Text Messaging

In the US, up to 47 percent of consumers say they're addicted to cell phones and use cell phones as the primary means of communication throughout the day. This is supported by the fact that 97 percent of adults in America own a cell phone. It's no surprise that most Americans today eat, sleep, and breathe near their mobile device with each smartphone coming out with new features, functionality, and accessories.

On average, Americans spend 2 hours, and 54 minutes on their phones each day and check it 344 times. If you do the math, consumers check their cell phones on average every four minutes and will spend 44 days on their phones this year alone. It seems that cell phones are not only a consumer’s most valued possession, but also their constant companions.

Even when you are in a place where you can’t physically be on your phone like the bathtub or swimming pool, phone brands have created accessories that are waterproof and connect to your phone allowing you to check your mobile messages without even touching your phone. These accessories usually come in the form of earbuds or smartwatches.

When wearing earbuds or a smartwatch you are immediately notified of incoming mobile messages and notifications. Wireless earbuds like Apple’s AirPods often read text messages and other notifications directly to you while smartwatches will ding and vibrate more like a cell phone. The most effective way to get in contact with someone is by text messaging them on their cell phone since more likely than not their cell phone is close to them. 

What Is Text Messaging?

The text message meaning is defined as an electronic communication sent and received by mobile phone. The act of sending and receiving text messages or texts is acknowledged as text messaging or also referred to as mobile messaging. Both brands and consumers can use text messaging to communicate with each other.

Consumers often use text messaging to communicate with family and friends, but they also may subscribe to a brand’s mobile messaging program in order to stay up-to-date on promotions the brand offers. Receiving messages about upcoming offers from their favorite brands could allow consumers to save money on things they wouldn’t be able to purchase otherwise.

How Do I Send Text Messages?

To send a text message you first need to open your mobile device. For sending text messages on iPhone and Samsung, you open your messages app and click the icon to compose a message. Then, you enter the phone number of the person you want to send the text message to. Finally, you compose the text message and click the send message button. You can also send text messages from your Macbook if you’re using Apple’s Messages.

If you are a brand using a mobile messaging system to send marketing messages via SMS, then you’ll need to follow the specific instructions for sending messages for that platform. For example, when using Lumavate you access the Messaging section of the Studio in the left-hand menu bar. Then, you click “Create New Message” which takes you to a step-by-step form for crafting your mobile message. This allows you to choose the internal title for the message that will display only in Lumavate, audiences who should receive the message, content of the message, and delivery date and time for the message. Once you’ve reviewed your message, you’ll hit send and it will either be sent immediately or at the scheduled date and time in the future that you selected. 

How Do I See My Text Message History?

Similar to when you go to send a text message, in order to view your text message history you click on your messages app on your mobile device. There your text message history is organized by contact. If you want to view your text message history further, you can click on different conversations and see the text message history listed in chronological order. You can also use keywords to search for specific text messages using the search bar at the top of the list of conversations in your messages app.

When brands use a mobile messaging system, there often is detailed history for all text messages previously sent. In Lumavate, the message history is shown in the Messages section of the Studio and allows users to see the most recent messages sent or scheduled. A user can also view a full list of the message history as well and even export it for additional analysis. 

What Is The Difference Between SMS and MMS?

SMS is an abbreviation for  Short Message Service, or another name for text message. There also is another similar text message offering known as MMS which provides additional functionality that SMS does not have. The simplest way to explain the difference between these two types of mobile messages is SMS refers to text messages, while MMS refers to messages with text, pictures, and video. 

SMS messages are the more popular of the two with 5 billion people globally sending and receiving SMS messages. SMS messages contain only text and can be up to 160 characters long. If an SMS message exceeds its 160 character limit, it will break up into multiple messages depending on its length. 

MMS stands for Multimedia Messaging Service. MMS messages are like an enhancement to the standard SMS messages. They allow you to send multimedia in your text messages and can have up to 1,600 characters of text. MMS messages can send media such as videos, pictures, audio clips, GIFs, and much more. 

Do All Text Messages Use SMS?

Often we refer to different message types as text messages or texts. These different message types can include MMS messages, iMessages,  and different social media messages. An SMS is generally sent from one mobile device to another over the cellular network. All text messages use SMS, so even though we refer to these different types of messages as text messages they are not since they do not use SMS.

Should I Use MMS or SMS?

If you are a brand, both MMS and SMS messages are great ways to communicate with your customers. There are pros and cons to each type of message and one may be more effective than the other depending on your use case and which type of message will give your mobile messaging campaign your desired results.

SMS messages have a 160-character limit which makes them faster and easier to compose. They are also cheaper to send than MMS messages and most phone carriers in the U.S. provide plans to consumers with unlimited texting which ensures SMS messages come at no cost to your subscribers. Brands often use SMS messages for order confirmations, shipping or tracking information, business or product updates, account reminders, account information, and loyalty programs. 

MMS can send multimedia in your messages allowing you to grab your customers' attention using photos or videos. If you are sending your customers longer content that may be over a SMS message’s 160-character limit, MMs might be the way to go since it has a character limit of 1,600. Brands often use MMS messages for mobile coupons or promo codes, product or menu photos, birthday messages, new sales or product announcements, and abandoned cart messages. It’s also important to note that sending an MMS is typically 4-5 times the cost of sending an SMS.

Now that you know the difference between SMS messages and MMS messages and the advantages of both, you can choose which one is best for your mobile messaging campaign. Whether you choose to use SMS messages, MMS messages, or a mix of both, your decision should depend on your marketing budget and desired use cases and outcomes for your mobile messaging campaign.

How Brands Can Utilize Mobile Messaging

Brands use a mobile messaging program to capture valuable customer data, drive brand loyalty, and of course increase revenue. Mobile messaging has unmatched engagement rates since most consumers are attached to their mobile devices 24/7. To further prove this, a study showed that 83 percent of millennials open texts within 90 seconds of receiving them. Also, text message open and response rates can be as high as 95 percent and 45 percent compared to email open and reply rates which are 20 percent and 6 percent. 

A mobile opt-in process for your mobile messaging program is a great way to capture zero-party customer data. This data is very valuable to the brand because the brand owns so therefore it’s not subject to the forthcoming issues with cookies.  Brands can collect this customer data by collecting mobile opt-ins and asking customers directly for their information through the mobile channel.

Mobile messaging has some of the best engagement rates which is why every brand should use mobile messaging to communicate with their customers. This is especially relevant for CPG and manufacturing brands because there aren’t a large number of these brands actively communicating with consumers via text which can cause your brand to stand out from the competition by investing in this type of channel. 

In fact, 75 percent of consumers enjoy getting text messages from brands. Your brand can bridge online and offline communications using mobile messaging by sending text messages to consumers to alert them of product launches, events, and much more. This helps bring customers into the store in order to purchase your products.

Getting Started With Mobile Messaging

The good thing about using a mobile messaging system is it’s easy to get set up. To get started, you need to secure a phone number that you plan to use for messaging. We recommend either using a long-code such as a toll-free phone number in the United States or a short code. Then, you need to capture subscribers! The two primary methods of collecting mobile opt-ins are texting a keyword to your designated mobile messaging phone number or incorporating a mobile opt-in option on a form submission. It’s important to note that if you do use a form submission to collect mobile opt-ins then you’ll need to send an immediate double opt-in confirmation message via text to confirm the submitted phone number wants to receive text messages from your brand.  s Using a platform such as Lumavate really simplifies the mobile messaging process for you by automatically sending double opt-in messages, tracking opt-outs, and providing real-time analytics. Lumavate also ensures your brand is always in compliance with the laws and regulations around using mobile messaging. Lumavate’s mobile messaging system enables you to launch a mobile messaging program faster and empowers you to send highly personalized text messages to specific audiences.

With Lumavate’s mobile messaging system, users can:

• Send Highly-Personalized Text Messages
• Maximize Subscriber Growth
• Promote Messaging Program
• Track Message Analytics 
• Integrate with Form Builder
• Automate Double Opt-in Process 
• Rely on Expert Compliance Guidance

Interested in driving revenue and brand loyalty using mobile messaging? Schedule a 30-minute meeting with one of our experts who can show how Lumavate’s Messaging functionality can solve your biggest business challenges. You can also take a tour of Lumavate’s Messaging capabilities within the platform here.