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Recent research by network firm Cisco even states that by 2016 there will be more mobile phones on the planet than humans, so common sense would suggest that over the next few years people will use their mobile devices to research education establishments, for parents and staff to communicate and to aid studying. The rise of online study centres, and young people becoming more technology focussed, have also played their parts in the education sector embracing the digital age.

So the question is, how do you rapidly reach out to a mass audience on the fly? How do you capture their contact details and communicate targeted messages to them in seconds about updates, alerts or news? Mobile messaging is the answer.

Textlocal Managing Director Darren Daws said, “Mobile messaging is the only medium that has an open rate of 97.5%. It gives a campaign the added power to communicate with targeted customers and build on the relationship you have with them, based on permission and trust. Adding Bulk SMS to a campaign allows consumers to text for more information, making the follow up activity more targeted. But it isn’t just about driving sales. It’s also about efficiency and being able to effectively run your business internally like our client Liverpool University. The University of Liverpool’s Careers and Employability Service needed an effective way to communicate with students and graduates regarding reminders for up and coming appointments and updates within the service. Using Textlocal’s award winning messaging platform, they were able automatically text students the evening before they were due to attend an appointment.”

The key advantage of mobile messaging is the flexibility it gives you to engage with a mass audience instantly. Whether you need to grow a database of students, send appointment confirmations, send urgent updates about changes within your establishment, or send exam results, the uses for the education sector are endless with mobile.

Using short codes, and even QR codes so that people can opt-in to receive your communications is powerful. No other SMS marketing tool can do this while students or staff are on the move, instantly and as cost-effectively as mobile messaging.

Combine this with the growth in the use of Smartphone technology, and it’s clear why campaigns are benefiting from improved targeting with SMS. No longer are you limited to 160 characters of text, the use of Smartphone technology and the public acceptance of tiny URL’s on social media platforms, means that SMS can be used as a tool to link to a bigger picture. SMS can now be used as the ‘hook’ needed to direct the reader to where they need to be online, faster than if they were left to their own devices. Links to apps, videos and web pages are easily incorporated into an SMS message, making SMS a vital tool working hand in hand with other mobile marketing tools to achieve greater ROI for every mobile campaign.

The overwhelming advantage that mobile has is its capacity to reach people virtually instantly wherever they are; a key benefit to the education industry. We can see here the vital role that mobile plays for businesses in the education sector, and with the ever continuing rise of smartphone and mobile internet usage they need to capitalise on it now.

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Across Worcestershire more than 50 firms and individuals took part in the effort and in Malvern these included Britannia Bennetts, Westbridge Foods, Pendragon Packaging, Waitrose, Morgans, Gaynor-Smith, Owen & Co, Textlocal, the Malvern and Malvern Hills District Council staff.

St Richard’s corporate fund-raiser Rachel Jones said: “We were thrilled with how so many people got into the spirit of the day. There were lots of easy ways that firms came up with to encourage staff and customers to Part with a Pound including raffles, cake selling, dressing up and dressing down on the day.

Thanks to everyone who took part we are hoping to have raised more than £5,000 towards our work at the hospice caring for adults with life-threatening illnesses and supporting their families.”

Malvern-based Textlocal supported the day through text messaging and by giving St Richard’s a donation for each picture message sent.

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With consumers continuing to feel the economic pinch, finding and developing new channels for promoting value going forward is crucial too. Experts say mobile messaging can provide many of the answers, helping firms of all shapes and sizes boost sales, engage travellers and enhance their marketing activity.

With customers happy to switch between online and offline channels when they make bookings, talking straight to their mobiles is a canny move – especially when it’s to alert them to best prices.

A recent Thomas Cook survey revealed that a fifth of UK families now plan to reduce their holiday budget this year, with 5% admitting they will be choosing trips much more carefully.

Interest around this summer’s Olympics could herald a new influx of visitors too – all of whom are keen to bag the best London deals. It means travel agents need to be more competitive than ever, with mobile marketing offering endless opportunities to help them stand out from the crowd.

And as our phones become ever more central to all our lives – backed by more reliable and technologically-advanced handsets – communicating with clients via their mobiles can bring immediate, tangible benefits.

A staggering 97.5% of text messages are now read within five seconds, and research company Portico estimates eight trillion text messages were sent last year alone. While email promotions can languish in an inbox, one in three consumers now say they respond positively to SMS promotions.

For an industry that prides itself in putting its customers first, this type of marketing is ideal, providing a range of offerings to suit all sizes and types of clients and businesses. Bulk-buying means texts are available from as little as 2.4 pence a time making them affordable for even the smallest retailer.

Using a trusted company like Textlocal.com makes the process a smooth, simple one. It only takes ten minutes to register your details and the in-house technical team are always on hand to guide you through the process. Bundles can be tailored to suit businesses’ needs but there are some other key areas of opportunity that are worth considering.

Jason Palgrave-Jones, business development director at Textlocal, is sitting on the Question Time Panel at the Travel Technology Event. He says, “Discounts, introductory offers and targeted discount deals all offer clients new reasons to engage and help agents maximise opportunity, while payment and check-in reminders can boost efficiency without costing a fortune.”

Mobile activity can also be tailored to dovetail with existing social media and QR code campaigns. And as phones continue to be central to managing our personal and professional lives, for the travel industry especially the possibilities really are endless.

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Molly Brooks, digital marketing coordinator at Greenpeace, says: “Using QR Codes meant that Greenpeace staff could easily use mobile phones to track who attended. Being able to track everyone electronically through the Textlocal reporting system worked perfectly for us, as we were able to follow up with our supporters accordingly to say thank you for coming, or reach out quickly those that couldn’t make it with a separate message. Mobile made the whole process fast and accurate, and without doubt this method reduces the need for paper forms at the event and is therefore kinder to the environment which is what we’re all about.”

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The inspirational duo decided to go into business together back in 2005 with a passionate goal to bring simple to use text marketing systems and mobile web to UK businesses. Unlike their competitors, they enable any size business to communicate with customers or staff quickly, easily and cost-effectively with no set-up fees, monthly fees or contractual commitment. Textlocal’s business ethos has always been to provide clients with a tailor made Do-It-Yourself automated system, putting the power completely in their hands.

It’s no wonder then, that 2011 has been a rollercoaster of achievements for this ever growing business, which the North West EN Magazine judges including millionaire Hilary Devey, commended for being the most innovative and profitable business in the media sector over the past year.

Managing Director Darren Daws said “Alastair and I are extremely proud to have received this award, which clearly highlights how successful our business model is, not only for us, but for the 75,000 business we work with. We have dedicated our business to achieving the objectives of other businesses, understanding customer requirements, and putting their needs at the heart of everything we do, and being recognised in this way makes it all the more satisfying. Mobile marketing is transforming the way businesses communicate, and Textlocal is leading the way. ”

Today, Textlocal work with businesses from all sectors and of all sizes, from councils and universities, to big clients like Google, Manchester United, MySpace, Shell, Domino’s Pizza and Greenpeace.

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Mobile marketing is rapidly transforming the way businesses communicate. Smartphones are everywhere, and across the globe people are becoming more dependent on using their phones while they’re out and about for things like payments and location-based services. It’s vital that businesses harness the growing influence of mobile marketing, and connect to customers quickly, directly and instantly.

QR codes are another way businesses can connect to customers through their smartphones. You have probably seen these barcodes that look like mazes – perhaps on bus-stop posters, or on magazine ads, or in shop windows.

When you scan or read a QR code with your iPhone, Android or other camera-enabled Smartphone, you can link to digital content on the web; activate a number of phone functions including email, Instant Messaging and SMS; and connect the mobile device to a web browser. Mobile technology has become so sophisticated, that not only do consumers want to browse and purchase on the go, they want to do it fast. QR codes allow this to happen.

The ability of QR codes to connect people with each other and to multimedia digital content is very useful for businesses and consumers alike. However, we at Textlocal feel that businesses are missing out on a huge opportunity to form relationships long term through QR Codes.

Most businesses only use them to drive people to a website, a specific URL, which doesn’t capture any data. Then there is the issue where marketing agencies think “oh, I’ll add a QR code to some marketing material”… and then all it does is take the user to their normal desktop website which may not even optimised for mobile.  Most QR codes that you see in the wild have no discernible call to action at all….they offer no reason for the end user to scan the code, other than novelty value.

Therefore, we believe the potential for QR codes has not yet been fully explored.

If you connect a QR code to an SMS text message, then a conversation can be automatically opened, and an exchange of data becomes possible. This is MUCH more powerful and effective, and means that when a user scans a QR Code, they can also send an automatic text message, giving businesses the opportunity to capture their mobile numbers for future marketing. This speeds up ‘opt-in’ mobile marketing, something that can also be done long hand via texting a word into a short code. QR codes linking with SMS can even go a stage further. After the QR Code has been scanned, and the SMS message has been automatically opened on the phone, businesses can also request that users enter an email address in the SMS message, and automatically reply with digital marketing collateral, for example, say a PDF brochure direct to the palms of their hands. We believe that QR Codes, working in harmony with SMS, opens up a whole world of opportunity for data capture that is being under-utilised.

There is so much more that can be done, and much of it is directly relevant to brands and retailers. Once you have used a QR code to excite your customer and make the sale, you can then use them to enhance the experience for them. Businesses can use QR codes on brochures, direct mail pieces, press ads, and so on. It is a slimline way of delivering rich, engaging content to customers in a way that encourages them to interact.

In this current economic climate, marketing budgets are being slashed. Local businesses and SME’s face competition from large high street chains and multinational organisations, and are without the resources to execute large marketing plans. The larger organisations are competing with each other to shout the loudest in an extremely busy market. Everytime businesses communicate with their customers, they come under scrutiny as to how it impacts not only society, but also the environment. QR Codes via SMS dramatically reduce the need to print mass amount of marketing materials, allowing companies to brag about their efforts on decreasing the global CO² footprint.

All users require is a QR Code reader which is a FREE app to download onto their Smartphone, which is usually free. We have expanded our extensive portfolio of services with a QR code facility that allows the 75,000 businesses we work with to set up their own QR codes at the touch of a button. There is huge potential for businesses to send information directly into the palm of people’s hands, in response to QR Codes, and the likelihood of the message being read is a whopping 97.5% according to Ofcom. QR Codes are generally free of charge, and you don’t necessarily need to be a ‘techie’ to make them work.

Our services, which marry SMS with QR Codes, deliver to ALL brands the power to communicate with customers through highly cost-effective, rapid, and convenient mobile marketing methods.

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Townsend Marketing director, Rob Townsend, joins from The home group, where he was Group business development director. He’s also worked for Gyro HSR, SASS and The Direct Marketing Group.

“I’m really excited to join the team at Textlocal. A hugely progressive company with a fantastic reputation and strong foundations, the potential for what we can achieve is limitless,” stated Townsend.

“We are just scratching the surface as there are still many businesses missing out on the power of mobile. We need to move quickly to ensure we guide and educate those businesses that are being left behind”.

New sales director, Jason Palgrave-Jones was previously general manager of sales and marketing at Argos/Homebase.

“Today, with such a high percentage of reported mobile users, it’s clear that companies must revert to the small screen for faster, personalised marketing campaigns,” added Textlocal managing director, Darren Daws said,

Townsend and Palgrave-Jones have been recruited to exploit opportunities both at home and in the international market.

See published article: http://www.how-do.co.uk/north-west-media-news/north-west-marketing-services/txtlocal-recruits-sales-and-marketing-directors-20110928100955531

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