In the world of electronic communication, there are two major players — email and SMS. The former is the old guard, while the latter is the popular new kid on the block. They are also both important tools in today's marketing world. But is one more powerful?
A recent article from Business 2 Community examined this question, and the short answer is text messages. This piece cites several surveys that show why this is the case.
There are currently close to 7 billion mobile subscriptions around the world, which is equal to 95.5 percent of the global population. This doesn't mean that every person has a phone, as some have multiple subscriptions so it is closer to 4.5 billion mobile users and all of them have the ability to receive a text message. Email, by comparison, only has 2.5 billion users across the world.
Text message marketing is also nearly devoid of the spam that has overtaken email campaigns. The article says that 99 percent of texts are legitimate. These messages also have an open rate of 98 percent as compared to 22 percent for email.
"Business, groups, charities and sport clubs of all kinds are using SMS Marketing to deliver short sharp sales or information text messages to their relevant, opted in databases," the article reads. "Even Barack Obama used SMS Marketing in his 2008 campaign which secured his term in government."
Mobile text marketing is the best way for companies to engage with their customers using the latest technology. An SMS gateway service can help any business implement their best strategies.
