SMS is the abbreviation for Short Message Service and involves sending and receiving text messages across phones and text-enabled or mobile devices.
Is SMS Messaging Relevant Today?
Text or SMS messaging remains a common form of communication despite the rise in the popularity of online chat services and applications. It is a standard messaging feature that operates across mobile networks and is used by individuals and businesses.
What is SMS Messaging?
SMS messaging is a service that allows you to send short texts using most types of mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. Mobile devices can send and receive text messages using standardized communication protocols established as far back as 1985. The Global System for Communications (GSM) was used to create the messaging system, which limits texts to 160 characters.
Individuals and businesses rely on SMS for fast and convenient communication. This includes sending and receiving quick updates to single or multiple recipients at the same time.
What makes SMS messaging unique is that it works without requiring a secure internet connection. A user will send a standard text over a cellular network, allowing one to forward updates or deliver snippets of information from locations that do not have the internet.
Despite the arrival of online applications and web-enabled messaging services, most mobile users continue to rely on standard texts for hassle-free communication. A text message can consist of a combination of letters, symbols, and numbers, but it can also deliver images in the form of an MMS.
What is MMS?
MMS is the shortened form of multi-messaging service. It is simply the variation of an SMS that includes images, audio, or short video clips. Much like an SMS, an MMS is sent over a mobile network.
Due to the large file size when transferring pictures or videos via text, an MMS takes longer to send and uses more data compared to a standard SMS.
How Does SMS Messaging Work?
Messages are sent from one person to another across a cellular or mobile network. When you send a text to a single recipient, the mobile network provider’s GSM system will transform the message into data, and along with the recipient’s mobile phone number, the personalized data is processed by a cellphone tower. The data is then transferred to another cellular tower located close to the recipient, and the message is delivered to the receiver’s mobile phone.
Businesses use a professional SMS provider to deliver bulk texts to customers. To send out a large number of texts, the business relies on a gateway system that consists of a web-enabled platform. Gateways can deliver large volumes of text messages in a matter of seconds.
Businesses can send programmable text messages using an SMS API, otherwise known as a Short Message Service Application Programming Interface. An SMS API works by automating the sending and receiving of texts. This type of marketing automation can save time and reduce the costs of manual SMS messaging.**
How Secure is SMS Messaging?
SMS messaging does not include end-to-end encryption because data is first sent to a mobile tower and then transmitted to the recipient. It is not directly forwarded from sender to receiver, making it less secure than alternative online messaging services or applications.
What are the Benefits of SMS Messaging?
Text messages can simplify marketing for businesses and provide instant communication for personal and professional purposes. SMS messaging offers the following benefits:
Fast and Reliable Communication
SMS messaging allows you to send updates to individuals or groups quickly and reliably. To confirm receipt of the text message, one can set up an SMS delivery report, which is a notification from the network provider confirming the text was successfully delivered to the recipient.
Engages Customers
Businesses can incorporate SMS messaging into a marketing campaign by notifying customers about special events, promotions, and order or shipping updates through text.
It Is Cost-Effective
Sending an SMS is more economical than making a phone call. It is favored by businesses for quick customer updates over direct mail or calls.
The Importance of SMS Messaging
SMS messaging is important because it simplifies communication for personal and business purposes. It does not require an internet connection, and instead, data is sent across a mobile network to deliver the text message to the recipient.
An SMS is convenient and cost-effective, allowing individuals and businesses to instantly send information to individuals or groups using their mobile devices.