by Michaela Cristallo

With the current hype about mobile apps it’s easy to forget that text message marketing is the most popular way to reach your audience via mobile. Unlike traditional marketing it’s quick to implement, personalized and targeted. With the majority of the US population owning a text enabled mobile device it also has fantastic reach. The key to getting great results out of text message marketing is providing your audience with unique value by sending them messages and content they want to receive.

There are a host of different text message marketing campaign options, but one that works particularly well at engaging consumers is text to win. Text to win are text based competitions where mobile users enter a contest or sweepstakes by texting a keyword to a specific SMS short code for a chance to win prizes.

There are a range of text to win campaign types you can run, from instant win contests through to random draw sweepstakes with multiple prizes. The great thing about text to win campaigns is that while you’re engaging and exciting customers with prize filled contests you’re also building a valuable mobile database for future marketing. In fact, text to win campaigns are one of the best ways to build a mobile database due to their high response rate.

Many big brands across a wide range of industries use text to win contests on a regular basis to promote their brand and build their mobile database.

Consumer Packaged Goods brands including popular beer brand Budweiser and Coca-Cola’s Vitamin Water are regular users of text message marketing campaigns including text to win. Budwieser built their database to 12,000 consumers in just six months using a range of text message marketing campaigns. A key component was a text to win contest encouraging consumers to text the keyword KAYAK to an SMS short code for a chance to win a new Budweiser kayak.

Coca-Cola owned Vitamin Water also recently launched a successful text to win campaign. The promotion encouraged consumers to text the keyword VITAMINWATER to an SMS short code for the chance to win a VIP invite to a basketball-viewing party at ESPN Zone in Los Angeles and a years supply of Vitamin Water.

Sporting teams also use text to win to engage their fans. The NBA’s NY Knicks used text to win to promote the 2009-10 season. The text to win campaign featured posters in New York subway platforms asking fans to text the keyword DECLARE to an SMS short code to win Knicks season passes. The promotion engaged over 3300 fans via text in a four week period.

Text to win campaigns are also great as part of a wider marketing campaign. Imagine you’re advertising a new product in print magazines. Why not add a simple text to win campaign to the mix? You can include a call to action in your print ad like ‘text WIN to 80672 for your chance to win our new product!’. The proposition for readers is simple and enticing – send an quick text message for a chance to win a prize. Your customers will love the idea of winning a prize, you’ll generate buzz and build your database all at the same time.

With so many big brands using text to win to their advantage it’s only set to grow further. Text to win is a great campaign option for anyone considering text message marketing. With text to win campaigns you can create buzz and excitement about your brand while building a valuable database for future marketing.

About the Author

Michaela Cristallo is Marketing Manager at InvolveMobile – a leading text message marketing company offering text to win campaigns via SMS short code.