With smart phones and tablet PCs growing in popularity, today’s digital lifestyle is becoming more and more fast-paced. As reported by The New York Times, Google engineers are now saying that the blink of an eye – or 400 milliseconds -- is too long to wait. Even this delay is causing people to lose interest and abandon their latest search.  

As more and more people use smart phones and mobile devices for everything from downloading maps and videos to scanning a QR Code on a website, Google is on a new quest to become even speedier.

But while it’s interesting to take note of Google’s latest initiatives, this also reminds us why it continues to be a challenge to reach your target audience using traditional marketing methods - and that goes for businesses that choose to use only email as their main marketing channel.

Rounding out your marketing strategy with SMS text messaging, you can be sure to counter the reality that the attention spans of today’s consumers are getting shorter and shorter. The flood of information people face daily is not slowing down – so why should you expect the same from your customer? Here are a few mobile text marketing tips to help you create the perfect campaign for the highly distracted, quick to move-on consumer:

• Keep your text messages short and to the point. You’ll want to make sure that you highlight what needs to be said in a short and concise way and that you are always mindful of your audience.
• Know the lingo. You can minimize space by using abbreviations and shortened words like “thru” instead of “through” whenever possible.
• Test messages, including links, internally or personally before sending them out to customers.
• Don’t isolate yourself. The best way to be sure that your mobile text marketing campaigns stay effective is to keep an eye towards industry best practices. You’ll get a lot of insight from organizations like the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and the Direct Marketing Association. Each of these publish information that can be invaluable to your campaigns and your business.

As mobile technologies gain even a greater stronghold, business’s need for speed will only increase. So, be sure that your audience doesn’t pass you by without first accessing your mobile and multi-channel marketing messages. It’s up to you to make them compelling, catchy and user friendly enough to resonate with them.