1. Provide an Incentive

Why should someone give you their cell phone number? Offer a free item, a discount, or a special promotional item for people who sign up. To keep people from opting out after cashing in this incentive, offer regular discounts or specials to those who stay on your list.

2. Use Flyers

While it’s one of the most basic forms of marketing, flyers do get results. They’re a type of blanket advertising that you can use in your business or hand out to customers. Make sure your flyers make it clear how to join your list and what, if any, incentive you’re offering. Remember flyers don’t have to be full-size pieces of paper. Sometimes small cards are more effective.

3. Cross Channel Promote

Include information about your text message marketing campaign in your other forms of marketing. For example, make sure you include how to join in your email newsletters and hardcopy mailers you send to customers. Send it out on Facebook and Twitter periodically (once a month or so, you don’t want to spam people). Because usually all you need to say is something like “text XXXXX for deals and information,” it can easily be included in print ads and marketing pieces as well.

4. Use a Website Widget

Make sure you have the information on your business website as well. In fact, you may be able to add a website widget that makes joining your text message list very simple. Generally, all your customer has to do is put his or her cell phone number into the widget to join the list. Mobilla has a great website widget that makes it very easy for your website visitors to join your SMS marketing list.

5. Get Customers to Spread the Word

Make it clear that customers can forward any coupons or special offers to others. If you can make your text messages go viral, your customer base will explode, and many of these new customers will want on your message list.

6. Be Creative

Not all businesses are alike, so play to your business’s strengths. A restaurant might want to have information printed on their to-go boxes or bags. A veterinarian, on the other hand, may find it more useful to include the information on appointment reminder cards.

While you may not be able to use all of these methods to market your text message list, by using the ones that best fit your business, you’ll see more and more customers opt in for text messages.

1. Don’t over do it

I have to stress this one. There is nothing worse than a company who spams messages at me, day-in and day-out. Find a balance. A musician might only send out alerts about an upcoming alert. A News Station might send “Daily Headlines”. Understand what kind of business you are. The last thing you want to do is lose subscribers because they are sick of getting messages in the middle of the night.

2. Find your “SMS Rate”

A good way to find your business’s “SMS rate” is to understand why your subscribers have subscribed to you. If they subscribe for weekly updates, give them weekly updates. If they have signed up for only super important alerts, only send them alerts.

3. Be a Subscriber

Ask yourself, “If I was a subscriber, what would I like to be notified for?”. What is important to the customer? Is it a new deal coming out, is it an alert for an upcoming meeting, or is it coupon for them? Give them a reason to be on your subscription list and do not ever just advertise. Nobody likes ads. Be personal, be friendly, And remember, be a subscriber.

Before We Begin

You need to have:

• A Facebook Business Page
• A Mobilla Account
• Your own website
• Basic understanding of HTML

1. Log into your Mobilla Account

https://account.getmobilla.com/

2. Navigate to Lists

Once you’ve logged in, navigate to “Lists” in the main menu. In the table to the right, click Web Subscribe Forms.

3. Create a new Web Subscribe Form

Click the blue “Create New Form” button. The form consists of four items:

• Form Name
This will be the name for your form.
• Subscribe key
This is the keyword that your subscriber will be subscribing to.
• Unsubscribe Key
This is the keyword that your subscriber will unsubscribe to if they are on another list
• API key
This is the API key for your form. It allows you to access your account through the form

When you’re done, click Save Settings.

4. Copy the Form

After saving, the screen will refresh and you should see your newly created form. Click “View Code” and copy the HTML Snippet. This is the code for your form.

5. Inserting the Form

The next step is to insert your form into your webpage on your website. Everyone has a different way to update your website. The form is valid HTML and will work wherever you want, as long as the file type is HTML.

Save your web page and check it out. I styled mine out a bit. Feel free to style it with CSS if you want!

Great! We’ve create a Web Subscribe Form! Now let’s move on to Facebook

NOTE: You must have a Facebook Business Page. If you don’t, you can create one here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php

6. Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook and go to Facebook Developers:

http://developers.facebook.com/

Click “Apps” in the navigation bar at the top.

7. Create a New App

Click “Create New App” in the upper-right corner. There are three items in the form:

• App Name
This will be the name of your App. I’d recommend using the same name as your business.
• Appspace Name
This is the URL where the app will be located. I’d also recommend using the same name again.
• Web Hosting
This allows you to host your app on Facebook’s partners site. This does not apply to our tutorial.

After naming it, press Continue. You will pass a security check. Complete the captcha and then press continue.

8. Create a Page Tab

Navigate to the bottom of your screen and click “Page Tab” in the table to the right.

The Page Tab form consists of 6 items:

• Page Tab Name
This will be the name that will be displayed under the box on your Facebook Page.
• Page Tab URL
This is the URL where you inserted your form into.
• Secure Page Tab URL
This is the Secure URL for your URL. Add an “s” after http ie. http://form.com/ => https://form.com/
• Page Tab Edit URL
This is the URL where you can edit the Page Tab. Use your Page Tab URL.
• Page Tab Image
This is the image that will be shown in the box on your Facebook Page
• Page Tab Width
Specifies the width of your page. If you want a smaller page, check Narrow.

Once you’ve filled out all the forms, save it.

9. Add the Page Tab

Underneath the title of your new app, you will see APP ID.
Write this down. This will be needed to add your tab.

After saving your APP ID, go back to your Facebook account

From your news feed, in the url where it says www.facebook.com, enter this URL string:

http://www.facebook.com/dialog/pagetab?app_id=YOUR_APP_ID&next=YOUR_FACEBOOK_URL

Replace YOUR_APP_ID and YOUR_FACEBOOK_URL with the value you have saved and the URL for your Facebook Page, and press enter. You will be redirected to a page where you can add your page tab.

Select your Facebook Business Page and click “Add Page Tab”.

10. Test your Page Tab

You should be redirected back to your Facebook Business Page and you should see your new page tab!

Click your new Page Tab.

It works!

A customized Facebook Page Tab is a great addition to any business Facebook page. Let us know how it works out for you in the comments below.

Source: frogloop.com

1. Log into your Mobilla Account

https://account.getmobilla.com/

2. Create a new keyword

Navigate to “Keywords and Replies” in the menu. Once there, click “Add Keyword” and create a new keyword. For now, we’ll create the keyword “DRINK”.

3. Assign your Keyword to a Subscription List

After saving your new keyword, click “Subscriber Lists” in the navigation. Click “Add New List”. We’re gonna name our list DRINK and assign the keyword “DRINK” to it.

4. Create a new Web Subscribe Form

After creating your subscriber list “DRINK”, click the blue “Create New Form” button in the upper-right corner. The Web Subscribe Form should pop-up. The form consists of four items:

• Form Name
This will be the name for your form.
• Subscribe key
This is the keyword that your subscriber will be subscribing to.
• Unsubscribe Key
This is the keyword that your subscriber will unsubscribe to if they are on another list
• API key
This is the API key for your form. It allows you to access your account through the form

When you’re done, click Save Settings.

5. Copy the Form

After saving, the screen will refresh and you should see your newly created form. Click “View Code” and copy the HTML Snippet. This is the code for your form.

6. Inserting the Form

The next step is to insert your form into your webpage on your website. Everyone has a different way to update your website. The form is valid HTML and will work wherever you want, as long as the file type is HTML.

Save your web page and check it out. I styled mine out a bit. Feel free to style it with CSS if you want!

Success!

You’ve created your web subscribe form! Now test it by entering your mobile phone number and press “Subscribe Me!”.

Try it out for yourself and let us know in the comments how it’s working for you.

1. We’re more personable

Most bulk sms platforms in the market right now encourage it’s users to send bulk text message blasts. What does this mean? You send out one message to all of your subscribers, with no personalization. With Mobilla, you can have one-on-one conversations with subscribers. You can assist customers, answer questions, and even store custom information about them within their subscriber profile. Another feature in Mobilla allows you to send personalized bulk text messages. Want to send a message asking your subscribers how their day is going with their own name included? Mobilla let’s you do that with our pre-defined profile shortcuts.

2. We’re international

Forget short codes. You know, Short codes, the 5 digit codes that cost a good $1000+ just to rent, have expensive per message rates, and make you limited and controlled by the big networks that provide them. Yeah, those. Our platform uses exclusive US phone numbers that, guess what, can be used internationally and are not limited by the bigger networks. Using Mobilla allows your subscribers to save your number with your contact information, making it way more exclusive and personal. Which brings us to our next point….

3. We use real phone numbers

Short codes are expensive, limiting, and not worth the time, literally! It can take months for a short code to be activated. Longcodes are easy to deploy and maintain, more flexible, and way faster to market. And with Mobilla, they’re activated immediately! No more waiting. No more limits.

4. Our marketing tools

Mobilla not only provides you with an easy way to communicate with your subscribers, it provides you with all the marketing tools to organize, manage, and personalize them. Using Mobilla, you can assign tags, like male and female, or early birds and night owls, so that targeting is easier than ever.

5. We focus on functionality AND design

Let’s be honest, most bulk SMS platforms focus on the development and functional portion of their site. While it IS the most important part, we’ve also designed it to look and feel good. On top of that, it’s easy to use! Don’t believe us? Sign up and check it out for yourself by clicking that green button in the upper right hand corner.

1. Register

First things first, I registered on their main site. They sent me an activation email and after activating and logging in, I created my first hello bar.

2. Creating the Bar

The form is simple and direct. I created a keyword from my Mobilla account and applied it to the hello bar. After a few tweaks, adding a link, and stylizing it, I saved it.

3. Inserting the Bar

Inserting the bar is simple as well. I clicked “Embed” and followed the instructions. The site “silentaudience.net” is hosted on the WordPress CMS. After logging in, I opened up my header.php file and put the listed code right under the body tag. I saved it, and opened up the main page.

4. Testing it out

Looks good! Super simple and easy to set up, the hello bar is perfect. And to top it off, the keyword works as well!

The hello bar can be a great addition to any site. Try it out for yourself and let us know how you like it in the comments section below!

Timeline Covers

Timeline Covers are great for promoting your keyword. The first thing your fans see when they go to your page is the timeline cover. This space is great for a call-to-action keyword. Offer them something that is relevant to their interest and will help them. If you’re not utilizing this space, you’re missing out!

Create an App

Facebook allows you to create your own apps and even display your website through your Facebook Page with Facebook Tabs. Check out our tutorial on How to add a Web Subscribe Form to your Facebook Page

Photos!

This may not seem like a big thing, but believe it or not, people on Facebook love sharing pictures! A good tip is to periodically post pictures of things relating to your business or product. Try adding a coupon code on one! Your fans will share it with their friends and you’ll bring in more traffic to your page. This is FREE publicity!

Facebook Ads

Utilizing Facebook ads for promoting your page is a great way to get subscribers. Create an ad and put your keyword in it. This allows you to push out ads and even if someone doesn’t click on the ad, they can still subscribe to your subscription lists.

If you have any other tips, feel free to let us know in the comments below.

Using mobile marketing for Black Friday will be beneficial to your business. Listed below are some tips to maximize your mobile marketing for Black Friday.

1. Use in-line signage

What better way for your customers to join your subscription lists than to make signage and offer a coupon as they are in line. Put up signage at the register and encourage customers to subscribe to your list for an additional 10% off the item they are about to purchase. Who wouldn’t want to save right then and there?

2. Encourage social actions

Mobile Marketing is a hub that can direct customers to many marketing avenues. Send them to your social profile where you offer exclusive coupons to those who visit, or to your website where mobile users can download a special coupon. Encourage them to forward the coupon to their friends and family.

3. Let your customers make the deals

Let your customers know that you care. Prior to Black Friday, ask your customers what deals they would like to see from your business. As BF nears, let them know that you value their business and have created deals customized by them! Who can pass up a deal that you have made? Your customers won’t.

4. Run promotions prior to black friday

In the upcoming days prior to Black Friday,  offer special deals throughout the week. As the week progresses, increase the value of your deals with your top deals listed on Black Friday. Remind your customers every day of the new deals you have.

5. Black friday discount blasts

Send your subscribers time-sensitive coupons for Black Friday only. Imagine mobile marketing like a virtual nudge. Remind your customers to go to your business rather than your competitions.

6. Hourly promotions

This is a fun way to encourage customers to check out all of the items in your store and buy things they wouldn’t normally go for. Send them a text letting them know that from 9:00 to 10:00 everything in the store that is red is 15% off. From 10:00 to 11:00, shirts are buy one get one free. Have fun with it!

Black Friday is one of the best times to market. This is day that consumers go out and spend. Make sure they go to you by taking advantage of mobile marketing. If you have any tips, feel free to comment in the section below.

Good luck and Happy Black Friday!