Increasing Potential: Choose The Right SMS Gateway API

Back in our previous post on SMS gateways, we provided you with a short introduction to the gateway itself and the various API’s (Application Programming Interfaces) that you can employ to make it work for you. They’re all efficient and are intended to make life just that little easier; enabling you to reach out and get in touch with your target audience.

But how do you effectively use SMS gateways for your own or your clients’ marketing purposes?

It’s All In The Stats

In a country of 49.9-million individuals, roughly 34.4-million of them, and counting, have access to mobile phones. Similarly, you just need to look at the sharp rise in literacy rates to know that our future is looking brighter than ever before: where 88% of the adult population are literate, as are roughly 95.5% of South African youths (15 to 24-year-olds). And when you consider that only about 23% of South Africans have access to a computer, you can see why SMS marketing is an ideal medium, common to most South Africans. Enter SMS gateways and the various API’s.

A Real World Scenario

Choosing the right API is a simple choice: look at what you have versus what you want to achieve. Take, for example, Dunkin’ Donuts in Italy. With the aim to increase sales, they embarked on an interactive mobile advertising campaign and achieved just that, by almost 10%.

How did they do it?

A good way to get the attention of the general public is to use media that they are exposed to on a regular basis. In this case Dunkin’ Donuts advertised using in-store notices, radio and public billboards. Individuals who wanted to participate simply needed to SMS a number to receive a coupon for a discount or a free gift in reply. Needless to say, this was all achieved through an SMS gateway. In terms of marketing this is a rather clever tactic since it supplies them with an audience who actively chose to receive future marketing communication.

How will You do it?

It all depends on what systems you have on your side, doesn’t it? In most cases the HTTP/S API should suffice for connections to the SMS gateway, using a simple POST or GET command. The FTP API works great, too and could benefit Dunkin’ Donuts in the future - they now have a database full of numbers and will simply need to upload a comma delimited text file to get the SMS messages sent off. With the SMTP API it’s a case of email to SMS, sent either by man or machine. And, should you run your own proprietary systems, then we’re probably looking at XML, SMPP, .COM or SOAP.

Choose the right API to communicate with SMS gateways according to what you have and what you want to achieve. It will energise your marketing strategy, helping you to effectively reach out to a growing target audience in a country brimming with mobile potential.

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Tags: Clickatell ZA, mobile marketing, mobile messaging, SMS API, SMS enable, SMS gateway, SMS Gateway API's, SMS gateway platform, SMS Gateways