A simple human error shook everyone in Hawaii in January 2018. On that day, everyone received a message warning about an incoming missile attack. Although it turned out to be false, now you have a real-life example of cell broadcasting. Now let’s move into details of what it is and how you can use it to promote your local business.
What is Cell Broadcasting
Cell broadcasting (or SMS broadcasting) is a way of sending a single message to multiple recipients based on their geolocation. In other words, it is a mass texting feature that doesn’t require having phone numbers to send messages. Instead, cell broadcasting sends the message to radio cells, which then carry it to phones in the set area. It is mostly used to send weather alerts, incoming hazards, and other agitational information.
Cell Broadcasting vs. Mass Texting Differences
With its essence, cell broadcasting may look similar to text blast, yet they are quite different. Cell broadcasting uses a one-to-many system of messaging for a limited location, whereas SMS uses a one-to-one system on a particular mobile phone database.
Besides that, cell broadcast messages have a 93-character limit, yet text messages have 160. Because it doesn’t send messages to certain phone numbers, there is no opt-in or opt-out needed.
Cell Broadcasting as a Channel to Promote a Local Business
SMS marketing is undoubtedly a useful mobile marketing channel. However, the only major problem with it is that it can’t target an audience in a specific area. This is an essential feature, and its absence prevents lots of businesses from relying on SMS marketing. Not many know that they can use cell broadcasting to make up for it.
The Benefits of Using Cell Broadcasting
Aside from complementing the biggest pitfall of SMS marketing, cell broadcasting has a range of other advantages too. Here are the most substantial ones.
Massive Outreach
SMS broadcast allows you to send messages regardless of the number of recipients in a specific geolocation. It used to be limited to a certain amount, but since the cellular connectivity is more developed now, there is no limit whatsoever.
Flexible Timing
Cell broadcasting sends out messages to all of the recipients within 10 seconds. Because it uses radio cells instead of antennas, it has no errors or delays. For the same reason, the messages don’t queue and reach to the mobile devices right after being sent.
More Precise Targeting
To target a geographical area, some advertisers display ads only there. However, in a way it resembles a gambling action. The problem is that there is no way to know how many people will see or have already seen the promotional message. Whereas cell broadcast targets audiences very accurately based on the method that it sends the messages.
Higher Efficiency
Text messages themselves have high open rates, which is why the vast majority of your audience will see your message. There is no other promotional channel that can ensure this much effectiveness.
How to Use Cell Broadcasting
The implementation of SMS broadcast is very much similar to any kind of location-based advertisement. To get more specific, here are some cases when cell broadcast will be the ultimate marketing channel for you.
Time-Sensitive Offers – time-sensitive offers give a sense of urgency to the customers, which effectively drives them to a buying action. Sending such offers through cell broadcasting ensures that a broader audience receives the message in a shorter time.
For example, if you run a restaurant and have a special offer for lunch, you can use cell broadcasting to let people know about it. Similarly, if you have any other kind of special offer, again, you can use SMS broadcast to spread that information. The only tip to consider is the right timing. You should send messages when people are most likely to have the time for them.
Important Updates – text messages are rarely neglected. This is why they are an effective way to let people know about exclusive updates. When your update is especially important for a specific area, cell broadcast is the best choice for you.
By way of example, you can send text messages when you have received a new collection or made changes in the working procedure. Just make sure the update is something that people would care about, and it is worth using cell broadcast in that case.
Gather People for Events – companies now collect people for events through social media, flyers, posters, and so on. All of those can potentially gather a broad audience, yet using cell broadcast is a much more efficient way to go. The reason is that it has the potential to show your message to more people, as opposed to other channels that are strictly limited.
Even if you still decide to use other methods to get people together for your event, you can still send a reminder a couple of hours before the event. This will ensure that people didn’t forget about the event and increase attendance to a considerable degree.
Final Thoughts
Obviously, the usage of cell broadcasting for promotional purposes is not limited to the three examples mentioned above. Any marketing message applying to a specific area can be sent through SMS broadcast to increase the engagement.
If you want to get started with cell broadcasting, you need to get its services from a reliable partner and set your preferences. It is a time-consuming process, but the final result is certainly worth it. For more detailed information on how to get started with SMS broadcast click here.
Guest post courtesy of Azat Eloyan
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