98% Open Rate with 95%-99% Click-thru Rates - SMS Marketing

SMS Marketing has been around for a long time, but it is still the most efficient way to reach your customers. Text message marketing or SMS marketing is 98% open with 95%-99% click-thru rates. Text message marketing will give you an open rate of 3 minutes which means that people are reading your content rather than just scrolling past it. Text Message Marketing also provides you with analytics on how many texts were sent and how many replies they got back. Text Message Marketing will help generate more revenue for your business!

Let's take a look at the history of SMS/text message marketing.

It's been almost 30 years since texting was invented. That's true: on December 3rd, 1992, a 22-year-old British engineer named Neil Papworth, the former software developer at Sema Group Telecoms, transmitted the first SMS text to Vodafone Director Richard Jarvis. Jarvis wasn't able to respond back and have a text conversation with Neil since his brick-sized Orbitel 901 mobile phone didn't have a qwerty keyboard yet, despite the fact that he had installed QQ Messenger.

“I had no idea how popular texting would become, and that this would lead to emojis and messaging applications used by millions of people. ” Papworth has remarked on several occasions. “With the benefit of hindsight, it's apparent that my Christmas message was a defining moment in mobile history.”

Reading, United Kingdom-born and raised John Papworth began his career as a developer for games. He left school at the age of 16 to get an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in computer studies. In his leisure time, Papworth became a master of dial-up bulletin board systems, which was the precursor of social media.

After completing a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Computer Sciences in April 1991, Papworth joined Sema Telecom's graduate program. The concept of SMS text messaging was gaining traction; some devices could receive messages but not send them.

At the time, Papworth had been trying to develop a Short Messaging Service (SMS) for his client, Vodafone. Vodafone engaged Sema Telecoms to build a text messaging system. The goal was to allow secretaries to send text messages directly to managers and techs instead of making phone calls. Little did Papworth realize what his invention would become! The utilization of text messaging for this case paved the way for other industries to adopt texting.

By 1992, mobile phones could receive and transmit SMS text messages. These initial text messages were free and only possible between people on the same mobile network, such as AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile.

In 1993, Nokia produced a new SMS function known as a "beep," which signified you had an incoming message, and in 1994, IBM launched "Simon," the first touchscreen mobile phone.

It wasn't until 1995 that Papworth was able to purchase his first cell phone. Following the establishment of Vodafone's SMS texting service, he developed messaging networks in over a dozen cities across the world, from Toronto to Seattle to Sydney and Singapore. The year 1993 saw the release of Tegic, also known as "T9," which offered predictive text technology that "predicted" what people were typing. The world would never be the same!

Texting is a relatively recent mobile communication technology.

In 1997, Nokia released the Nokia 9000i Communicator-the first cell phone with a qwerty keyboard. Because text messaging had a 160-character limit, early adopters created their own text language-also known as text speak or "txt spk." This was the first text-based forum, and it included things like LOL (laughing out loud), ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing) and emoticons, which are symbols made from keyboard characters such as :'-) and :-'*) to express emotions. Later on, this might lead to the invention of the first official emojis

In 1999, seven years after Papworth's first text message, affordable phone contracts and smaller phones were introduced, and texting between different networks became possible, increasing text messaging's popularity to new heights.

By 2002, more than 250 billion SMS messages had been sent all across the world.

Around 2003, 5 and 6-digit short codes for text messaging were introduced. With this, major businesses began massive SMS marketing campaigns such as the Pontiac G6 giveaway and Nike's Times Square design campaign.

In 2007, Apple launched the iPhone in the United States. This ground-breaking mobile phone, which included a virtual keyboard, became the standard design pattern for subsequent smartphones. In the same year, text messaging volumes surpassed regular phone calls for the first time, with 2.4 billion texts sent across the world every day.

In 2010, the Cambridge Dictionary recognized "text" as a verb, which means to send a text message.

In 2011, Apple launched iMessage, an instant messaging service that operates solely on Apple platforms: macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS.

Many cell phone users switched to other instant messaging services like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and iMessage instead of traditional texting applications in the years after. However, SMS messaging is still the most widely used device function: 5 billion individuals are able on a daily basis to send and receive SMS messages, with more than 200,000 SMS texts sent every second.

“It is an essential step in the evolution of mobile phones,” Elizabeth Bruton, the Science Museum's technology and engineering curator in London, noted. According to Burton, “For the first time, we have mobile phones that are more than just literal mobile phones, going beyond voice communications to a new application of the mobile spectrum —Text messaging is simple to use, requires no Wi-Fi or data connection, and is one of the most popular methods of contacting friends, family, and businesses.

Occasionally, we're asked whether you can send a text to a regular phone rather than a mobile phone. You younger folks may be asking: What is a landline number? A landline phone number is a phone number that depends on physical wires to transmit voice communications. Mobile phones, smartphones, and cellphones use radio waves to send voice calls and texts, so they aren't considered landlines. There is no need for a physical wire.

Today, many people own mobile phones, and landline phones are becoming obsolete in many areas of the world and United States. For many individuals, their phone number is the only one they have. For text message marketing, companies usually obtain their own short code—a 5 to 6-digit number referred to as a short code—that they can use to communicate with consumers. Short codes are easier for customers to remember and recall than 10-digit phone numbers. Read more about short codes here.

Why you should utilize text message marketing in your client interactions is a topic that could be expanded upon.

1. It's a one-on-one communication channel that is both rapid and direct.

SMS is a fast and efficient way to communicate. Within 15 minutes, delivery, you may count on that your time sensitive information will be read. SMS campaigns have an excellent ROI, with an ROI of over 50% when combined with other common channels such as email and social media.

2. Shortcodes may be used to reduce response time while also increasing database size.

Customers may add a shortcode or keyword to print collateral, advertisements, and advertising boards on their own. This technique causes customers to become familiar with the brand's code and keyword sooner, making them more likely to interact and respond.

3. It may work in tandem with other platforms and media.

SMS is not only important in the marketing mix, but it's also critical that all channels operate effectively together. SMS is an excellent standalone channel, but it may also be used to complement and augment other marketing methods, such as social media and email.

Not only is SMS fantastic on its own, but it can also be used to complement and boost other popular media platforms among customers, such as social media and email.

They provide us with a way to connect the dots between what we do and who we are. They can, for example, help remind customers to read an email from a company hours or even days before it was sent. A simple follow-up text message asking "have you received our email yet?" may assist boost email open rates by 20% -

4. You may discover more about your clients by reading the following material:

The SMS channel is an excellent method to gather customer feedback using surveys. According to study, on average 31% of customers will respond to a survey sent through SMS, with the standard response time being 5 minutes. As a result, you may get great results in a short amount of time.

5. Customer engagement can be improved by:

Consider SMS as a means of improving how your brand interacts with customers across the whole customer lifecycle. Businesses should remember to vary the type of information they provide, while consumers value updates and news on forthcoming developments within the company.

Many consumers are used to texting from when they use local services like dentists, garages, or hairdressers, as well as public services like the NHS. This is a fantastic illustration of how the NHS is engaging its audience during an evidently high-engagement event!

6. The ability to receive and analyze feedback data allows you to keep track of, measure, and improve your performance.

SMS campaigns, as shown in this book, are the foundation for developing a more customer-centric company. Through SMS, you may find out what your customers think and how they feel so that you can provide personalized service based on their needs. You may also collect data about specific people that is private but valuable to marketers and small business owners by using SMS

These metrics allow organizations to develop more specific campaigns and improve their understanding of their mobile database. SMS not only saves money while improving ROI, but it also allows a company to target consumers via email or another channel by profiling and segmenting out numbers that are unlikely to respond.

If you need assistance or would like to learn more about SMS Marketing or Text Message Marketing, contact us at 951-746-5915 or go to evolutionsolutionmarketing.com for further information.

Happy Text Message Marketing!