Mobile Marketing
What is a mobile marketing program? |
| A Mobile Marketing Program is any marketing or advertising program that is delivered to a mobile phone. |
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Why is mobile marketing better than traditional marketing? |
| Mobile marketing with Fanminder is effective and easy because text messages get read quickly (generally within 15 minutes)1 and it does not require any marketing or technical expertise. The immediate nature of a texting allows you to drive traffic on a slow day with an instant text coupon, fill a no show slot by sending a last minute text to your wait list, or increase event attendance by texting a reminder a few hours before. It's only 140 characters to type so you don't have to plan ahead and response rates are 6X higher2 than traditional marketing methods. |
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1Experian Consumer Research Report 2008
2Epsilon and Nielsen Mobile
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What is a Simple Text Message (commonly referred to as a 'text' or 'SMS')? |
| A Simple Text is a text message you send to your fans' mobile phones using the Simple Text Program. A Simple Text contains a total of 140 characters and is sent instantly once you preview your text message and click Send. A Simple Text may include marketing messages you want to send to all fans or a targeted message to a specific group of fans. |
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What is a keyword? |
| A keyword is the short word that identifies your business in our system and is used by your fans to join your mailing list. For example, fans would text your keyword to our short code, and they would automatically receive a reply containing your Welcome Menu. Each business has a unique keyword so we know which Welcome Menu to return back to the fan. |
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Is text messaging regulated? Are there laws regarding sending text messages? |
| We make every effort to stay up-to-date on text messaging regulations, so you don't have to worry about being an expert yourself. For example, the Mobile Marketing Association publishes a Code of Conduct to guide companies' mobile marketing programs, with a strong focus on customer privacy. The Association also publishes a Consumer Best Practices Guide, which provides information on accepted industry practices, wireless carrier policies and regulatory guidance. |
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About Fanminder
What is Fanminder? |
| Fanminder is the easiest-to-use online service that enables a small business owner to simply and quickly send and receive all types of text messages to their customers, who we call fans. |
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What is a fan? |
| A fan is what we call one of your customers. The name of our company is Fanminder... get it? |
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Why should I trust Fanminder? |
| Fanminder's team has over 100 years of experience in helping or running small businesses at companies like Intuit, American Express, Bank of America, LoopNet, Yahoo, PayPal, and VeriSign. We have built secure banking applications, industry-leading small business applications, and even run small businesses ourselves. |
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What does Fanminder do differently than other text message marketing companies? |
| Many text messaging services focus on larger businesses, or want to sign you up for expensive advertising contracts. At Fanminder, we don't service the Fortune 500, and we're not an Advertising Agency. We're a team of mobile, marketing, and small business experts with a single-minded focus on creating the best text messaging service for small businesses. |
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What mobile phone carriers do you work with? |
| Fanminder works with all of the major mobile phone carriers. |
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Do you provide customer support? |
| Yes, unlimited phone and email support is included in your monthly subscription. |
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Where is my data kept and is it safe? |
| Your data sits behind a secure login on our servers, protected by the same data-encryption technology as leading banks. Our servers are protected by firewall software, intrusion detection systems, and security systems and personnel. |
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Who has access to my account? |
| Your account is password-protected, so only those people to whom you have given this information can access your account. |
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Pricing
Can I try Fanminder before I subscribe? |
| Yes. Fanminder offers a 14-day free trial, so you can see what the power of mobile marketing can do for your business at no charge. |
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How much does it cost to use Fanminder and how can I pay? |
| We'll share our pricing once we unveil the service to the general public soon but we expect to offer you one, low monthly price. We will accept all major credit cards for payment. |
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Do I have to sign a contract and are there any cancellation fees? |
| No, there are no contracts. You can cancel anytime, and we'll never charge you a cancellation fee. |
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Mobile Lists
I don't have my fans' mobile phone numbers. Can I still use Fanminder? |
| Yes. We will help you to gather your fans' mobile phone numbers to create your mobile list. See How to Build Your Mobile List for some easy tips. |
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Can I enter customer phone numbers that I already have? |
| Only if you first get their consent to be on your mobile list. All fans on your list have to "opt in." This means that they have to give their specific consent to receive your text messages. |
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How do I build a list of fans? |
| There are several easy ways to build your list of fans. You can advertise your keyword in your store, on your website, and on your existing marketing materials. Your fans can easily add themselves using their phone, and/or you can collect the information on any registration forms you already use. See How to Build Your Mobile List for some easy tips. |
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How do my fans sign themselves up? |
| Your fans can sign up by texting your keyword to our short code. Immediately after they sign up, they will receive your Welcome Menu and will be enrolled in your mobile list to receive text messages from you. Refer to How to Build Your Mobile Listfor a complete list of ways your fans can join your list. |
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Do my fans want to receive text messages? |
| Yes! Since your fans decide to opt-in, they have agreed to receive your text messages. And by sending messages that they value with offers, reminders, or information that is meaningful to them, they will welcome your messages every time. However, it's important to consider how often you send messages to your fans. Best practices indicate that, in general, you should not send more than one message per week to your fans. More frequent messaging may result in high opt out rates. |
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Are my fans charged for receiving a text message from my business? |
| The majority of mobile fans currently pay for text messaging as part of their monthly plan. Nielsen Mobile research found that 77% of US Wireless subscriber lines paid for text messaging either as part of a package, or on a transaction basis.1 Standard carrier rates will apply for fans who do not pay for a text messaging plan. |
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1The Nielson Company quoted in "The Short Code Marketing Opportunity. End of 2008 data."
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How do fans opt out or unsubscribe from my list? |
| Fans may opt out from receiving text messages from you by replying with the word STOP to any of your messages. We will automatically opt them out of your list for you. You can view a list of fans that have opted out by selecting "Opted Out" from the drop-down menu above your list of fans. If a fan tells you to opt them out instead of texting you, you can do so in your Fanminder account by selecting the fan and clicking the Opt Out button. When you receive a request, it's important you opt them out quickly because sending unwanted texts will upset your fans. |
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What is Spam? |
| Spam is when you send an unsolicited text message. By sending messages only to those who have requested to receive it, you are following industry-accepted permission-based messaging guidelines. |
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Using Fanminder
How do I send a text message with Fanminder? |
| To create a message, all you need to do is log into your Fanminder account, and go to the Simple Text program. Start by entering a Text Name, select the fans you want to send the text message to, enter your text, and decide if you want to send it right away or schedule it for later. You then click the Preview and Send button to preview what you just wrote, save it as a draft or send/schedule it. |
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What kinds of text messages would I send to my fans? |
| Text messages can be used to communicate any information that is relevant to your fans, including time-sensitive promotions, product availability, events, and appointment reminders. For example, you can send a message that offers a special (like 2-for-1 or a specific discount) for a limited time only. Or, you can announce product information (such as the special-of-the-day or the arrival of a new item) to fans who have asked for such an update. Text messages are also useful to remind fans of events or appointments, which can increase attendance and decrease no-shows. |
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How do I know what to write in a text message? |
| You can write anything you want up to 118 characters (we reserve 22 characters for the required Opt Out message). We have created a message library to give you lots of ideas for your mobile campaigns, which you can access when you are logged into your Fanminder account. |
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Can I send a message to only some of my fans? |
| Yes! You can place fans into 'groups.' A "Group" is a set of fans with something in common. (Ex., Yoga 9AM Class, Dog Food). The 'Groups' feature can be used to better target your communications. Creating unique messages for those groups is also a great way to increase your response rates. |
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Can I have inbound fan text messages sent directly to my phone? |
| Yes. Use our Forward to Phone feature to specify up to two mobile phones you wish to receive fan responses to. |
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How do my text messages get delivered to my fans' phones? |
| Fanminder sends text messages to your fans' mobile phone carriers, which then send them to your fans' mobile phones. Your messages are delivered within seconds unless you schedule them to be sent at a later time. |
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Can my fans respond to my text messages? |
| Absolutely! You can easily view all replies from your Fanminder Inbox (click the Mailbox tab). |
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How can I track the results of my Simple Text messages? |
| The Simple Text program allows you to track the results of the text messages you've sent by displaying the number of messages sent and replies received. It also summarizes your response rates and even the opt outs (you don't want those!). This information is displayed to you in a graph in sets of fours: the last 4 days, 4 weeks and 4 months. |
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What if I need help with marketing ideas? |
| We have designed Fanminder with many tools to help you with your marketing efforts, including a smart Check List that guides you on your next step, a message library to give you ideas of texts to send, and in-product cues to give you information when you need it. If you still need help, we are always here for you, by email or telephone. |
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What are the minimum requirements for using Fanminder? |
| In order for you to have the best Fanminder experience, you need to use: Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 or higher, Firefox 3.0 or higher, or Safari 3.2 or higher (browser upgrades are free). We support the most recent versions of these browsers because they give you the best features for working online (such as improved security) and because it frees us to develop more great Fanminder features rather than continuing to ensure compatibility with older browser versions. |
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