interface include keeping fans up-to-date with the football score, alerting job seekers to new employment opportunities and reminding parishioners to go to church. Indeed, many faith-based organizations have been able to engage the youth of their parish, using text blast services to increase attendances at church events and ensure the future of their congregations.

Using Ozioma’s SMS Blast Service for Text Message Marketing. With our SMS blast service, your business or organization can send text messages to hundreds or tens of thousands of subscribers instantly.

Ad campaigns are an important marketing strategy for all kinds of businesses that want to increase brand awareness and profits.

An advertising campaign is a series or set of advertisement messages that revolve around a single idea, message and theme and are intended to achieve a particular goal.  Some of those goals could be,

• To create brand awareness for a new product
• To drive sales of a product or service
• To generate leads by asking people to sign up for an email list or another free offer

 Advertising campaigns utilize diverse media channels over a particular time frame and target identified audiences.

To create an advertising campaign it’s important to keep in mind the target audience and to understand how you can strike a chord with them to get them interested in your products or services.

How can Ad Campaign Help your Business

It is always better to have a well-planned strategy to promote your brand, product or services, right? Advertising campaigns do that for you. Whether you offer a product or a service, choose to promote your brand online or offline—advertising campaigns help by guiding you through the process. They also help you gauge where your business stands in the market, by comparing your advertising campaigns with your competition, thereby also helping you assess the strengths and weaknesses in your products.

An effective ad campaign creates interest, builds desire for a product or services and motivates people to act on their desires.

The process of making an advertising campaign is as follows:

1. Research: first step is to do a market research for the product to be advertised. One needs to find out the product demand, competitors, etc.
2. Know the target audience: one need to know who are going to buy the product and who should be targeted.
3. Setting the budget: the next step is to set the budget keeping in mind all the factors like media, presentations, paper works, etc which have a role in the process of advertising and the places where there is a need of funds.
4. Deciding a proper theme: the theme for the campaign has to be decided as in the colors to be used, the graphics should be similar or almost similar in all ads, the music and the voices to be used, the designing of the ads, the way the message will be delivered, the language to be used, jingles, etc.
5. Selection of media: the media or number of Medias selected should be the one which will reach the target customers.
6. Media scheduling: the scheduling has to be done accurately so that the ad will be visible or be read or be audible to the targeted customers at the right time.
7. Executing the campaign: finally the campaign has to be executed and then the feedback has to be noted.

DND (Do-Not-Disturb) is a service that stalls bulk SMS from getting delivered to your contacts or your phone number. People subscribe to DND to enable them to opt-out from receiving third party SMS messages, such as marketing campaigns and ads. As thus, this poses a challenge on sending or receiving SMS to/on DND active numbers. The only way out in most cases is if contacts unsubscribe from the service. This can only be done directly from the mobile phone of the contacts themselves.

Here are steps on how to unsubscribe or deactivate DND on all GSM networks in Nigeria.

To confirm if your phone number is DND active, simply text STATUS to 2442. For Glo numbers text HELP to 2442. If it is active it means that you can’t receive bulk SMS on that number.

Text START to 2442 on your 9mobile number if DND is active to deactivate it.

Text START to 2442 on your GLO number if DND is active to deactivate it.

Text ALLOW to 2442 on your AIRTEL number if DND is active to deactivate it.

For an MTN number that is DND active, text ALLOW to 2442 to deactivate it.

It has been discovered that Network Providers are automatically enabling DND on their subscribers’ line without their consent, and a lot of contacts aren’t aware they are DND active.

 In case these codes don’t work, kindly call your Customer Care. (Airtel 111 or 121, MTN 180, 9mobile 200, GLO 121 or 200)

We have nonprofit newsletters. I separated these out into a new category because the goals are a bit different. Newsletters play a much more important role for nonprofits.

Because nonprofit organizations are highly mission-driven (and constantly scrambling for funding), SMS newsletters are absolutely essential. They provide the best way for these organizations to stay in contact with supporters and past donors at scale to communicate important information, including:

• Updates on the organization
• Relevant stories and developments related to their core mission
• Upcoming fundraising events and promotions

Because SMS is much cheaper (and more engaging) than direct mail, newsletters have become a staple in the nonprofit marketing toolbox.

Newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of interest to its recipients.

Do you have an e-commerce or a blog and have not yet sent newsletters to promote your business? Then you will not know exactly what a newsletter is and what it does. Briefly, it is still the main tools of SMS Marketing and they generate better results at a very reduced price, when used correctly.

Ecommerce Newsletter

Ecommerce newsletters usually serve a few main purposes:

• Promote new products in the store
• Announce seasonal promotions or sales
• Reinforce a strong relationship with customers
• Help build a community around the brand

Product/Company Update Newsletter

The goal of a product or company update newsletter is to inform users on what’s new with your business (and why they should care). This usually helps with:

• Encouraging users to use new features/aspects of a product
• Improving brand perception (partnership announcements or funding)
• Communicating any improvements that will make customers’ lives easier.

The primary focus of newsletters from blogs or media sites is usually to drive traffic to specific articles or simply provide value and build up the community.