Types of Messages—SMS, RCS & More—and How to Effectively Leverage Them in Your Marketing

In the marketing world, the term SMS is often used interchangeably with “mobile messages,” but this isn’t entirely accurate. While SMS is indeed the most common type of promotional mobile message, it is not the only one available. Additional types include MMS, RCS, push notifications, and in-app messages, amongst others. In the following discussion, we will break down how these various types compare, detailing the pros and cons of each to provide a comprehensive overview of mobile messaging options.

Short Message Service (SMS)

SMS, or Short Message Service, is one of the simplest and most familiar ways to connect with people through text messages. It allows businesses and individuals to send short, straightforward messages—up to 160 characters—directly to mobile devices, making it a go-to tool for quick and effective communication.

A2P SMS, or Application-to-Person SMS, is how businesses send messages to customers through automated systems. Whether it’s a special offer, an appointment reminder, or an order update, most marketing texts fall into this category, helping brands stay connected and deliver value right to their audience’s fingertips.

Pros of SMS Compared to Other Types of Mobile Messages

• SMS is more affordable than many of the other types of messages detailed in this article. While the cost difference may seem negligible at first glance, it becomes increasingly significant as your audience grows and the number of campaigns expands.
• Promotional messaging should be straight to the point by its very nature, meaning that the character limitations of SMS won’t restrict your outreach in most circumstances.
• Unlike other types of mobile messaging, SMS easily accommodates two-way communication between you and your customers. To dive deeper, check out 2-Way SMS is a Breakthrough for Franchise - Learn Why & How With Voxie.

Cons of SMS Compared to Other Types of Mobile Messages

• SMS only supports plain text, which means businesses cannot include images, videos, or other rich media to create more engaging and visually appealing content.
• The 160-character cap can make it difficult to convey detailed or complex messages, often requiring businesses to simplify their communication or send follow-up messages to fully deliver their message.

Tools like Voxie allow clients to manage SMS and MMS from a single account to overcome this limitation.

When to Use SMS Over Other Types of Mobile Messages

• Personalized messaging: There’s no denying the eye-catching benefits of images and GIFs. However, they often overshadow the accompanying words. For this reason, let your personalized marketing texts shine by opting for SMS over other types of flashy mobile communications.
• When operating on a limited budget: SMS is one of the most affordable types of mobile messaging, making it ideal for businesses looking to maximize their outreach without overspending. Compared to formats like MMS or push notifications, SMS allows you to connect with a large audience while keeping costs low.
• Non-special communications: For straightforward updates, reminders, or promotions that don’t require elaborate visuals or interactive elements, SMS is the perfect choice. Its simplicity ensures your message is clear and direct, without unnecessary complexity.
• Non-visual offerings: If your product or service isn’t highly visual by nature, SMS is a great fit. For example, services like discounted snow removal or tutoring sessions don’t rely on images or videos to convey their value, making SMS an effective and efficient way to communicate these types of promotions.

Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)

MMS, or Multimedia Messaging Service, takes text messaging to the next level by allowing you to send images, audio, and video along with your text. Unlike standard SMS, MMS offers a more vibrant and interactive experience for your audience.

Want to learn more? Read Leveraging MMS in Marketing (With Examples) - How & Why.

Pros of MMS Compared to Other Types of Mobile Message

• MMS allows you to include images, GIFs, and videos in your messages, making them more engaging and visually appealing than plain text SMS messages.
• Compared to the 160-character limit of SMS, MMS offers a significantly higher word count, giving you more flexibility to convey detailed information and craft compelling narratives.

Cons of MMS Compared to Other Types of Mobile Message

• MMS messages are generally more expensive than SMS messages; at Voxie, MMS generally costs an additional $0.015 per recipient. For this reason, our article SMS ROI & Expected Costs for Text Marketing recommends using it judiciously and thoroughly testing your campaigns to ensure they deliver the results you’re aiming for.

When to Use MMS Over Other Types of Mobile Messages

• Major holiday sales: Leverage the visual power of MMS during big shopping events like Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day or Black Friday to capture attention and drive sales with compelling images and multimedia.
• Introducing new products: Showcase new offerings with engaging visuals to highlight features and benefits, making a stronger impact than text alone.
• Highly visual offerings: If you’re marketing products like clothing or food, MMS can go a long way to piqueing the interest of recipients. After all, why send a message about 30% off burgers and not show a picture of a fresh-off-the-grill burger to whet appetites?

Most companies that use text message marketing find that a combination of both SMS and MMS works best, especially when using tools like Voxie that support both formats seamlessly. This allows for a balanced approach that maximizes engagement and cost-effectiveness.

Rich Communication Services (RCS)

Like its name implies, rich communications services (RCS for short) can accommodate the inclusion of media and interaction. Unlike MMS, which sends texts as media messages, RCS uses data to provide enhanced features like high-quality images, read receipts, and group chats.

Pros of RCS Compared to Other Types of Mobile Message

• RCS enables the sending of larger files, even surpassing the capabilities of MMS for high-resolution photos, videos, and documents.
• RCS makes interactive features possible, such as read receipts, typing indicators, carousels, and suggested replies, creating a richer and more engaging conversation.

Cons of RCS Compared to Other Types of Mobile Message

It’s natural to wonder why you may not have heard of this type of text marketing, and why SMS continues its dominance. To begin with:

• RCS isn’t supported by all mobile carriers or devices, so if the person you’re messaging doesn’t have RCS enabled, your message might default to regular SMS or MMS.
• Building interactive and engaging RCS messages can be tricky and often requires a developer’s help, as features like carousels and suggested replies add complexity and can increase costs compared to simple text messages.
• Unlike some messaging apps, RCS doesn’t always offer end-to-end encryption, which means your messages could be vulnerable to interception or unauthorized access during transmission, raising concerns for sensitive conversations.

In short–RCS is still fairly new. It signifies great future opportunities, but this particular type of mobile messaging is still working out many of the kinks not present with alternatives like SMS and MMS.

Push notifications

Push notifications are messages sent directly to a user’s mobile device from an app they’ve downloaded, even when the app isn’t open. They’re a way for apps to engage users with updates, reminders, or promotions in real-time.

Pros of Push Notifications Compared to SMS and Other Message Types

• While SMS boasts an impressive open-rate of 98%, push notifications require no actions for the recipient to view the message.
• Push notifications are free to send, whereas SMS and other messaging types incur a cost per message. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean push notifications are overall the more cost-saving option, for reasons we’ll explore below.

Cons of Push Notifications Compared to SMS and Other Message Types

• Push notifications require having an app in the first place, which involves both the initial costs of building the app and ongoing upkeep expenses.
• Users must download the app to receive push notifications, which can be a barrier for some customers who may resist adding another app to their devices.
• Push notifications can feel intrusive to users, as they pop up directly on the screen without any action taken by the recipient.
• Push notifications are limited to text or still graphics, whereas MMS and RCS allow for richer media types like GIFs, videos, and other dynamic content.
• Apps are not always beneficial for every type of business, as highlighted by Vox: “The awkward thing about this entire situation is that apps aren’t always the greatest deals for the companies that insist on having them. Many websites perform just fine on mobile now — which hasn’t always been the case — in terms of user experience and even tracking. And if not enough people use an app because there isn’t a need for it, the endeavor turns out to be a waste of time and money … While there are a huge amount of people who download apps, you know what there are not? A huge amount of people who use that app more than once after they download it. There are astronomical abandonment rates.”

When to Use Push Notifications

The real question is: when does it make sense for a company to invest in building an app? While there are many reasons for an organization to launch its own app, some telltale signs that it might be time include:

• Interactions occur frequently and almost entirely online, such as with an eCommerce store.
• Customers cannot access your services without an active account, as is the case with platforms like Airbnb or banking services.
• Customers benefit from having a centralized location for personalized documents, transaction histories, or saved communications.

Determining Which Type of Text Message Marketing to Use When

While we’ve shared general tips on when to use MMS, SMS, and other messaging types, we recommend digging into your own data to find what works best for your brand.

The answers often lie in testing. Compare the results of different campaigns to see which messaging type performs best. Does MMS get more engagement than SMS? If so, does the increased engagement outweigh the added costs?

Remember that what works for one campaign might not work for another. Be sure to test different campaign types, such as holiday deals, new product launches, and coupon text alerts, to optimize your strategy.

Bring Your Text Marketing Strategy to Life With Voxie

Voxie aims to be the all-in-one text marketing platform specifically designed for the unique needs of franchises and multi-location businesses. Yes, we support both SMS and MMS, but our value extends far beyond the basics. We empower your text marketing strategy with features like:

• In-depth reporting made easy to understand through strategic visuals.
• AI-supported 2-way texting made possible through Conversational Intelligence.
• Automated segmentation of contacts based on extracted information.
• Quick Blast AI Message Assistant to help craft compelling content.
• Multi-level access to Voxie dashboards.

Because we specialize in empowering our clients’ text marketing strategies, we continuously evolve our capabilities to keep pace with the ever-changing industry. We’re committed to providing the tools and insights you need to succeed in the dynamic world of text marketing.