Email marketing versus text marketing is among the most debated advertising and marketing topics. Nowadays, however, a brand or company cannot justify only communicating with their clients through a single “digital” format.
Email has been a cause of concern and frustration for business professionals and small business owners for decades. The endless pile of messages that clutter our inboxes, and the constant battle of deciding exactly what warrants our attention all pairs with the hottest click-through rates of 4.19%, listed in 2017.
Email still remains a mainstay of communication Over the years, it’s cemented as a necessity for most every type of promotion. Attracted by its low cost, a normal email campaign cost $5 per 1,000 emails sent. Nonetheless, it’s the larger picture that companies often overlook or are unaware of. The quantity of businesses using email is astronomical, which makes the ad platform extremely congested.
Mass text campaigns have increasingly become a quick and cost-effective marketing platform. Their high open and response rates in comparison to email advertising has made them the ideal selection for large businesses and political campaigns alike, who have leveraged SMS to get their message across and attract an audience.
Mobile has produced a media that is “always on”. This marketing landscape leaves SMS and email marketing competing for our focus. Both channels enable companies to send timely information and exclusive offers in a bulk capacity.
So what do media planners need to know? Here are some statistics:
Availability
60 percent of individuals around the world own a cell phone, compared with the 40% who have access to the internet. Statistics reveal that the amount of mobile phone users has increased 4 percent every year since 2013. This means the possible amount of individuals reached through SMS shows much more potential than through email. Pew Research Centre found that 91% of Americans possess a cell phone that’s text ready. It’s literally pre-programmed to receive a business’s advertising messages. And the availability and access to a mobile device, and thus, text messaging is a part of its power. Most folks with a cellular device are within arm’s reach of those telephones 24 hours per day. That being said, email is accessed via smartphone by most young and professional consumers as well.
Open Rates
Studies have found that 98 percent of SMS messages have a response rate of 45 percent while, as of 2017, open rates for emails are currently 22% with an even lower response rate of 6%. This usually means that more than 3 times the people are reading your business’s text messages than are opening your emails.
Keeping It Simple
Quality over quantity. With an industry-standard of 160 characters, text messages are brief and can be read in moments. This produces the impression that a company wants, but it does not carry the load of their viewer having to wade through a wall of content and imagery. Their speed and simplicity are not as easily duplicated in an email campaign.
Action
SMS text marketing is all about producing action. Text messages create an impression due to the format. A well crafted SMS text, delivered at the right time, using an appropriate call-to-action generates customer involvement in a simple way.
Email relies on a user to be more engaged and spend more time with the initial message. There is a time and place for both types of advertising, but for simplicity of content, text wins this battle. A company must determine where and what their consumer focus is, deploy the plan and convert that strategy into leads. In 2017 the world’s attention seemed to fall on their smartphone, making SMS the more obvious avenue for any business big or small.
Working Together
Many companies are integrating mass text into their email campaigns. With text open speeds at 98% over the first three minutes of sending, they’ve realized the significance of boosting email open rates, and in the end, conversion rates, by integrating SMS advertising. Including URLs promotes site traffic and encourages subscriptions and interactions. Total customer views are improved and companies can monitor customer activity. Marketers will need to consider fresh ideas and keep up with changing trends to keep their customers engaged. But what if they used both of these tactics to double the impressions?
How many emails do you have in your account at this moment? What about your text messaging app? There are pros and cons to both items but typically both are accessed on any given consumer device on a daily basis. If you can target consumers or potential customers in their email inbox as well as follow up with texts, which ultimately up the frequency of your message, the consumer is drawn in. The two efforts make for a winning combo that won’t break the bank.
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