Still... keeping it simple is king!

Question - How do you instantly and effectively reach thousands of consumers throughout Mexico?

Answer - Send an interesting SMS at the right time and to a self-identified audience that actually gets excited to hear from you! In short... use iPling!

SMS Marketing Tips for This Holiday Season and Beyond!

Here’s four ways you can begin implementing SMS marketing – whether it’s during the holiday season or beyond:

1) Get smart about sign-up incentives. Use in-store signage and QR codes to drive customers to sign up for SMS notifications. After customers scan a QR code, ask for permission to communicate with them via text messaging. Offering incentives such as coupons and exclusive products can help lock in new sign-ups.

2) Let customers dictate their messaging. Let subscribers pick what kind of information they receive via text and when. Newegg, a supplier of computer hardware, gives customers the choice of signing up for two types of alerts – “Daily Shell Shocker” and “Mobile Insider Deals” – both of which offer deals or other specials. The big difference between these alerts is frequency. By allowing customers to choose what type of content to receive and when, retailers improve engagement and, ultimately, sales.

3) Tap into SMS coupons. Get a coupon when you check out from the grocery store and it’s likely to end up in the trash within the hour; SMS coupons, on the other hand, hold far more potential for digital marketers long-term. According to a recent survey by RadiumOne, 42 percent of customers say they prefer receiving coupons via SMS. It’s important for retailers to remind customers that they can receive coupons and loyalty cards via SMS. One popular service is Passbook, which aggregates a user’s coupons, gift cards and event tickets – and can deliver them via SMS.

4) Turn text alerts into a competitive advantage. Savvy retailers like Amazon keep customers apprised of an order’s shipping status. These SMS alerts satisfy demanding customers and can reduce call-center costs. Brands that deliver on the promise of holiday delivery build loyalty. For example, Schwan’s, the online grocery service, sends SMS notifications to opted-in customers as a reminder about when their food delivery will arrive at their home. Schwan’s expects this program to be especially important during the holidays when its customers will be entertaining more than ever while still juggling their busy schedules.

iPling Groups now live in Canada, Spain and the UK!

We are pleased to inform you that our SMS Groups service is now live in Canada, Spain and the UK. People can now create groups in any of these countries and communicate via text messages in seconds with all of their followers. The service is currently intended for groups of up to 10,000 members. For additional information please contact support@ipling.com, or send "SOS IPLING" to one of the following numbers: Canada:  +1-587-409-6655, Spain: +34-91-106-7099, UK: +44-750-733-1888.

Chedraui, Mexico's third largest retailer, to begin using iPling in August!

Following on the footsteps of Walmart, Chedraui will soon begin communicating with its millions of store visitors with iPling's SMS notification service. We are so excited to be able to work with Chedraui and look forward to helping them create dynamic and interactive SMS campaigns that drive sales and increase client loyalty!

iPling + your fans = A safer sporting event!

Do you want to increase security at your stadium or sports facility? It's easy, just follow the new ways to report incidents used by our world champs San Francisco Giants. You can use iPling to let fans quickly send text messages to your security squad. If you want to get started send a text with "SOS IPLING" to 99123 and within seconds we will get in touch to design the best solution for you!

Get started. Text "SOS IPLING" to 99123.

Text SOS IPLING to 99123

2013 brings lower SMS rates to our clients!

iPling's philosophy consists in giving its clients not only the most user friendly SMS platform, but also to pass along any price discounts it negotiates with its carrier partners.  We are proud to announce that, beginning this February, we will be discounting our bulk SMS prices by roughly 50%, and the higher your monthly volume commitment, the more savings you can generate.

If you are thinking on ways to complement your outbound marketing campaigns or your internal corporate communications, we invite you to consider iPling's SMS platform. We've been the simplest and fastest way to get the word out for some time now, and now we are also one of the most price competitive.

To get started, send us an email to info@ipling.com or call us toll free within the U.S. at 1(866)637.9995 or from Mexico at 01(800)838.6018.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Happy Holidays!

The iPling crew wishes you happy holidays and all the best for 2013! Let's make it a year to remember!

Is Texting Mangling the English Language?

Do your OMGs and LOLs have you sometimes srsly forgetting how to write in proper English? If so, you may not be alone.

Texting is on the rise, and changing the ways people interact with language. For some high schoolers today, abbreviations like those above have likely been a part of their vocabulary since they learned to write a five-paragraph essay. So just how embedded in formal communications could texting slang become?

While that remains to be seen, there’s no doubting the impact it’s had so far. The Internet education portal OnlineSchools.com recently took a look at the trend and came up with some interesting findings via sources including the British Journal of Psychology, the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project and PBS.

Among the more interesting tidbits they report: An estimated 8 trillion text messages were sent in 2011, and 95% of cellphone owners between the ages of 18 and 29 send texts. A 17-year-old in Wisconsin even took home $50,000 this year for flawlessly typing a 149-character message in just 39 seconds. Several texting terms have made their way into the hallowed Oxford English Dictionary, and with good reason — 97% of 18- to 24-year-olds who own a cellphone text daily.

But before you get angry, and blame new-fangled technology for destroying our language, consider this: British politician Winston Churchill reportedly received the first OMG in an old-fashioned letter way back in 1917.

For more, check out the full OnlineSchools infographic at http://www.onlineschools.com/in-focus/text-talk. Then, let us know in the comments: Do you think text messaging is bad for the English language, or are its effects negligible?