On average 18 billion SMS messages are sent every day, making SMS the most used text messaging service in the world.
All the best businesses utilize SMS, too, for various purposes, including SMS marketing campaigns and customer service.
Most people are likely to receive a text and understand how it works on the end-user side. But have you thought about the magic behind what makes a message travel through thin air to get to your phone?
Let's delve into the world of SMS and discover more about what makes it so popular for business and other purposes.
First, let's look at the universal stats:
97% of American adults send a text every week
95% of texts are read within 3 minutes of being sent
The average response time for a text is 90 seconds
96% of smartphone owners text
15 220 700 texts are sent every minute worldwide
What is SMS?
An SMS message is also called a text message.
SMS or Short Message Service is the standard messaging service used on most mobile phones. It uses standardised communication protocols to send text messages between phones - it’s low cost and ideal for businesses to use for sending short messages to clients.
Sending an electronic message is becoming less limited every day - videos and gifs are already possible and it looks like SMS is going nowhere.
SMS is not the only messaging service out there.
iPhone has its own service called iMessage and Android has RCS.
App messaging services are also called OTTs (Over the Top). Here are some you will recognise:
Facebook Messenger - ideal for personal use
WhatsApp - ideal for personal and business use
The most common alternative to SMS is MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) which is compatible with more devices. We have a helpful resource on the differences between SMS and MMS.
SMS related jargon can be confusing. E.g., knowing the difference between “failed to deliver” and “undelivered” can be unclear. We have covered this topic and recommend that you take a look if you want to clarify the differences between SMS status messages.
People prefer texts to calls
Would you rather receive a text or a call? The answer among many is the former. Texting is less time-consuming and requires less effort. Texting is convenient and allows the user to reply at a time that suits them. Besides, you have time to think about how you are going to answer rather than being put on the spot.
Millennials love texting. A recent study gave millennials the choice to either only call or only text. A whopping 75% chose to lose the ability to make calls. 19% of them don’t even listen to voicemails.
With 77 million millennials in the US alone, it's a strong bet to assume the future is text-based. There is good news for businesses too - 75% of the young people surveyed found text reminders, promotions, and surveys helpful.
SMS in daily life
SMS plays a large role in day-to-day life. From the 9-5 business person to the avid gamer, messaging friends, associates, and customers is an extremely relevant communication method in 2025.
Using SMS is not limited to texting loved ones and connecting across the globe. Its use is vast and varied. Take a look at how we use SMS in the modern age:
Person-to-person messaging
We all saw this one coming - the sender of the SMS inputs the mobile number of the recipient, writes a message, and clicks "send". The recipient will then receive a notification and reply using the same steps. It's a great way to keep in touch with anyone across the globe, and the best part, it's instant.
Provision of information
Many content providers send out daily texts regarding news or today's weather. These services are usually paid subscriptions using reverse billing. Payments will come out of your card or your monthly phone plan.
Downloading
Pictures, wallpapers and ringtones can all be sent and downloaded via SMS. This can be performed between two friends or a business sending wallpapers to a customer using a subscription service.
What's the difference between SMS and OTT apps?
OTTs use the same premise as SMS and use similar basic functionalities. Each one is unique, and the features depend on the company that you use. E.g., Instagram allows users to send an Instagram reel straight to a friend via DMs. Facebook has yet to offer this ability, but it has a well-rounded DMing interface.
OTTs offer more features but require an internet connection.
OTTs can be paired with images and GIFs, making them ideal for advertisements. SMS can send these things too, but sometimes at a financial cost to the user.
OTTs are a great way to send ads directly to your audience, but it is an open channel and your customers will also see ads from other companies, and we all know how quickly adverts can become overwhelming. Keep this in mind.
If you wish to contact a customer via an OTT, they must have the app installed on their device, e.g., Facebook. Unlike SMS where the phone comes with a built-in SMS messaging inbox.
SMS is considered a more direct and personal way of contacting people.
How does SMS work?
SMS uses cellular network connection rather than WiFi so it mitigates a barrier to entry for those with poor WiFi or none at all. It's accessible to almost everyone who knows how to use a mobile keyboard - including your Grandmother.
This is what the journey of an SMS looks like:
1. Once you click send, the SMS travels to the nearest cell tower.
2. The cell tower sends it to an SMS centre or SMSC
3. The SMSC forwards the message to a cell tower near the recipient's phone
4. That tower then sends it to the recipient's device
What is the SMSC?
The Short Message Service Center is where all SMSs are stored to forward and deliver to a recipient.
If you send a text to a friend but they have no signal, the message will be stored in the SMSC until a signal is found. It's possible on most mobiles to specify an expiry period for the SMS to be deleted from the SMSC. Once deleted, the message will expire, and the recipient won't receive it, even when they find a signal.
Advantages and disadvantages of SMS
Pros
Popularity - Over 560 billion texts are sent a month worldwide.
Efficiency - SMS is the best tool to contact thousands of people at once, immediately.
Customisation - Any text can be customised to target one person or a group of people.
Open rates - SMS has a 99% open rate.
Automation - SMS can be automated using an SMS API.
Cons
Limited Space - An SMS message is limited to 160 characters and images may reduce this.
Suspicion - Customers can be hesitant to trust a text out of nowhere and react negatively to being bombarded with multiple texts. However, there are now solutions, such as Verified SMS, that tackle these problems.
Data Protection - SMS marketing must comply with Data Protection Laws and GDPR.
Company Reputation - Heavy-handed ads and unprofessional messages can lead to your business's reputation being damaged.
SMS vs text message: Is there a difference?
Many people use both terms interchangeably, but SMS and text message have some minor differences in meaning.
SMS is the technical protocol used by mobile networks to transmit text-based messages up to 160 characters long.
A text message is a more general term that covers any message sent to a mobile phone, which can include SMS, MMS, RCS, or even instant messages sent through Viber, WhatsApp, or any other OTT messaging app. A text message could include images, video, GIFs, audio clips, and other types of files, depending on which app it is sent through. It can thus be more costly if it is a type of text sent over the cellular network.
While all SMS messages are text messages, not all text messages are SMS.
What is SMS marketing?
SMS Marketing refers to using text messages to promote a business's products or services and build a loyal customer base. It's similar to email marketing but is significantly more effective, it's referred to as mass texting.
Businesses use it to:
Engage their audience - sharing updates and news
Boost sales - send promotions and offers
Build relations - provide customer service
Collect leads - allow potential customers to sign up for a service
Generate popularity - text to win or share with a friend deals
SMS marketing can be the driving force in developing customer relations and getting your brand out there. Here are some surprising SMS marketing stats:
SMS messages have a 98% open rate.
75% of people are happy if they receive offers via SMS.
65% of marketers conclude that SMS marketing is a very effective marketing strategy for their business.
SMS is the most popular marketing method for customers
It suits B2B and B2C audiences. If you want to move your business into a new sector, you already have an avenue to contact your existing customers.
Instead of having to check their “inbox”, customers can be made instantly aware of a new message via a notification on their mobile device.
Customers prefer receiving texts from businesses over any other form of communication, and 70% say that SMS marketing is a good way to get in touch with a business.
It's safe to say customers like it. SMS is less intrusive, more engaging, and more relevant - especially to the younger generation.
What is an SMS API, and why do you need it for SMS marketing?
An SMS API (Application Programming Interface) is the bridge between your software or application and the global mobile network. It frees businesses from the limitations of traditional P2P SMS messaging, which is usually restricted to manual or one-off texts.
Rather than sending each text manually, an SMS API will enable you to:
Compose and dispatch messages at scale, allowing you to send bulk texts
Automate and schedule campaigns
Segment your audience and send personalized notifications
Manage delivery reports and track which messages were delivered, failed, or pending
Hold two-way messaging conversations
Ensure compliance by automatically applying opt-in and opt-out rules and other regulations
Integrate your messaging flows into other marketing tools
For professional SMS marketing, where volume, speed, deliverability, timing, personalization, and analytics matter, an SMS API is non-negotiable.
How to do SMS marketing with Messente
Messente offers an SMS gateway API via which your company can deliver business-critical PIN codes, notifications, and marketing messages straight into your customers’ hands, like this:
Messente’s API and dashboard can help you with the following SMS marketing tasks and perks.
Upload or sync your contact lists
Create dynamic templates with placeholders
Configure and save audience segments
Set up recurring campaigns
Export detailed reports for ROI calculations
Use built-in consent tracking
Get 24/7 support
We use adaptive routing during busy periods to get your message to the customer’s phone on time. Our API is built to scale, ensuring that the entire scope of your campaign is reached. We also offer free support to our customers around the clock.
To get started, log into your account, go to API settings, and generate your API key. Complete the setup, integration, and configuration steps. Choose a sender ID for your business. You can then either use your existing system, like your CRM, or our ready-to-use dashboard to send your first SMS marketing campaign via Messente’s API! Try it here!
SMS has a bright future
It's been over 30 years since the first SMS was sent and it's still going strong. Technology is becoming more and more integrated into daily life, especially mobile phones. Here are some ways that SMS will continue to develop:
1. More people will use 2-way SMS
This type of SMS allows customers to reply to a message from a business. Usually, businesses use SMS to send a one-time text to a customer via a “no-reply” contact but this will change in the future as companies develop the ways in which they communicate with their audience.
The future of using 2-way SMS includes allowing customers to answer surveys, agree to bookings or confirm receipts. We could see the ability to pay for services through text become more utilised, e.g., paying for parking.
2. RCS will make SMS more powerful
Rich Communication Services aka RCS has helped SMS grow out of its limitations. The 160-character limit and image file size capacity have increased along with many other “quality-of-life” upgrades to make SMS messaging better. Over time, more people are expected to adopt RCS. This may take time due to the burden it will place on cell phone providers, but it will make casual and business messaging far more impactful if utilized properly.
3. Privacy protection will get better
The current state of SMS security is sound, but there are grey areas. Advanced firewall protection will guard against scamming and phishing attacks from cybercriminals. It's always good to be wary of potential scams, firewall or not.
You can bet that SMS communication is going nowhere in the next decade. At this rate, SMS will become more widely used by businesses to market their product, and the younger generations show no sign of slowing down on their SMS usage.
Still confused about SMS? - Explore our FAQs
What is the difference between a text message and an SMS message?
There is a minor difference between text and SMS. SMS is the protocol used to send a plain text message over the cellular network. Text messages are SMS messages, but they could also be MMS, RCS, Viber, WhatsApp, or other types of instant messages, sent over a cell network or the internet.
Does it cost money to send an SMS?
Yes, it will cost you to send a text. Usually, your monthly phone plan will have you covered or “pay as you go,” but using an OTT won't cost you; you will need WiFi or 3G/4G to send a message via OTT.
Sending a business-related SMS message will also have a cost attached to it. You can check our SMS pricing here.
Should I use SMS or MMS?
Use SMS when you want to send a short and snappy informational message. It's great for keeping in touch with friends and sending small updates to existing customers.
Use MMS when you want to impress. You can add flashy graphics and company logos, so it's a great way to promote your business to new customers. However, MMS might have higher costs and accessibility issues.
