It is a fact that today almost everyone has a mobile phone capable of receiving and sending text messages. And we all know that no one is ever very far from their mobile phone. It seems that they have now permanently attached themselves to our hands. This is the obvious reason why mobile marketing growth is increasing.

However, many businesses still make considerable use of print advertising, and for many it remains an important component of their marketing budgets. The challenge is to take this traditional advertising medium and find ways to make it more impactful and take it to the next proverbial level.

A very easy way to do this is to use the latest mobile marketing solutions and add a text number or short code to your print ads, thereby turning the print ad into an interactive ad. Here is an example.

Most major movie studios use print advertising in various publications that are tailored to the target demographic of a particular movie. The interactive factor of the print ad is to include a short text code: the “call to action.” The short code allows anyone to simply send a text message using their mobile phone and then quickly receive a link to the website of the studio promoting that movie to view a trailer promoting the movie and, of course, additional content. Then that content can be viewed directly on your mobile phone.

There are a number of important factors that are also very advantageous to the marketer. With the right technology, the movie studio now has the consumer’s mobile phone number, as well as one of the categories of movies they prefer to watch. The film studio is now building a powerful database of potential consumers based on their specific interests, allowing the studio to promote similar film genres for these specific consumers in the future.

Also, the studio doesn’t have to develop specific apps for various smartphone operating systems and can interact with any consumer with a mobile phone and frankly that’s for everyone. The result is that a traditional form of advertising has now become an interactive medium with minimal cost to the studio.

This example should encourage many businesses to start incorporating shortcodes into many other aspects of their marketing, from yellow page ads to billboards, direct mail, and even the traditional business card. Combine SMS text messaging with the latest mobile marketing software and you can increase your marketing reach economically and efficiently.