Monthly Archives: November 2008

Apartment Marketing: SMS Text Messaging

SMS Marketing Sign

SMS Marketing Sign

I was impressed last week to see my apartment building utilize SMS text messaging as a call to action on a sign advertising available apartments.Curiously, I texted for more information. I was immediately texted back once with pricing information and again with a link to view photos.Utilizing text messaging is a move that makes so much sense, I am surprised that this is still a relatively new tactic for marketing.A Neilsen mobile survey released in September 2008, reported that Americans text more than they talk. This in contrast to a similar report released in July 2008 that stated only 16 percent of mobile users utilize their phone for surfing the web. Beyond these statistics, I am sure that my apartment building has record of each phone number that texted for more information. That makes for easy follow-up and continued conversation.

Top Tools for Pushing Key Messages Online

Your website should be considered the most important piece of your online marketing puzzle, but if it is the puzzle, you might be in trouble.While your messages may be strong; Are they strong enough to rank highly in Google, as well as help bring you closer to making a deal?Balancing building your pages for search engine rankings, as well as closing a deal is a tough. That is why it is important to expand your marketing efforts beyond your website. Consider the following tools for pushing your key messages online.Google Adwords: There’s no easier way to attract visitors, then to pay for them. With Google Adwords, you create a simple text ad that shows up when people search on Google use one of your keywords during a search. You’re basically advertising to an audience that’s already interested in you. In addition, ads can be placed regionally. Businesses in competitive spaces like laptops and watches, should be aware that ad placement is done through a bidding process and can get relatively expensive.Blog: A blog is a critical piece of the online marketing puzzle. Not only do they attract visitors through search engines better than a static web pages, but they also bring a real voice to a company. A blog is a great area to make announcements. In the online world, a blog posting can have easily as much impact as a traditional press release.YouTube Video Channel: YouTube channels have the potential to reach millions. A recent article on TechCrunch [http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/11/07/the-internet-as-a-force-in-politics-obama-would-not-have-won-without-the-internet/] reported that Barack Obama received 14.5 million hours in free exposure during the last election.If you are having doubts, YouTube videos channels can be customized to reflect your brand. And in terms of quality, you don’t have to worry about creating HD quality video, since the web is not set up to display that.Twitter: Twitter is a free microblogging service, which asks people to report on what they are doing. The service is unique in that users can microblog by texting from their cell phones. The craze hasn’t entirely taken off, but once you try it, you’ll probably get hooked.Facebook/MySpace: Social networking, blah, blah, blah. I’ll save this explanation for later, but if you haven’t explored the possibilities, social networks like Facebook and MySpace are great places for spreading your key messages.New tools for pushing your key messages come out everyday. If you think I missed one, please share by leaving a comment.