This is the fourth entry in a nine part series on how corporate recruiters should use cell phone text messaging (SMS) as part of their college recruiting strategy. To read the entire series, either start with Part I or download our free recruiting white paper on the same topic.
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Top Ten Rules for Text Messaging Students
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Text messaging has certain guidelines that should be followed to help maximize the effectiveness of the campaign. Mike Baker, writing for Mobile Marketing Association, suggests the following:7 n7 V9 A# w3 q' v- ~( A

9 d# h" h* X9 v3 Z“Provide real value” – A student’s cell phone is his personal property and it should be respected at all times. You must use your message to entertain and inform while ensuring the relevance and value of what you have to offer.
: i8 H* e( u. P+ y' i0 [: ?/ Z“Integrate for higher impact” – The cell phone is a ubiquitous device. Smart marketing uses brief messages of no more than five or six words with calls to action that motivate students to “act now” in order to receive the best opportunities available to them.
. n* l/ l: @8 d3 c”Keep it simple” – Don’t assume that all of your target candidates are mobile literate. “Take into consideration the novice user and include specific instructions on how to respond. Mobile banner ads are a great way to gather cell phone numbers for future campaigns. Post-click actions make it easy for anyone to interact with your company and learn more about your career and internship opportunities.”
  W* b6 I; |- i% i. G2 V“Begin harvesting opt-ins --- yesterday” – As with emailing, your mobile messaging campaign is only as good as your opt-in list. Because it’s a time consuming process, it’s best to start building your list as early as possible. It’s also a good idea to add a field for capturing opt-in mobile phone numbers on your Web site, especially if you already have one for capturing email addresses.
/ W/ j: `, E- n! j& R, f* V' o“Make it social” – Besides using their mobile phones for socializing, students also like to show it off to friends, share ring tones, and photos. Again, smart marketing will use this to cultivate a mobile network and connect often with students interested in great educational and career opportunities.
0 B% r# H1 b3 r) |! ]“Map mobile mechanics to the five steps of branding – Always keep in mind the five steps of brand marketing: awareness, consideration, preference, purchase, and loyalty.” These will serve you just as well when campaigning for students and employees as it will when marketing to customers and clients. Clickable display advertising on mobile browsers will get your company noticed. Next, you’ll want to use mobile Internet sites and text messaging to keep in touch, and then provide downloadable content and text alerts to keep your school or company foremost in your candidates’ minds. Loyalty will come as a result of your always sending relevant, useful messages that keep the candidates wanting to come back for more information. 1 ~1 m! l0 L1 P, k2 W
“Capitalize on time targeting” – With mobile marketing, the ability to target by demographic, location or time of day is unparalleled because, for now, it’s still fairly uncharted territory. Candidates can be targeted at specific times to be alerted to upcoming events or opportunities. . Z. l# i( Y$ _6 g/ C! }  P4 C2 o
“Use rich media to make a compelling impression” – Although it’s not yet as popular as it is in Europe, mobile messaging in the United States is rapidly rising. This is especially true for picture messaging. Fifteen percent of American mobile users send picture messages. Smart marketers are taking advantage of this by developing entertaining promotional messaging that gets their brands shared with friends. This can work exceptionally well when promoting your school or company to college students.
' J" f* I) {4 d8 c5 P, z6 H“Provide instant gratification” – The greatest thing about mobile marketing is instant gratification. “Don’t reduce the power of that tool.” 7 L+ R: ^- a2 s
“Look to Las Vegas” – Positive reinforcement is a great motivator. Offering candidates some kind of reward for choosing to visit your site or participate in your campaign will further increase their loyalty and word of mouth will spread your school’s or company’s name to areas it might not have reached otherwise.

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