Text Messaging Featured Article

There has been a lot of buzz about the growing popularity of messaging apps lately and whether or not these apps will soon make traditional SMS text messaging irrelevant. But, those who dismiss SMS messaging, particularly businesses, are doing themselves a huge disservice by thinking this way, and there are plenty of reasons why.

Not everyone has a smartphone

Messaging apps are only available on smartphones, on which apps can be downloaded. According to the Pew (News - Alert) Internet Project, as of this year, a staggering 91 percent of American adults own cell phones, while only 56 percent own smartphones. This distinction is important, because while both cell phones and smartphones are SMS-enabled, only smartphones can use messaging apps. These apps function by using data, which also means that users must be prepared to use quite a bit of that data in order to talk over them. The key take-away here, however, is that if businesses want to reach the largest amount of potential customers possible, they should focus their efforts on SMS outreach, which is available to far more people—over 90 percent of the adult population in the U.S.

But what about beyond the U.S.? In a thought-provoking post on Gigaom, Kevin Fitchard suggests that SMS can act as a sort of surrogate to the Internet in the developing world by connecting people in countries all over the world without the limitations of ultra-modern technology.

“In places where there is no fiber or landlines of any sort, no access to internet, PCs or even wireline phones, there are still mobile phones and they’re all capable of sending and receiving the lowly SMS message,” Fitchard writes. “That’s a very powerful tool that can be used for research, commerce, banking, even economic development.”

Even smartphone owners still use SMS on a regular basis

According to ACISION, 92 percent of U.S. smartphone owners and 96 percent of U.K. smartphone owners continue to use SMS. What’s more, U.S. smartphone owners use SMS to send an average of 111 messages per week. While plenty of smartphone users take advantage of over-the-top messaging apps, SMS is still used by the vast majority, making it pretty clear that traditional text messaging continues to thrive as a means of quick and easy communication.

In fact, Google (News - Alert) even upgraded its Hangouts app for mobile phones (specifically, the Nexus 5) in October of this year to integrate seamlessly with SMS messaging, so that users can still talk through SMS and receive SMS messages while using the app. And, did you know that Twitter (News - Alert) started as messaging service solely through SMS, and that people can still post tweets through SMS today? The 140-character limit actually originates from the fact that keeping tweets short would decrease the cost per SMS message.

SMS is a powerful business tool

Speaking of Twitter and Google, these two tech giants understand that SMS continues to have a place in communications today, and that it’s simply good business to make that option available to consumers. In April of this year, BIA/Kelsey forecasted that local mobile advertising revenues in the U.S. will grow from $1.2 billion in 2012 to $9.1 billion in 2017. This should perk up the ears of businesses looking to grow and improve their marketing campaigns. SMS messaging will yield results.

Adopting SMS has never been easier for businesses. Offerings like TextGen allow companies to text-enable their existing landlines so that they can send and receive text messages between clients and customers, opening up an efficient and cost-effective line of communication that will give an edge in customer engagement. And, Text2Printer technology can even convert take-out and fast food orders sent via text message into printed slips for restaurants. There are tons of ways for businesses to take advantage of SMS.

So, while messaging apps on smartphones are certainly a popular way to communicate, the facts are pretty clear. Nearly all cell phone users, regardless how “smart” their phones are, use SMS to connect to their friends, families, and favorite businesses. It seems that perhaps the best messaging app, as it turns out, isn’t an app at all.