Today I learned (or I should say TIL) a few fun things about language. We try to consolidate complete thoughts and phrases into as few letters as possible in daily conversation. A quick IM to say “BRB,” a text exchange of “OMW!” followed by “Kk…” We communicate so often every day that we’ve created our own unique sublanguage of acronyms and modern-day hieroglyphics (aka emojis).
Think of your favorite acronyms. I have a few that immediately come to mind…some are perfect for the normal workday and others are probably NSFW (not safe for work). We use words daily to communicate—what we think, what we need to do. It’s engrained in our culture and an important way of communicating.
Businesses have the same need to communicate too. They send us reminders to pick up our medications or pay our bills. Sometimes though, we need to receive communications beyond words. Imagine you received a picture message showing you exactly which medication you needed to pick up. The exact pants you were just looking at—now on sale. I’m more likely to act based on FOMO (fear of missing out) or need if there’s a stronger CTA (call to action). This is possible with the use of Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS).
What Is MMS Messaging?
MMS (yet another acronym) allows someone to communicate with more than just letters and numbers.
MMS is a way to send messages including multimedia like images, GIFs, audio clips, videos, contact cards or files from a mobile device over a cellular network. It uses a similar technology as SMS (short message service), aka texting.
MMS doesn’t require someone to visit a website (though they could) to get an enriched experience, rather it’s included in an ongoing conversation between the mobile subscriber and brand. Beauty is in the eye of the phone holder—MMS is a seamless way to add flair to your communication strategy that’s unique to the subscribers because they encounter is far less frequently.
How Does MMS Work?
Using a phone’s mobile network, the media object (image, contact card, GIF, etc.) is created, and that object is turned into a URL that’s referenced as the message is sent through to the message processor. When the message gets delivered to a mobile device, the media object “downloads” and then lives on that device. Top-tier carriers enable MMS on their networks (and account for the majority of the telecom networks), providing excellent reach.
Imagine receiving your first message from a brand where they include a “contact card” to save to your mobile device so you can easily trust their next message is legitimate. Then weeks later, you receive another MMS with a tailored offer based on items you viewed online while shopping for your kids’ back-to-school items.
Benefits of Using MMS—Everyone Wins
If a picture is worth a thousand words, an MMS is worth a thousand customer engagements. This type of message is not only memorable for the customer but also impactful to the brand.
WDYM (what do you mean) “memorable for the customer?”
- Send sharable content for social—MMS messages are meant to be shared so they can spread the excitement.
- Capture attention with flair—When you want to go that extra mile to cut through the noise, show a customer what you mean with eye-catching visuals.
WDYM “impact for the brand?” MMS helps by:
- Deepening engagement—Customers could save a contact card to their mobile device including the brand’s contact information (including the short code), helping to strengthen brand loyalty and reduce suspected fraud.
- Amplifying communication—Messages can be a lot longer than the 160-character limit of an SMS message. The maximum size of an MMS message depends on the carrier and the device receiving the message, but 300KB is on average the largest size most carriers will reliably handle.
- Expressing value with impact—Show your products, offers or updates in vivid images or videos to leave a lasting impression. Get to the point faster by showing rather than telling.
Considerations Before Using MMS
As with any engagement channel, there are potential pitfalls to consider before incorporating it into an enterprise-wide communication strategy.
- Cost-effectiveness—While MMS is a powerful tool, it can cost more than SMS, especially for larger-scale business communication strategies. Do your customers prefer to do business over text? Choose plans that align with your budget and audience messaging needs.
- Reach—MMS messages are supported by tier one- carriers within the US. Subscribers with smaller carriers will miss out on these messages.
- Integration power—Look for ways to seamlessly integrate MMS into your existing communication strategy. Enrich your campaigns with a well-integrated MMS approach, ensuring a seamless series of interactions to engage your audience.
Leverage MMS with CSG
CSG Xponent Engagement Channels help deliver a consistent, unified experience to each customer, in every digital interaction, by connecting communication channels. Speak as one brand, to one customer, in every digital interaction by connecting communication channels including:
- personalized emails
- SMS with two-way engagement
- MMS
- voice
- push notifications
- conversational AI
This omnichannel communication engages customers via their preferred mobile channel, fulfilling how they wish to be engaged and in a timely manner. That makes a brand indispensable to a customer and promotes easy self-service across their journeys.
In a world of receipts and verification, use MMS. Pics or it didn’t happen.
