By: Chris Brubaker

18.7 Billion text messages were sent in December last year, up 92% from 2005. That number is big enough to catch anyone’s attention, particularly advertisers. As text messaging grows by leaps and bounds each year text messaging as an advertising medium will grow with it.

One company capitalizing on SMS marketing is Subway restaurants. Stores located in Buffalo, NY and Seattle, WA have started using text messaging as a viable form of marketing. The stores are reporting an 8.5 percent response rate from the text messages, as opposed to their coupon inserts which return a 1 to 2 percent response rate. So what’s the difference? Consumers have to “opt in” to the program in order to start receiving promotions, meaning the customers that do sign up are more interested and involved in Subway and therefore more likely to follow through with a promotion.

Text messaging also provides advertisers with a more direct way to market to consumers. Subway for example can send out a promotion to consumers anytime day or night, rain or shine, allowing full control over the type of promotion they run. If they wanted to send out a text message once the hometown football team wins the game for a free soda, they could. Text messaging allows advertisers to capitalize on events and promotions in real time, no more waiting to see if an ad will work. Another key advantage to text message advertising is the ability to geo-target your consumers, advertising just to the ones located in your area instead of throwing out an ad to everyone and hope a select few will see it.

Text advertising is expected to grow rapidly for the next few years across all industries. This is where HouseFront steps in for real estate. With HouseAds, real estate professionals have the ability to advertise through text messaging. This form of advertising puts a message in front of interested consumers who are actively out in the market looking at properties.

Text messaging provides advertisers an effective way to engage consumers anytime anywhere. Expect to see more companies implementing and advertising on this new medium in the near future.

Would do you think of SMS advertising?

Denver Real Estate

Relocation Business News, a top source for relocation information, wrote about HouseFront in an article on our advertising program HouseAds. RBN discussed the different forms of advertising, and the ability to geographically target ads to buyers and sellers in their market.
View the Article (PDF)

Colorado Real Estate

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