SMS vs. Instant Message App Marketing
It seems there’s a new messaging app popping up every month. Maybe even more frequently than that. It’s hard to keep track of them all, but it’s also hard to ignore them if you’re looking to use mobile marketing. When you’ve got limited marketing resources, should you spend them advertising on the latest instant message (IM) app, or go with SMS marketing?
It’s a good question to ask, so lets look at them both first before making a decision.
In the UK in 2013, Whatsapp, closely followed by Facebook messaging, dominated the mobile IM market according to Statista (Facebook bought Whatsapp earlier this year). The next closest are Twitter and Apple’s iMessage. Statista also reports that 33% of Brits are interested in free or low cost instant messaging, but 37% were not interested at all (the rest didn’t even know there were options!).
Clearly people like their IM apps (even if they aren’t free). International Business Times (IBT) reported in January of this year that more IMs were sent in 2013 than SMS messages. They predict the trend will continue through 2014 and beyond. So does it make sense to jump right into IM marketing before the SMS boat sinks?
Not so fast.
The IBT article also said that SMS will continue to generate more revenue than IM apps. And the ultimate objective of all marketing is to bring in revenue by generating more web site traffic, in store sales, or other activity.
There are lots of reasons SMS will continue to do this better than IM apps, but here are the main ones:
- SMS is the only universal solution. Anyone with a mobile phone can receive a SMS message. If you market using an IM app, you’ll have to repeat or recreate the campaign for each app you target. If there ever is an app that everyone uses, then this may change. But for now it looks like SMS is the only way to reach anyone and everyone on their mobile phone.
- Open and read rates for SMS are very high and fast. It’s hard to find any solid data on how often and fast messages sent via IM are read, but for marketers you may not be using the message feature of an IM app anyway. For some apps the only option may be to use mobile banner or video ads. Others are more like social networks where you can collect followers and share your brand or products via messages. In either case, you’re not going to see the immediate response you may get with SMS.
- No hoops to jump through. SMS marketing has a legally defined opt-in process. But when you start looking at using mobile IM apps, the way to reach your customers (or potential customers) can be totally different. You may have to go through the process of getting people to “like”, “follow”, or connect with you before you can message them directly the way you can with SMS. There are undoubtedly as many methods as there are IM apps out there. In comparison, running an opt-in campaign for SMS is simple.
- SMS provides a pre-qualified list. When you think about it, people that opt in to receive SMS messages really want to hear from you. SMS is, or can be, a very intrusive and personal form of communication. You’re contacting them on their private mobile number after all. There’s much more trust and expectation involved in a SMS opt in than just having someone follow you or see your ad while using their IM app. These people will be much easier to sell to than a casual connection in an app.
It’s no wonder why IBT predicts SMS will continue to generate more revenue than IM apps – about 50 times the revenue generated by all the IM apps combined. So if you can only pick one channel – SMS or IM app – my bet would be on SMS. Do you agree?
Related Articles
7 SMS Marketing Ideas for the May Bank Holiday
A Demonstration on How Not to Build Your SMS List
Over the last month or so I've signed up for quite a lot of webinars. I'm always trying to learn more about technology, marketing, best practices – you get the idea. So I've been excited to see many organisations offering SMS reminders for webinars. But there is one experience I had with an SMS reminder for a webinar that I simply had to share.
The Second Most Important Rule of SMS Marketing
Text message marketing works because it is short, quick, personal, and immediate. You don't want to annoy the people you're reaching out to. If you're running an opt-in campaign, or a contest, keep the process to as few steps as possible.
Do Your Customers Trust You?
I think for much of the last decade, people used the Internet and then mobile devices, without giving too much thought about what they were doing. Or more accurately, what other people were doing with their information. But then came Edward Snowden in 2013 who revealed governments were collecting and using our personal data in ways we hadn’t imagined.
How to Capture the Essence of Autumn in Your SMS Marketing Campaign
SMS Marketing – 4 of the UK’s Best Ever Campaigns
Discover how to come up with an SMS marketing campaign in this article which looks under the surface of some of the UK's most successful ever SMS marketing campaigns. Whether you are looking to boost revenue, improve customer satisfaction or help your brand stand out with a unique and memorable promotion, this article shows how a simple approach to SMS messaging can work wonders for your company.
An A-Z of SMS Marketing: C is for Character Count [Infographic]
3 Ingredients for Successful SMS Marketing
Improve SMS Marketing ROI By Giving Your Customers Options
SMS messaging offers some of the highest click through rates in mobile marketing. But did you know it could be even better? See how one retailer improved their click rates by offering their customers different options in their messages. Then see how you can do the same.
How to Choose the Incentive for Your SMS Marketing Opt-In Campaign
You’ve decided to try out SMS marketing. But you’re stuck on that first step of choosing the offer for your initial opt in campaign. Don’t worry, if you know the story of Goldilocks then you’ll understand just what to do after reading this blog.