Using SMS marketing software can be powerful and, depending on the program that you’re using, relatively simple. But it’s also fraught with challenges, the least of which are technical. Today, the single biggest problem companies face with mobile marketing campaigns is the failure to use them to their maximum capability.

This is primarily the result of businesses lacking the foresight and vision to understand the nature of the term “mobile marketing campaign” itself. In this case, “campaign” should never indicate a single event but an ongoing series of events. If all you intend to do is use SMS marketing software once or twice just to be able to add “mobile marketer” to your list of accomplishments, don’t even bother. You might get a temporary boost out of it, but the real way to make it work in your favor is to continually develop it as you would any other branch of your marketing.

Mobile marketing campaigns are about long term engagement with customers, not about promoting a single special. In order to keep people engaged, you have to develop an ongoing strategy. If a majority of your efforts lie in your email marketing, use the SMS campaign to increase your rate of opt-ins. Although this approach requires you to be able to cross-reference which of your mobile campaign subscribers haven’t yet signed up for your e-newsletter, with the right SMS marketing software this will be an easy task. If you learn how to blend your mobile marketing efforts with your email marketing efforts, your labors will yield a far riper, tastier, and ultimately “greener” fruit.