For those of you not in the know, SMS text marketing is definitely the way to go for businesses as it enables them to communicate with consumers on a one-on-one, direct basis almost instantly – as most mobile phones are always within their owners’ reach and always on. The open rates this creates are astonishing; with SinglePoint reporting that 98 percent of all text messages are read by the recipient – and 90 percent within the first three minutes.
When you think of SMS text marketing, do you automatically hear the selected noise your phone erupts when you receive a message? Well, this offering is a whole lot more than a text message and according to MemeBurn, SMS text marketing “is a funnel, in which marketers start with text interaction, optimizing their messages to drive traffic by including a link to rich media, video, or other personalized marketing materials (with a simple click-through on the SMS) where users then have the chance to decide which action they want to take. New innovations have sprung up that allow you to send a link to an entire mobile site packed with graphics, images and forms from inside an SMS.”
As SMS Marketing evolves into MMS Marketing, we’re sure to see new and exciting capabilities. In fact, researcher Informa Telecoms & Media predicts SMS will generate more than $722 billion between 2011 and 2016.
“There will not be a uniform decline in mobile operators’ SMS traffic and revenues as a result of the adoption and use of over-the-top messaging services," said Pamela Clark-Dickson, senior analyst, mobile content & applications, Informa (News - Alert) Telecoms & Media in a statement. “Factors such as the operators’ pricing strategies and the penetration of smartphones and mobile broadband in a market will determine how quickly and to what extent substitution occurs."
Research from the company also shows that total global SMS revenues will increase by 3 percent over the next five years with Western Europe yielding the highest amount of SMS revenues globally between 2011 and 2016, adding up to an impressive $174.1 billion, followed by the Asia Pacific region.
Around the world, findings highlight that SMS traffic will total 9.4 trillion messages by 2016, up from 5.9 trillion messages in 2011.
Get in the SMS text marketing zone or you will be left in the dust!
Edited by Rachel Ramsey