Whether you're a veteran internet marketer or a newbie you probably know that more and more internet using are browsing through their mobile phone devices or tablets. If you are using Email marketing to retain your customers, you should take action and start using SMS marketing the same way.

SMS marketing is relatively new. 3 billion mobile devices out of 4 billion have SMS capability (as of 2011).  SMS is limited in characters so you can't deliver the entire message to the customer, this is why you will need to be short and exact and refer the customer directly to where you want them to go, whether it's an informative page online or simply push them a coupon code along with a special offer.

Unlike Email marketing, SMS marketing is harder to measure in terms of effect. When sending out an Email campaign you can track the open rate, the click through rate, bounces and so on - you have full access to statistics and you can measure the effect starting from the click right through to the final action of the customer. In an SMS campaign you have to try harder.

SMS campaigns must contain specific tracking methods such as using a coupon codes that are unique to that campaign, or using a special landing pages (in case you are referring the customer to a specific landing page online). You need to take into consideration the hours in which it's best to send the campaigns (unlike Email Marketing in which the reader can go back to the email you sent, SMS will most likely to be read only once - again, there are exceptions).

The cost of sending out an SMS campaign is around the same as an Email marketing campaign.

Take into consideration that the CAN-SPAM act works on SMS marketing (or mobile marketing) the same way as it does on Email marketing - make sure not to spam your customers and send only to those who are interested in receiving information from you.