What kind of text messages are there

SMS, or short message service, is a mobile text that can be sent peer-to-peer like a standard text message or from a mobile messaging service provider a marketing message. A consumer must opt into this type of messaging either on your website, through an email subscription request, or through your mobile application.

SMS can be a great technique to get directly in front of your consumer in a fast, effective, and concise manner. This is because SMS is:. Push notifications are messages or alerts delivered by your app to the user. This notification appears whether or not the user is engaged with the app or has it open. For a push notification to work, the user needs to have already downloaded your app, and in most cases, agreed to allow push notifications.

At the end of the day, it still comes back to your use case and what makes sense on a case by case basis. An SMS short code is a short phone number that is used for sending mass text messages. Short codes are the go to option when looking to send volumes of texts typically greater than 5oo in a single blast. Because they are built to handle high volumes, the cost for messaging is naturally higher. With that said, currently, most SMS marketing software services use short codes by default.

Choosing between SMS and MMS requires you to understand what your end users are more likely to engage with and what your use case is. Do you need to communicate a quick message and have people follow a link? If so, SMS may be the right choice. Speak to a Real Person: What is SMS? Frequently asked questions about SMS Now that you know the definition of SMS, here are some common questions that people typically ask.

What happens if an SMS exceeds the character limit? The SMS message will be broken up into several messages, depending on its length. In , most carriers chain these messages so that they arrive in order. How popular is SMS? In order to send these messages, the recipient has to have the same app downloaded on their phone.

Users continue to communicate on their smartphones the same way they did on their previous cell phones. Studies have shown time and time again that customers prefer to be reached via text. This is likely a result of SMS messages being shorter. This is a result of users receiving fewer spam texts than they receive spam emails.

The study showed SMS texts to have a 2. The data shows that customers trust SMS more than emails, and are more willing to engage with text messages.

Users have a closer connection with text messages than emails because they feel it is more personal and instantly accessible. Not everyone has their work email on their phone, and not everyone checks personal emails on their device as soon as they come through.

Text messages, however, elicit an instant response in many people and continue to be one of the most effective forms of marketing. Research also shows that SMS text messages are now the preferred form of communication for millennials over phone calls.

Young cell phone users have begun ditching phone calls and prefer to communicate via small short messages. This concept was proven popular following the development of SMS technology in the 80s and 90s, and it has remained popular possibly as a result of millennials having grown up with the technology. This phenomenon of people wanting to avoid talking over the telephone was observed in Japan at the beginning of the 21st Century. People still ask about the difference between SMS and text messages because text messaging is more relevant than ever before.

It has also become one of the most popular forms of marketing not just for businesses, but for customers as well. Text messages allow users to receive updates about products and services they are interested in, get quick updates about an appointment they have planned in the future, or receive important information about work from an automated system. Text messages are versatile, easy to send, and can be incorporated into automated business systems in a much simpler way.

For as long as users require quick and easy communication, text messages will be there to offer that important service.