The Rise of SMS Marketing
Let’s take a step back in time - when SMS marketing was an afterthought. In fact, no one knew what SMS meant. It was simply referred to as texting. Users were sold text packages with limited sends, some as low as 10 per month - and charged hefty overages for messages sent on top. Since users had low texting caps, sending a text was mostly used for emergency purposes. Messages from unknown contacts were simply not welcomed, and considered too expensive for all parties involved.
The Social Messaging Era
As texting caps increased, users started to text more frequently, and texting became more social. Texting soon became more popular than calling, thus changing the way we communicate on a daily basis. External messaging applications began to pop up, and marketer’s started to invest in content marketing. Since there were still external costs and limitations associated with SMS marketing, email marketing became a business’s tool of choice.
Email Marketing
Businesses loved the opportunities that email marketing presented. It allowed companies to send mass newsletters with large image attachments, videos, links, and tons of content. When something becomes popular however, it starts to attract people who want to exploit the system. The problem with emails, is that they were all sent through a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), which dates back to 1982, and it was not built with any encryption option. This security hole allowed spammers to thrive, and the reputation of emails took a beating. Through these questionable times, the sheer volume of emails continued to grow. Users started to become overwhelmed. Mailboxes were being filled with so much content, that spam filters were used daily, and users began to associate most of their messages as junk.
Present Day SMS
Throughout the years, texting has maintained its reputation for being taken seriously. The reason behind this is ironic, as it was the rise of instant messaging and social media that caused this. Users now filter out their messages, as they would filter out their emails. Thus, separating the social aspects of their life on external applications, and using SMS for important reminders, verifications, and alerts. Since SMS is internal, and functions on every mobile device the same way - once a business sends an SMS, it triggers multiple alerts on the user’s device. Through internal alerts and snippets which show without physically opening an SMS, each message essentially has a guaranteed read rate.
Global SMS Statistics:
- Open Rate: 98%
- Time to Reach Consumers: 30s - 2 mins
- Click Through Rate: 8.6%-13.3%
- For more statistics and current SMS trends: Click here
These days most users have unlimited SMS plans. This essentially eliminates the extra cost to receive an SMS. The cost of sending SMS messages are also much lower than in the past (Click to see pricing). In addition to this, SMS marketing is permission based. It’s illegal for business to send unsolicited messages. As an added security measure, most established SMS platforms diligently monitor fraudulent activity to protect the message recipient from most spammers. These protocols help to significantly reduce the amount of spam received on a recipient’s mobile device, thus protecting the integrity of SMS marketing.
Conversions Galore
When it comes to marketing, clients want more reporting tools, and methods of targeting specific customer groups. Segmentation is key, and automation is the future. The reason why SMS is making a comeback, is because it offers these tools, and so much more.
Once you are ready to start using SMS marketing to your advantage, it’s important to choose the right provider. Choosing a fast, reliable and secure platform sender is given. However, if you want to strategically take advantage of what SMS has to offer, make sure your provider has the following conversion optimisation features:
- Unique link tracking - Click here to read more
- Handset level delivery reports - to verify whether or not your recipient has received your message
- Automation for recurring campaigns - Click here to read more
- Ability to intergrate with your existing apps - Click here to read more
- A local support team to help you in emergency situations
Sources
PC World, Oracle, One Reach, Forbes
