Mobile Marketer’s Classic Guide to Mobile Advertising includes an article on ”The ABCs of SMS advertising” that details some of the most compelling reasons for using SMS text message marketing as part of a mobile marketing campaign.  Starting with a brief and compelling explanation for why SMS is the most commonly used medium for mobile advertising, it details that (1) SMS messaging  is popular, with 80 percent adoption among mobile users, (2) It offers attractive pricing options, and (3) It has simple device requirements.  So by using SMS text marketing, a business can reach lots of its customers and prospective customers, find a cost-effective way to pay for the marketing campaigns, and not worry about only reaching those customers with certain types of mobile devices, such as the iPhone.  Sounds good to us!

We’re very excited to be hosting our first-ever webinar on mobile marketing with Intuit. They’ve graciously invited us to perform in front of their vast community of members and we can’t wait to dazzle ‘em.

But you don’t need to be an Intuit customer to register:

Sign-up here

Date: Wednesday, August 26th

Time: 1pm PDT

Place: Webex Hosted (see sign-up)

This webinar is designed for the small business owner who is interested in learning why mobile marketing is a must-do for his/her business and how precisely, to get started doing it.

This webinar is ideally suited for small, local businesses such as:

• General merchandise retailers, gift shops, and clothing stores
• Restaurants, cafes, bars, and nightclubs
• Personal services firms such as day spas, beauty salons, and yoga and martial arts studios
• Professional services such as doctors, dentists, optometrists, and chiropractor’s offices

In the webinar you’ll learn:

• About the explosive growth of mobile technologies among consumers and businesses
• Why big businesses are doing it – and small businesses aren’t
• What are the benefits to your business of mobile marketing
• Exactly how to get started with text messaging, the most popular of mobile applications

We hope to see you there!

I’m thrilled to share our newest customer, Visions Restaurant in Bethesda, MD and its social whirlwind of a chef, Tony Marciante.

Guess how we met? Yep. Twitter. I followed Tony, he followed Fanminder, a few direct messages later at 1am and voila! the two of us are gabbing like little schoolgirls over Skype, screen sharing, and recording it all for posterity in Jing.

What a completely new world we live in eh?

So besides being thankful to the Twitter Gods, I’m also thankful for meeting Tony. Tony is an inspiring concoction of top-notch chef, restaurateur, and social media god. And since two of my favorite passions are social media and food (Rita, Tracy, don’t go there!) you can bet Tony and I are fast becoming buddies. I fully expect our two companies to chart new paths for other local, small businesses to blaze with us.

On a more mundane but equally exciting note, Tony is excited to use Fanminder to text specials and other announcements for his restaurant to compliment his other forms of social outreach, cable TV show, and advertising.

Welcome aboard, Tony!

Last Sunday, August 9th, I hosted a BBQ at my tennis/swim club for the Fanminder families.

The weather was perfect. We cooked up some BBQ and people brought their own goodies and I think we all had a great time. Some of even swam in the club’s gorgeous olympic-sized pool.

None of these local events would be complete without mentioning there’s a big chunk of Fanminder that isn’t able to attend because they live somewhere else: Dustin, Liam, and Gustavo all live in Canada. Maybe one day guys, you know we’d love to have you local

(hey Tina & Norman – where the heck are your photos of you guys?? DOH!)

We’d like to extend a zany welcome to our newest customer, Psycho Donuts, in Campbell, California.

I recently sat down with Jordan Zweigoron, CEO and Chief Psycho and the story he shared with me made me think he’s ready to plead the insanity defense (ok, i’ll stop it.)

He relayed to me how he was just “sittin’ around” dreaming up ideas and of course, he was doing it in a donut shop and presto! – why couldn’t donuts in California be re-invented just like frozen yogurt, or cupcakes, or other treats?

He lighted on the theme of “crazy” donuts and Psycho Donuts was formed. Evidently, there’s been much controversy since the theme of the shop elicited strong, negative reactions from mental health advocacy groups.

All this controversy has of course proven the old adage “All publicity is good publicity” and Jordan and his store have been profiled by ABC News and Fox News.

My own take is that ridiculing people with mental illnesses is not something funny – nor do I believe Jordan takes it that way. I’d like to think we all have room in our hearts for attempts to lighten the seriousness our daily crush, and Jordan’s insane donuts are playing a small role in that.

Psycho Donuts plans to use Fanminder to bring more repeat business from the hipper, younger crowd and also to engage his customers in some of the more fun/unique aspects of his store – such as contests and musical thematic elements. For instance, Jordan will be texting “Come in with your crazy story and get a half dozen free donuts”…things like that seem super-cool and fun and we can’t wait to make it happen for him.

And if you get a chance, stop by the store, it’s bursting with original ideas from an over-imaginative Jordan.