Do You Want More Characters in Your SMS Messages?
SMS messages are short and sweet. As a means to communicate between friends or family with a quick “I’m running late” or “What’s for dinner?”, they are perfect. But for many other purposes, the maximum 160 characters for SMS messages may not seem like enough.
This seems especially true for SMS marketing where you have limited space to get your message, call to action, and all the legally required opt out information in each message. You might think the 160 character limit is some arbitrary number, or perhaps that it’s determined by some computer limitation. But there was real research behind the choice.
In 1985, Friedhelm Hillebrand was working on the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSMC) as chairman of the non-voice services committee. He and the other committee members were trying to develop a standard for text messaging, which was primarily used for car phones at the time. The wireless network used was bandwidth limited, so they wanted something that would work both on the network and be sufficient to convey a message.
Hillebrand’s approach was to type out random sentences (on his typewriter – anyone remember those?) and count the number of characters – letters, spaces, punctuation and numbers. More often than not, the sentences were about 160 characters. So he made the case to the other committee members that his research supported using only 160 characters.
Apparently they agreed, and today we’re still using the same standard. The Twitter 140 character limit is also based on Hillebrand research as well. They reserve 20 of the 160 characters for the senders name, leaving the 140 for content.
Given the popularity of Twitter and SMS messaging, it seems Hillebrand and his colleagues were correct that 160 characters were enough. As hard as it can be to write a short message that conveys an idea or drives a call to action, I think the limit works in favour of the popularity. If SMS messages were as long as emails, I’d bet people would read them less often. But when someone gets a text message they know it’s something they can glance at and read – no major investment of time. We’re all time strapped these days, so quick is often best.
Of course with fastsms you’re not bound by such limits as you can send three linked messages up to 456 characters long in total!
Related Articles
How Your Health Club Can Start Using SMS to Support Members Today
You’re all excited about the number of new members you have in your health club thanks to your latest member drive. And you want to do everything you can to help them reach their goals and stay a member for a long time. Here's a quick few steps to get you up and running as quickly as possible.
In Store SMS Service Could Improve Sales
Have you ever been inside a Walmart or ASDA Supercentre? If you have, you’ll appreciate the possibility of what I’ll share in a moment. If you haven’t, try imagining walking into a store so big you can barely see one end from the other, where the shelves are packed with everything you might ever need, and staff who are often less than helpful (not everywhere mind you, but often). The point is you can get lost or frustrated if you’re trying to find a certain item that you need, or is on sale. Finding the right section is sometimes challenging, and even if you think you’re in the right spot you might not be.
Is Your SMS Marketing Keeping Customers Loyal by Being Fun?
When you think about your SMS marketing campaigns would you label them as fun? Is there any aspect of your SMS marketing or loyalty program that you think customers would call fun? If so, you're going to love what you read in this blog. If not, then you need to read this blog. It turns out that a little bit of fun and games can keep your customers more engaged – and more loyal.
5 Facts Your Business Should Know About A2P SMS Messaging
Is SMS messaging a good investment of your business’ time and money? A report from Mobile Ecosystem Forum shares some data on how SMS is being used, who is using it, and provides some evidence showing the answer to that question is most likely “Yes”!
Have a Mobile App? Promote it With SMS Messages
So you've got a great new mobile app, or an existing one without many downloads. With well over a million apps in both the Apple store and the Google Marketplace, it's no wonder you have trouble getting people to download it. How do you let people know about it, and make it easy for them to download?
SMS Mаrkеtіng for Wеb Dеѕіgn and Digital Marketing Agеnсіеѕ
A is for API Integration [Infographic]
Emergency SMS Messages for Vehicle Accidents: A Fastsms API Case Study
This SMS messaging case study explains how a student at the University of West England used the fastsms API in an experimental project aiming to improve vehicle safety. The post is Q&A session between Thomas West, the student, and fastsms, relating how the project unfolded.
Referral Marketing Through SMS Messaging
What is one almost guaranteed way of getting new customers? Ask for them. Really. Studies show that 83% of satisfied customers are willing to recommend a company, product or service to their family and friends. Here's how you can use SMS to simplify and improve your referral marketing.
Promoting Your App Using Your Website and SMS Messaging
By 2017 there will be 270 billion app downloads worldwide. And the Google Marketplace and the Apple App Store each have over 1.3 million apps available. You need to help people find your app if you’re to break through all that noise. Your website is a great place to start promoting your app, but maybe not in the way you might think.