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The future remains bright for SMS

A while ago we talked about how instant messaging apps were slowly eating away at SMS revenues. Today we’ve got wind of a few figures that shows this is in fact the case, according to a report by Ovum, these new IP-based messaging services have cost telecom operators $8.7bn in lost SMS revenue in 2010, and a further $13.9bn in 2011.

This pattern seems like it will continue to balloon into 2012. “Ovum warns operators to rework their legacy services if they want to secure their future position in the messaging market.”

It’s not all bad news though, for businesses at least. Although SMS revenue is gradually being eaten away in the peer to peer (P2P) market, which makes a lot of sense, as friends will have each other’s phone numbers or social messaging “pins”, the Application to Person (A2P) continues to grow.

A2P messaging is the sort of SMS messaging in which banks, hairdressers, delivery companies, advertisers and such send you an SMS to give you details of whatever they want to let you know. Juniper Research estimates that A2P SMS will overtake P2P SMS by 2016, being worth more than $70bn.

Whilst these IP-based messaging services have their advantages; such as “real-time” communication and the apparent absence of cost, they remain extremely fragmented. Off the top of my head I can name at least 8 IP-based messengers – iMessage, Whatsapp, Blackberry Messenger, Skype, Touch, Facebook Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and KIK.

So, it seems SMS has one killer feature at its disposal, which is its wide reach and compatibility; it can reach any phone be it smart or not, on any network and without the need for internet access. This is why SMS will continue to grow in an A2P world. Our World.

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Infographic – Smartphone users still prefer SMS

Unsure about mobile marketing guidelines?

Following the confusion regarding privacy and security policies for consumer mobile applications, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is advising developers of mobile applications to be transparent, in order to ‘engender consumer trust.’

The MMA guide is designed to establish certain practices to win back the trust of consumers after doubts were raised regarding the security of Smartphone apps. Thus, the MMA advises focusing on privacy issues and data movement associated with mobile apps.

Mobile app guidelines

According to the MMA guidance document, all mobile app developers should get prior consent from users before collecting information from or for social networks and disclose whether the app tracks the real-time location of a mobile device.

Furthermore, they should describe if and how they will share data with third parties, understand that users generally must be allowed to consent to “retroactive, material changes” in privacy policies and, therefore, ensure security procedures are “reasonable.”

Indeed, convergence is the main strength of the growing digital marketing field. This sector covers many platforms, from mobile applications to SMS marketing, all of which are an inner part of the mobile marketing umbrella.

SMS marketing guidelines

Most of the guidelines around using SMS are concerned with whether or not you have permission to contact an individual or organisation to promote your brand, goods or services.  How often you use SMS will depend on the demographics of your base and the nature of your offers.  It’s also good to remember that the more creative and legitimate the content is, the better it performs.  For more information take at look at our Business SMS and the Law document .

Love your customers – Our new affiliate programme has launched!

We’re pleased to announce the launch of our brand new affiliate programme. We’re offering a nice healthy 25% commission on all first purchases and 10% for ongoing purchases – for life!

The commission based programme is open to anyone looking for an additional income stream and who is interested in offering SMS services to their customers.

Affiliates can promote our SMS services by simply adding an Esendex banner or URL tracking code to a web page or email campaign.  Any customers referred to Esendex via the adverts or URL code are tagged with a unique affiliate ID.  If this customer then purchases text messages from us, the referring affiliate will receive revenue on the first purchase and all subsequent purchases.

Take a glance at what is included:

• 25% commission on first purchases and 10% on-going commission for life

• Choose from a range of our compelling creative banner and text adverts

• If you’d like to promote our services off your website, we’ll create a landing page for you to direct customers to – labelled with your logo and branding

• A dedicated Affiliate Manager

• A link back to your website to help boost your SEO

Ready to join? Sign-up to the Esendex Affiliate Programme and start earning commission today.