SMS and Texting are used interchangeably today by many businesses and millennials, but this isn’t the case in reality. We would try to split bean from the bean in this short article.
Texting
Texting is the general name given to electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters sent between two or more users of mobile devices or computers. In today’s practice, texting is usually limited to instant messaging chats among users of a social media or instant messaging app like Facebook, WhatsApp, etc. The character count is usually unlimited including emojis.
Texting is highly popular among millennials and is best situated for friendly chats and socialization. Apps like Snapchat have added even more fun to texting with features like stickers, short videos, GIFs, etc. Texting in its self works over a network of devices connected through the internet.
Simple SMS
This is better known as traditional or normal text messaging and is possible over a cellular network like MTN, Glo, etc. It uses standardized communication protocols to enable mobile devices to exchange short text messages and allows only 160 characters. Simple SMS was created for the purpose of creating an alternative to pass your message across to a person when he/she isn’t available for calls.
Due to SMS reliance on cellular networks, simple person-to-person SMS is still in use today as not everyone is connected to the internet. According to a study by techjury.net, 5 billion people still use SMS to text and receive a message. While SMS takes away the internet problem, it tends to be cumbersome when sending a large volume of text messages to a long list of contacts at once. That’s where Bulk SMS comes in.
Bulk SMS
Bulk SMS is the technique used to send a large volume of text messages that are sent over the internet to many mobile phone numbers at once. It is text messaging on a large scale. Businesses rely heavily on bulk SMS for their mobile or direct marketing because of its affordability, large scale, and personalization.
Bulk SMS can come in the form of SMS or MMS, depending on the type of message the sender wants to pass across. One of the unique features of bulk SMS is an eleven character Sender ID which allows recipients to receive bulk SMS from a sender without having them on their phonebook. Below are the full features of bulk SMS:
- An effective method of direct message across all cellular networks.
- Send messages from your own computer at home.
- Instant speedy dispatch of thousands of SMS at a single click.
- Phonebook for storing large recipients contact numbers
- Easy to use online desktop and mobile application
- Automatic insertion of entity names and surname in sending customized SMS.
- Easy and advanced phonebook/ contacts management – Online backup of all your contacts, including automatic removal of duplicate numbers. You can also retrieve your saved contacts on any device, at any time, and anywhere.
- SMS scheduling – arrange SMS to automatically send and deliver at a later date
- Send SMS to certain numbers in groups
- Downloadable delivery reports for every sent message
- Integration with existing systems using APIs
- Create messages in drafts and schedule for sending on a later date.
These and many more are reasons why bulk SMS remains the most effective mobile marketing tool, beating email, instant messaging, and phone calls. To get all of the above-mentioned benefits and more from a reliable bulk SMS provider, simply sign-up with SMSexperience and get 10 free SMS to test our platform!