Text Messaging Featured Article

Mobile devices have become a ubiquitous part of our society, as is evident from the data released by Pew (News - Alert) Research. This study shows that 90 percent of American adults have a cell phone, and this trend cuts across races and geographical locations. These adults include employees, customers and partners of different businesses, so it is only logical for the business world to adopt mobile messaging as a part of its communication strategy.

There are two mobile messaging options available for businesses—namely, Short Messaging Service (SMS) or text messaging, and messaging over the Internet (“over the top” or OTT) through apps. There are advantages and disadvantages that come with both forms.

The primary advantage of text messaging is that it is already available on every phone—smartphone or not—and does not require users to install special apps. As a result, text messaging is ideal to reach out to the most users possible, without excluding those who don’t have a smartphone. Text messages also allow companies to reach users who are out of range of a mobile data network, ensuring that their messages will still get to customers. Whether sending a promotional deal, account update, or other notification, it’s important for customers to feel that they are receiving reliable communications from the companies they grant their patronage. SMS is the best way to reach across a wide population of users. And while in the past it could be expensive to send text messages across countries, more and more companies today are forming deals to make international texting easier and more cost effective.

OTT is a type of messaging through popular apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook (News - Alert), WeChat, SnapChat and Google Hangouts. The advantage with OTT messaging is that it is free (as long as the user is connected to Wi-Fi), and this can be useful when a business has to send messages across countries and is not affiliated with carriers that support international texting. For example, it could cost a few dollars to send one message from the U.S. to the U.K., but with OTT apps, it is free because these apps use the Internet to transmit messages. The downside, predictably, is that users need to own a smartphone to send and receive messages through OTT, and they can only send and receive OTT messages when they are “in network.” As far as business marketing goes, these obstacles may make OTT less appealing than text messaging.  

In short, there are advantages and disadvantages that come with both SMS and OTT, so it is best for businesses consider all the pros and cons before choosing one—or they could go for both to seek the widest possible reach.