ISHPEMING - Ishpeming area residents and businesses are finding a new way to connect thanks to the Greater Ishpeming-Negaunee Area Chamber of Commerce text club.
"People don't leave their house without their cellphones," said Kate Annala, communications and marketing director for the GINCC. "It's a really easy thing for the shopper."
Area residents who are interested in the program can text "GINCC" to 313131 to sign up for the program. Then they will be regularly texted coupons and discounts that can be redeemed at participating GINCC member businesses.
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The club will eventually work up to sending out the deals on a weekly basis.
Businesses can also sign up to participate in the club, which is a good way for local businesses who haven't already started making use of technology to advertise to get started, Annala said.
"Technology can be really overwhelming, especially for some of our members," she said. "This is just another way to get that burden off their shoulders."
Although businesses may have attempted starting their own individual text clubs in the past, Annala said the GINCC club provides the combination of all of the member businesses reaching out to a wider public.
In addition to the regular texts, the club is also currently running a monthly giveaway. To be given away at the end of the month of June - randomly selected from those who are signed up for the text club - is a $50 gift certificate to Wilderness Sports. For July, the giveaway is a one-month free membership to the Ishpeming Anytime Fitness, which is set to open in July.
Any cell phone that accepts text messages can participate in the club and standard text message rates apply.
"It's a way for people to get excited about technology," Annala said.
For more information, visit www.gincc.org and click on "Monthly Text Giveaway."
Johanna Boyle can be reached at 906-486-4401.