Effective marketing isn’t about forcing your business on people who aren’t interested — it’s about starting a conversation with those who are. Using SMS and MMS text message marketing to stay in contact with your customers is one of the best ways to engage the right people and grow an engaged customer base.
But not all text message marketing is the same. Here’s why you may want to consider incorporating MMS messaging into your next campaign.
What Is MMS Marketing? 3 Key Points
When you’re texting images to your friends and family, you may not realize that you’re sending a different kind of message.
- Your phone’s MMS service allows for a picture text, a video text, a text message with an animated GIF, or a written text message that’s too long for SMS.
- A text message that includes only words and emojis is an SMS message and tops out at 160 characters.
- Any message that either exceeds the 160-character limit or includes other media such as a picture or video is MMS messaging.
What Does MMS Mean?
MMS stands for Multimedia Messaging Service. Typically, an MMS message can contain up to 500 kb of data, which is enough for a 30-second audio or video file. About 98% of consumers have a mobile device that is able to send and receive MMS messages, so you can imagine why including picture texts in your SMS marketing plan would drive results.
How Is MMS Different From SMS
- MMS is longer. MMS messaging allows for up to 1,600 characters while SMS is only 160 characters.
- MMS is more dynamic. Multimedia text messages contain images, audio, and video whereas SMS is text only.
- MMS increases engagement — by 250% — over SMS.
Including pictures in your business’ marketing is important across all mediums, not just text marketing, but MMS messaging is likely the easiest and most cost effective way to communicate with customers. Studies show that MMS marketing performs four to five times better than online advertising for increasing brand awareness.
Unlike a plain text message, MMS messaging has a much greater potential to be shareable and generate interest in your message beyond your list. Just think about the impact of a clever image or video on your Facebook or Instagram feed — and imagine what that kind of picture sharing could have for your business. With bulk texting software like ours, it’s literally as simple as sending an MMS from your computer to a list of contacts with just one click.
What Kind of Files and What Size Pictures Can You Send Using EZ Texting's MMS Services
You can upload JPG, GIF, PNG, WAV, MP3, 3GP, or MP4 files, and files can be up to 5 MB and will be optimized for delivery to each of your bulk text contacts. MMS files can be photos or video taken by a mobile device, or files uploaded from a PC. With an opt-in Keyword text marketing campaign, sending bulk MMS messages from your computer is safe and protects your customers’ personal privacy.
How to Use MMS Marketing
There are many different ways to utilize MMS texting for business, but over EZ Texting's 15+ years in the text marketing industry, we know which picture texts are the most successful.
1. TARGETED PROMOTIONS
Most businesses have different types of customers, not all of whom will be interested in the same types of promotions. EZ Texting allows you to sort your contacts into groups, which means you can send a pic using a bulk text service that only goes to certain customer segments. Creating these groups will mean your MMS marketing promotion gets maximum engagement and fewer unsubscribes since it’ll target the right people.
2. MOBILE COUPONS
Coupons are another great way to use MMS marketing services. MMS coupons have a redemption rate up to eight times higher than coupons attached to emails. Add that to the fact that 98% of MMS messages are opened within three minutes of receipt, and you have a recipe for huge engagement when you message pictures with your promotion.
3. VIDEO TOURS AND FIRST LOOKS
You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words? Imagine how many words an MMS marketing campaign with a video would be worth. Use 30-second videos within an MMS message to give your customers a preview of a new menu item, a product that’s just arrived back in stock, or show off a hot new property.
4. RICHER CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Of course, these are just a few of the ways that EZ Texting users are leveraging MMS marketing. And the feature of our MMS services that they love the most is that MMS texting does NOT cost more than SMS and picture text are NEVER throttled. We also offer MMS messaging templates that you can download for free!
Those who put MMS marketing to use saw an average of 30% improvement in their marketing results while 49% say they experience better results with MMS messaging on a weekly basis.Combining your SMS marketing with pictures, videos, and audio will help you stand out from competitors, maintain contact with your customers, and grow your business.