Business.com |
- 18 Tools Businesses Should Leverage for Customer Engagement in 2021
- How To Go From Prototype To Production
- The Impact of COVID-19 and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on the Business World
- MMS vs. SMS: Which Is Best for Text Message Marketing?
- What Is MMS for Business?
- What is SMS for Business?
| 18 Tools Businesses Should Leverage for Customer Engagement in 2021 Posted: 22 Jan 2021 01:39 PM PST  Connectivity is of the utmost importance in the modern world. In business particularly, social media, email, and other outreach methods have the potential to engage consumers like never before. In such a highly connected society, a business that doesn't leverage these tools for consumer engagement is at a disadvantage compared to its competitors. This is why many businesses utilize several channels of communication to ensure that their customers always feel engaged. But what sort of tools do they use to accomplish that job? Here, 18 members of YEC discuss their favorite tools, apps, and software they use to drive customer engagement efforts and connect with their audiences. 1. Ahrefs"I think using Ahrefs for SEO research is a great way to help increase engagement. They have a neat tool where you can view what other leaders in your industry are producing content about and which keywords they use. I treat these as a barometer for what my audience cares about. So, I take the data and try to come up with even better content on these keywords and topics." – Tyler Gallagher, Regal Assets 2. Asana"When you and your team have a clear to-do list and schedule, it's easier to stay productive and finish your tasks. Asana helps us boost customer engagement by keeping our content marketing strategy on track. Everyone on the team uses Asana to organize their tasks and ensure they finish their work on time. Doing so means we can provide a better experience for our customers." – Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms 3. Facebook ads"Facebook ads are a good way to keep your clients engaged, because the ads show up on their social media page after the person visits your site. This technique reminds visitors of your brand and increases your chances of getting a sale." – Riccardo Conte, Virtus Flow 4. Google My Business"I recommend Google My Business. Profile setup is easy, and you even get a basic webpage as well. Your customers can also leave a review or give your business a rating, which is sure to increase engagement." – Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance 5. User session recording software"Hotjar and FullStory, two of my favorite pieces of software for customer engagement, do similar things: They record user sessions. You can literally watch what your customers do on your website. You can see exactly where they get stuck, where they have bugs and what they're trying to do. This allows you to see the product through their eyes and solve the problems they're running into much faster." – Cody Candee, Bounce 6. Influencer marketing platforms"Any of the many influencer marketing platforms would be a good option. Influencer marketing is still vastly underused as a marketing channel, and the CPM rate you can get from working with an influencer is usually far less than the cost of advertising on Facebook and Instagram. More importantly, the promotion will seem more authentic coming from a real person with a real, engaged following." – Andy Karuza, LitPic 7. Instagram"I'd recommend Instagram. Customers (especially Generation Z) want instant gratification, so whenever we receive a message on our social media accounts, we respond right away. We don't wait for formal emails or take long calls. Instead, we respond to messages and comments ASAP to gratify customers and make them satisfied immediately." – Daisy Jing, Banish 8. Klaviyo"Klaviyo is a tool that gives the impression of being quite complete. It helps in the personalization of emails from a company's database and offers informative and statistical data about email sales campaigns so you can better know their results. This tool allows you to know important information that is an essential part of customer loyalty." – Kevin Leyes, Leyes Media 9. Alfred"We personally rely on LinkedIn to engage with our customers via posts, articles, live video, quick video stories, InMails and direct messages. We leverage this on a tool called Alfred. It takes your marketing efforts to a whole new level by automating mundane tasks like engaging with your audience, connecting with your prospects, emailing your LinkedIn networks and sharing posts." – Kelly Richardson, Infobrandz 10. Livestreaming platforms"Livestreaming platforms like Facebook Live, IGTV, YouTube Live and Twitch are exploding in popularity. If you're looking for a new avenue to attract a younger audience and you're already proficient in video production, you need to start incorporating livestreams if you haven't started already. Aim for a consistent schedule, and focus on high production value to maximize your engagement." – Bryce Welker, CPA Exam Guy 11. Mailchimp Creative Assistant"Mailchimp has an evolving and growing tech stack for small businesses. One of the new features I enjoy is Mailchimp's Creative Assistant, which gets to know your brand and creates designs for channels like email, social and landing pages. If you're looking for better customer engagement, you need to lean on tools that leverage artificial intelligence. Creative Assistant is one of those tools." – Brett Farmiloe, Markitors 12. Mention"Mention is a low-cost engagement monitoring platform that uses Boolean alerts throughout the web in real time. Finding a mention days later (or worse, months later) discourages users from further interactions. Getting real-time alerts that show you where the mention is so you can respond and engage as a brand is imperative to growth and better brand management." – Matthew Capala, Alphametic 13. Monday.com"Monday.com is a really good project management tool, but it can also be integrated into a live chat form to raise issues to tech teams or even drive sales leads forward. That's not its main usage, but it is a way to make the tool even more functional for your teams." – Nicole Munoz, Nicole Munoz Consulting Inc. 14. Slack"We were previously using another chat app until an intern suggested we switch over to Slack. It has been integral to how we do business and get things done internally. We've expanded it to include channels and workspaces for clients to communicate fluidly with our entire team at once in a way that's much faster than email. Slack has been a game-changer for us and in how we manage clients." – Joel Mathew, Fortress Consulting 15. Survey tools"Surveys are crucial tools your business needs to collect consumer feedback and data. This information will aid you in creating effective marketing campaigns, strategies and more so your business gets the best results possible. Any type of survey tool works, as long as it's able to protect user information and deliver it to you safely." – Jared Atchison, WPForms 16. Text messaging"I'd recommend text messaging! Leverage the opportunity to be different and touch on this novelty form of communication. Text messaging is here to stay, and it will continue to be a great tool to connect with your clients in the year to come." – Maria Thimothy, OneIMS 17. Twitter Fleets"I suspect we will see more businesses use Twitter's new Fleets feature to get customers engaged. Fleets are essentially the same as Instagram Stories – short videos that disappear after a predetermined time. Expect to see brands hosting flash sales and advertising webinars and encouraging other types of engagement with Fleets." – Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights 18. YouTube"While it is a social media platform that has been around for years, YouTube has some major perks that not all companies take advantage of. There are many ways to quickly reach your audience by searching for something pertinent to your company. Use this to post and share educational, entertaining, or inspirational videos with a call to action rooted in your company's products." – Matthew Podolsky, Florida Law Advisers P.A. |
| How To Go From Prototype To Production Posted: 22 Jan 2021 12:00 PM PST  Developing a hardware product can be a challenging prospect and is even more time and labor-intensive than a software product. Unfortunately, many hardware manufacturers close down because they underestimate the amount of effort they'll have to put into getting their products from prototype to production. The Lily Drone, which, despite raising $34 million in preorders, shut down because the owners misunderstood their own company's abilities. Many new entrepreneurs of hardware manufacturing businesses think that product packaging design is their largest hurdle to overcome. In reality, moving from the initial design to a final, marketable product takes many iterations and experimentation within the process. In this article, we'll examine what a business should do to help themselves move from a rough draft product to a final, sleek, polished and marketable item. Start with the bill of materialsWithout fail, one of the most challenging things for new entrepreneurs to wrap their heads around is the initial cost of a single product. It's because of this underestimation that a bill of materials is necessary. A bill of materials (BOM) outlines each individual part needed to create a particular item. Developing a BOMgives you insight into how many of each element or raw material unit is required to craft a single product. In the BOM, you should also ensure that you factor in labor and shipping costs for each of those component parts. When you outline each of those parts' prices, you have a rough idea of how much it would take to produce a single product. As the business gets larger and product demand increases, a business could seek discounts for bulk purchasing. However, initially, your purchase volume will be small compared with other companies. It helps if you use the current purchase price to help you determine what your initial sale price will be. You should never use the lowest possible price, since you're not guaranteed to get materials at that price all the time. Set a high enough sale price that you can afford a profit, but not so low that a shift in supply lines would render your product unprofitable. Your distribution is also something to pay attention to. If you intend to outsource your product to retail stores, you'll need a larger buffer zone (or margin) for your price, since those stores will claim some profit as part of their distribution. If you're planning on a direct-to-customer model, a decent margin would be around 50-60% to cater for fluctuations in the market and the supply of raw materials. Once you have a good idea of how much your company needs to invest in manufacturing a product, you can set a price for the sale of the item that's fair yet competitive. Take the worst-case scenario under considerationFor small business owners, it seems like there is never enough time and resources. Estimating a delivery time on something should always come with the understanding that you add 50% of the time onto the estimate. Several parts of the manufacturing process may require a similar massaging of the estimated numbers to give the company ample time to deal with a potential shortfall. Among the areas that a business should look at when it comes to estimating and worst-case scenarios are: RegulationsThere's no telling how long it may take to get permission to manufacture your product. Depending on the industry you are in, you may need FCC certification, UL inspection, verification or other certificates to prove the product's safety. To achieve these certifications, the governing bodies will require you to correct your development with each iteration, and each one will take time to implement to the needed level. ShippingSupply chains and logistics can break a company's back if they aren't taken into account. Import and export taxes, duties, and schedules all factor into moving your product from your warehouse to the distribution network or the client. Shipping cost estimations should also include a generation 50% increase to cater for unforeseen bottlenecks. If your product can't be shipped by air and needs to go by sea, you'll need to add even more time to your distribution schedule. ProductionYou won't stumble across an efficient manufacturing process or product packaging design right away. Developing one takes time, and the business needs to factor this into its estimates. From varying specifications for your raw materials from suppliers to your manufacturing process's complexity, each of these can take an unspecified amount of time to sort out. You need to get them worked out before you start marketing your product for consumption, or else you'll run into some angry customers. Scalability and extensibility is crucialA minimum viable product (MVP) is the most basic version of a product that a company wants to launch into the marketplace. It contains a simple set of features that is easy to implement but which demonstrates the uniqueness of the product. The MVP is a starting point that the business can iterate on to produce a more refined product before it gets to production. It's no surprise that many companies start with a series of ideas they want to incorporate into their item. The problem is that many of those features and additions aren't necessary, and adding them in can increase the complexity of your manufacturing process. The more inherent characteristics a new product has, the more difficult it is to manufacture. Feature creep, the idea of continually iterating on improvements before releasing a product could doom the company's vision. Instead, a business should be looking at scalability. Additions can be efficiently designed to be added later. The MVP is a barebones product, but it can be spruced up with better exterior design and form. The company can then dedicate itself to a refined manufacturing process to create these products for consumer use while planning additions that may come out later. The business can secure a line of income that will help it to develop and produce better products in the future. Scalability offers the company a chance to expand by releasing upgrades to a product or new product lines when the company figures out the manufacturing details. Keep assembly in-houseMany businesses are tempted to outsource their assembly, but you may want to keep it in-house as a cost-control measure. In-house assembly also offers a company the chance to lower their overhead through "just-in-time" manufacture of parts, ensuring that the business manufactures products with the highest levels of efficiency. You also get the benefit of rapid turnaround time in your manufacturing process. Companies that assemble in-house can also exert their own quality control on the manufacturing process, guaranteeing quality in every single product. Learn from othersThere's no better teacher than experience. The real world offers many lessons, but if you're running a company, learning one of these may leave your business bankrupt. Luckily, many others have come before you and have gone through the arduous trek to learn these truths. Learning from them gives you your best chance of success. The tips in this article can help you keep your business running, but it's up to you to innovate so that these tactics work. If you're simply trying to copy another existing product, then you'll face disappointment. For true innovators, these bits of advice can allow your business to grow and expand. |
| The Impact of COVID-19 and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on the Business World Posted: 22 Jan 2021 10:33 AM PST  2020 was a year of tremendous change and adaptation for businesses across all industries. As one of the nation's largest bank-based financial institutions, KeyBank experienced change on multiple levels, including a companywide transition to remote work and emerging technologies. But KeyBank's recent evolution has been driven by more than the COVID-19 pandemic. In the wake of last year's nationwide protests against racial injustice, the company has doubled down on its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion across the entire organization. At the intersection of this multifaceted shift sits Agapito "Aga" Morgan, leader of the KeyBank Commercial Banking Healthcare Team; co-chair of the Commercial Bank's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) Council; and member of the Bank's Commercial Credit Risk Committee. Through his various positions at Key and other financial institutions, as well as his own personal experiences, Morgan has developed a truly valuable perspective on leadership, DE&I, and the role of financial institutions in supporting other business sectors, such as healthcare. This background makes him uniquely qualified to lead KeyBank from multiple spots as the company prepares for what lies ahead in 2021. In an interview with business.com, Morgan discussed the work Key's Commercial Healthcare arm is doing, as well as the dual impact the company has experienced from COVID-19 and the societal spotlight on diversity, equity and inclusion. Business.com: KeyBank is a full-service financial institution that works with consumers and businesses across multiple sectors to meet their financial needs. What does Key do specifically for healthcare businesses? Aga Morgan: Our enterprise healthcare platform is unique in that we provide industry expertise to a broad set of healthcare businesses at every touchpoint of the bank, from investment banking (Cain Brothers), to commercial banking, to Enterprise Payments (Treasury Services), to consumer banking. Say you're a midsized or large hospital system. KeyBank is positioned to advise you on acquiring your crosstown rival. Additionally, we can help you refinance your existing tax-exempt bonds or bring you to market for a new issuance, and we can provide a short-term line of credit to provide a liquidity cushion. Furthermore, we can help you rethink how you manage your treasury infrastructure to realize cost savings and operational efficiencies. If you're building out a new surgery center, we can provide equipment financing. Also, our Consumer Banking Healthcare Team can deliver financial wellness seminars or one-on-one meetings with your employees or discuss student debt refinancing with your physicians. It's about deep healthcare expertise throughout our entire institution and delivering a fully integrated model. I spend all day long on the phone with my colleagues from our investment bank, our enterprise payments team and our consumer bank as we build holistic solutions to bear-hug our clients throughout healthcare. BDC: It seems like the biggest difference is that fully integrated, holistic approach to serving your clients. What makes the Key Healthcare platform different from its competitors? A.M.: Yes, that's our most significant differentiator. These aren't disparate teams of healthcare professionals at different parts of the bank working as autonomous individual groups. This is an enterprise platform. We are motivated to collaborate and work together on a client-by-client and prospect-by-prospect basis. Often when we engage a current customer or a prospect, we'll invite an industry or subvertical expert from the investment bank (Cain Brothers) to discuss industry and valuation trends, acquisition ideas, and/or capital markets' solutions. We'll bring our commercial banking team to present more traditional banking financing solutions, as well as someone from our enterprise payments team to explore cash management, A/P or A/R challenges, and potential solutions. Additionally, we invite team members from our consumer bank to discuss how we deliver financial wellness advisory services and products to their entire spectrum of employees. That's how we go to market as a unit, as a broad enterprise. We are a relationship-based institution, and for the clients [who] appreciate that and want that kind of engagement with their bank, we have incredibly strong relationships. BDC: Within the healthcare space, KeyBank works with a number of different types of organizations, including acute care hospital systems and medical/dental practices, behavioral health, post-acute facilities, healthcare IT, and medical technology. How does your partnership with Cain Brothers enable you to work well with these different types of clients? A.M.: We have bankers that spend all day long in specific subverticals. Behavioral health is a very good example where there's been explosive multiples. We're seeing incredible amounts of sponsor capital flying into this space. We have bankers at Cain Brothers who live in that environment all day long, [and] we really depend on the specific and targeted expertise of our colleagues in the investment bank to bring us all up to speed. As for my colleagues in the commercial bank … they have industry expertise and can talk with equal acumen to the large hospitals as they could a physician's practice, but take something in the medtech space, where we don't spend every day – we can lean on our colleagues at Cain. We have a broad spectrum of healthcare businesses that we cover, but we go to market with confidence in each subvertical because of the collaboration with our colleagues at Cain Brothers as well as our honed expertise throughout our commercial banking and enterprise payments teams. BDC: COVID-19 has obviously had a huge impact on the healthcare industry, and you just mentioned that you've seen explosive growth in certain subverticals. What market trends are you seeing, and how has that, in turn, affected growth within KeyBank's Commercial Healthcare division? A.M.: What we're really looking for are the businesses that are seeing high demand in COVID and will be sticky as the care delivery model continues to evolve. [These businesses] were already on a path of evolution; COVID has steepened the slope of that curve quite dramatically. We are seeing continued consolidation of physician practices, particularly under an MSO (management service organization) model, ambulatory surgery centers, and dental practices. Private equity capital is flooding into these spaces to essentially realize the efficiencies of centralizing all of the administrative functions, as well as monetizing a new care model, [where] more and more patients are being treated in an outpatient type of environment. Behavioral health is [also] at the forefront in this COVID environment and is evolving into a less stigmatized end of healthcare. Additionally, we are seeing an influx of skilled and talented operators within the space, whether it be alcohol and drug rehabilitation or mental health, etc. Further, there are clearer paths for sponsors to monetize their investments in those spaces. In home healthcare, the model is shifting [too] with more of an aging demographic. Moreover, you've got more and more folks who've been touched by COVID or who are hesitant to stay in a hospital long-term. Furthermore, there's a broader, larger shift to home healthcare delivery, particularly around skilled nursing, so those are the markets I think are fairly obvious. Now, we must touch on healthcare IT [and] telemedicine. While it has certainly exploded in this pandemic world, it will still be around post-COVID. The third iteration of telemedicine is what I think everyone is looking for, particularly as payers [and] providers work through a more equitable sort of payment structure for telemedicine engagement. As that model evolves, we're going to see more engagement in telehealth as a normalized path to care delivery. Additionally, you're going to see a continued evolution and entrepreneurship on devices and DME (durable medical equipment). We're also seeing nice valuations tagged to those kinds of businesses. Broadly speaking, sponsored capital is attracted to these subverticals of healthcare, and we are happy to help companies think about who they partner with and how they bring capital to help facilitate growth. BDC: As we know, the pandemic hasn't been the only driving force of change in the corporate world in 2020. How has the societal focus on racial equality influenced Key's DE&I efforts, and how did you get involved as co-chair of the Commercial Bank's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council? A.M.: KeyBank has historically had a strong DE&I effort, but the environment we lived through in 2020 brought racial injustice and inequity to the forefront of everyone's mind. As a person of color, it's part of my American experience, and it has been for generations, but I can tell you that I'm extremely proud to be part of an institution that has really accelerated and intensified our DE&I efforts. The option could have simply been to sit back and engage as we always had, but Key chose to lean extremely forward and get in the fight against racial injustice. Our bank is engaged in the fight every day. I was already part of our African Heritage affinity group, but I believe I am uniquely positioned within our leadership team to help drive Leadership's vision and the DE&I initiative from top of the house on down. BDC: What leadership lessons have you learned in your various roles throughout your career that have helped you succeed in your current roles? A.M.: I operate, and we operate, at a high-velocity operating cadence. Operating at that high-velocity cadence, you learn a couple of things. One, surround yourself with a great team of strategic minds and operators – people who are thoughtful and are not afraid to make mistakes. You learn from mistakes. I make mistakes every day, but it's my job to evaluate those mistakes and make change for the better. The second thing I've learned is that partnership and collaboration are critical for how such a large institution can actually effect change. And how do you effect change? You establish a business plan or a mandate, you delegate, and you drive the bus towards that goal. And lastly, an authentic engagement and belief that we can achieve whatever the goals are and passion for that business is huge. BDC: Is there anything else you can tell us about Key's DE&I efforts and where they might be heading in the future? A.M.: Our bankwide DE&I effort is really focused on three things: workforce, workplace, and marketplace. This includes attracting, retaining, developing and promoting diverse employees throughout the entire institution; creating and maintaining a culture that embraces, encourages, and respects everyone's voice and their diverse backgrounds; and focusing on how we improve our client-facing solutions and engagements in the communities where we live and work, as well as building relationships with minority-owned and women-owned businesses across the country. Now, it's not just words. This is really about action. If it doesn't feel different, then we're not doing enough. We're all about accountability, from the top of our house through the entire organization. Accountability includes capturing the data, listening and understanding the employee and client experience, and consistency in our messaging and our dialogue. Key's DE&I work isn't just a once-a-month or once-a-quarter engagement. DE&I is foundational and a cornerstone to our culture and business. While DE&I is the right thing to do, it also makes sense from a business perspective, [to drive it] into the forefront of people's dialogue on a daily basis. The good news is, we're seeing engagement throughout our institution at a level that I could never have anticipated. [It's] the more institutionalized sort of data capture around hiring, retaining and promoting diverse candidates. It's that softer side of engagement – fireside chats so people's voices are heard and they're engaged. In 2020, leaders and teammates across the organization hosted more than 60 conversations and dialogues focused on racial equity and social justice. It's engaging our DE&I Council members who have been deputized to drive that level of engagement. It's senior leaders and commercial sales leaders in various markets asking our council members the questions they could never ask before. We've created a culture where people can talk about diversity, equity and racial justice in a way that hasn't existed before. I have pride for how we go to market and service our clients in our healthcare space, as well as how we are engaging around our DE&I efforts – and I'm not alone. There's a shared commitment across the entire institution on all of these fronts, and that's what makes this place so darned special. ©2021 KeyCorp. KeyBank is Member FDIC. 210115-942708 |
| MMS vs. SMS: Which Is Best for Text Message Marketing? Posted: 22 Jan 2021 05:30 AM PST  You probably send and receive text messages every day, in both your personal and work life. However, you might not be able to explain what SMS means, or know all the differences between SMS and MMS. These two terms are often confused with each other, but they are two different ways to send text messages. When you break it down to the basics, SMS refers to text messages, while MMS refers to messages that include a picture or video. What is SMS?SMS stands for Short Message Service. It is a text message that contains text alone, without pictures or video. An SMS message is also limited to 160 characters. SMS is one of the oldest texting technologies, first developed in the 1980s. It is also one of the most widely used despite continued innovations in communication technology. What is MMS?MMS stands for Multimedia Messaging Service. It is an extension of the SMS protocol which allows for the sending and receiving of both text and media, such as pictures, GIFs, videos, audio clips, etc. MMS messages also allow an "unlimited" amount of text characters (although different providers will place limits on the amount of text that can be sent via MMS), which is significantly more than what is allowed in SMS. SMS vs. MMS pros and consSMS and MMS both enable you to send messages to your customers, but each type of text messaging protocol has its pros and cons. Depending on the situation, it might more suitable or effective to send messages by SMS instead of MMS, and vice versa. Advantages of SMS
Disadvantages of SMS
Advantages of MMS
Disadvantages of MMS
SMS vs. MMS FAQsHow popular is SMS?According to research, 23 billion text messages are sent every day. U.S. smartphone users in the 18-24 age category send approximately 2000 texts per month., while 98% of all smartphone users send text messages regularly. Approximately 80% of professionals use SMS in their business. SMS messages have a 98% open rate, compared to only 20% for emails. The average person takes 90 seconds to respond to an SMS message, compared to 90 minutes for emails. SMS marketing campaigns also perform seven times better than email marketing campaigns. What happens if an SMS exceeds the 160-character limit?If your SMS message is longer than 160 characters, it will be broken into several messages, depending on the length of the text message. Most carriers will chain the messages so that they arrive in the proper order. How are SMS and MMS different from iMessage or WhatsApp?WhatsApp, iMessage, WeChat, Facebook Messenger, and similar messaging applications are also referred to as Over The Top (OTT) applications. These applications do not use a cellular network to send messages; messages are sent via the Internet. To view these messages, recipients must download the app to their smartphone or mobile device. Some smartphones have preloaded applications. For example, iPhones have iMessage already installed. Each application has its own protocols for sending and receiving messages, uses different platforms, and has different network requirements. When you send a message using iMessage to an iPhone, it will default to an iMessage. If an iPhone user does not have iMessage, it will default to SMS. The color of the text message will differ depending on whether it uses iMessage or SMS. OTT applications are free to use, which makes them more cost effective than SMS and MMS. They are sometimes preferable to MMS for sharing multimedia files as they do not have the same file size limits. They also offer more features, such as group messaging, message broadcasting, and audio and video calling. However, OTT applications can only communicate with each other (i.e., you cannot send a WhatsApp message to someone using WeChat). Conversely, you can send SMS and MMS messages to anyone with a mobile device. What is better to use for mobile marketing?SMS is ideal when you want to communicate short messages that contain essential information. For example, if you are running a text-to-join campaign, and you expect a lot of people to sign up, it is more cost effective to send SMS messages. It is also effective for sending transactional SMS messages, such as:
If cost is a factor, then it makes sense to send SMS messages, as MMS messages will always cost more. Sending MMS messages requires your carrier to send more data than a standard SMS message. If your data plan limits the number of text messages you can send per month, you will be able to send more SMS messages than MMS messages. For example, if you have a 1000-message limit, you could send 1000 SMS messages, but you might only be able to send 300 to 500 MMS messages. However, MMS marketing campaigns have higher engagement levels than traditional SMS messages. On average, an MMS campaign has 15–20% more engagement than an SMS campaign. MMS messages are 10 times as likely to be shared on social media channels than SMS messages. Marketing messages with visuals are also 43% more persuasive than messages with text alone. Given how MMS messages are more effective for marketing purposes, you might want to use this option for certain types of digital marketing, such as:
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| Posted: 22 Jan 2021 05:00 AM PST  MMS messaging is popular among people texting their friends and for text message marketing for businesses. Although SMS messaging has been around longer, and is still widely used, MMS messaging has become more popular, thanks in part to the growth of smartphones. It is easier than ever to send text messages with GIFs, emojis, pictures and videos attached. What is MMS?MMS stands for multimedia messaging service. It is an extension of the SMS (Short Message Service) protocol. MMS is a text message that can include both text and media, such as pictures, GIFs, videos, audio clips, etc. It also allows an "unlimited" amount of text (depending on the service provider), while SMS allows a maximum of 160 characters. MMS messaging is integrated into your mobile device's text messaging interface. Once you add a graphic, video or emoji, your smartphone will send the multimedia part of your message by MMS. When someone sends you a multimedia message, your device will automatically use MMS to receive the file. If your device is not automatically MMS-enabled, the text message you receive will include a URL where you can view the file online. Benefits of MMS for businessThere are several benefits to using MMS for business texting:
How do businesses use MMS messaging?Businesses can use MMS messaging in many ways. Preceding messages with a subject lineMMS enables you to include a subject line, which is not available for SMS messaging. The subject line appears in bold over the graphic and below your name and number when previewing the message. You can use copywriting strategies to create a compelling subject line to engage your customer's interest and curiosity to compel them to open the message. You can also include emojis in the subject line to make it catchier and more attractive. Sending and receiving photosPeople enjoy using their smartphones to take pictures when shopping, travelling, attending events, and for capturing special moments. This means your customers can take photos of products that interest them for potential future purchase. They can then use MMS messaging to share these pictures with you. You can then share photos of similar or complementary products with your customers through MMS. Providing instructional images or manualSometimes, customers will need help with using your product, as they might have lost the instructions that came with it. You can use MMS to send a user manual or specific instructional images to customers to ensure they are using the product correctly. You can also provide specific directions and answers to their questions. Sending and receiving screenshotsWords are not always enough when people need help with understanding a problem. Unfortunately, you can't always show the customer in person how something works. You can use MMS to send and receive screenshots to help customers troubleshoot product use issues and guide them with demonstrations. This will ensure that you and the customer are both looking at the same thing. Sending a map or locationMany smartphones are equipped with GPS or map apps, although they might not provide enough detail to find your retail location. You can use MMS to provide customers with customized map images to eliminate any confusion and make it easier to visit your store. Sending images with hyperlinksWhile you can include text, images and videos in your text message, MMS messaging enables you to do more than provide customers with information. You can encourage customers to visit your website by including a hyperlink in the MMS message. You can provide links to valuable resources, and lead potential customers through your sales funnel. For example, add a link with a promotional image in your MMS message to lead customers to a specific landing page, where they can get more information and order your product. Receiving images of documentsYou no longer need to send documents by fax or wait for them to arrive by mail or courier. MMS enables you to attach a picture of a document. Your customer could sign a receipt or proof of purchase and attach it to an MMS message to provide proof of signature. MMS messaging can also be used to show signed contracts, timesheets or other documentation necessary for closing a deal. EntertainmentPeople will often share entertaining videos and images with their friends. As a business, you can entertain your customers with MMS messages that include audio, video or GIFs, which is more effective than text alone. Sending birthday wishes or congratulations to customers via MMS is a good way to build relationships with current customers, as well as with potential clients. How much does MMS messaging cost?It costs more to send MMS messages than SMS messages, as MMS messages use two to three times more data than SMS messages. The cost depends on your text service provider and the volume of text messages sent. For example, costs can range from 5 to 10 cents per text message sent. What restrictions are there on MMS business messaging?It is legal to send business messages via MMS. However, you must follow your country's legal guidelines, as well as the rules laid out by your carrier. According to the U.S. Telephone Consumer Protection Act, your company must get the customer's express written permission to send text messages to their phones and mobile devices. Getting written consent can involve signing a physical document or a digital signature. Under Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), if a customer does business with your company, they give you implied consent to contact them for the next two years. You can also request express written consent to contact them by text message. How can you keep MMS costs down?One of the easiest solutions is to send more SMS messages, as they cost less to send than MMS messages. You can be selective about when to use SMS messages versus using MMS messages. For example, you can use SMS messages for transactional messages (e.g., order confirmations, delivery tracking messages, appointment reminders, password resets). You can also choose SMS messages instead of MMS messages for text-to-join campaigns. Different text carriers will price MMS messaging differently than their competitors. Some providers will offer higher limits or packages that support more MMS messages. Do your research to find the most affordable carrier for your business, especially if you plan to send a lot of MMS business messages. MMS messaging costs depend on the size of the message, which are affected by the size of the image, video and audio files embedded in the message. Reducing the size of these files will help you to keep MMS costs down. Use the following tips to help to reduce MMS message file sizes and their associated costs:
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| Posted: 22 Jan 2021 04:30 AM PST  SMS messaging is one of the oldest and most popular methods for people to text their friends. Businesses can also communicate with customers and market their products and services via SMS messaging. With so many people having access to smartphones and mobile devices, it's one of the easiest ways for businesses and people to communicate with others, no matter what device they are using. What is SMS?SMS stands for Short Message Service. It is a text message that contains only text, limited to 160 characters. SMS does not include pictures or video. SMS is one of the oldest texting technologies, as it was developed in the 1980s. It is also one of the most widely used, although there are many newer and different ways to communicate with others. SMS vs. text messagesSMS is the same as text messaging. Both terms refer to sending text messages with a 160-character limit. However, many people refer to "texting" or "text messages" as any type of message involving text, including MMS and messages sent on other platforms. SMS vs. MMSSMS has a 160-character limit, while multimedia messaging service (MMS) allows many more characters (it is limited only by the service provider). MMS enables you to send videos, images, audio, and hyperlinks with the text message. MMS also allows you to add a subject line to your message, whereas SMS does not. SMS vs. RCSRich Communications Services (RCS) is a next-generation SMS protocol, and is proprietary to Android devices in Google Messages. It is an upgrade on text messaging, but it has not been as widely adopted. RCS supports a number of rich features, including read receipts, high quality images, large videos (with no need to compress media), and suggested actions. SMS vs. Verified SMSVerified SMS is an enhanced version of SMS and is proprietary to Android devices in Google Messages. It provides another level of validation for texts sent by businesses. Verified SMS enables businesses to display their logo to support the branded experience. It also allows customers to opt in to receive SMS from a business, which should help to reduce spam. SMS vs. OTTOver-the-top (OTT) applications, such as WhatsApp, iMessage, WeChat, and Facebook Messenger, use the Internet rather than a cellular network to send messages. To view these messages, recipients must download the app to their smartphone or mobile device. Each OTT application has its own protocols for sending and receiving messages, uses different platforms, and has different network requirements. It is also free to send and receive messages through OTT applications. Types of SMS messagesThere are different types of SMS messages that you can send. P2P SMSPerson-to-Person (P2P) SMS involves text messaging in human-to-human communications. The balance of messages sent versus received should be about one to one. P2P SMS should not exceed one message per second (MPS). A2P SMSApplication-to-Person (A2P) SMS involves text messaging from an application to a person. This is also a type of business messaging. A2P SMS allows sending of automated texts, so it can exceed one MPS. It also requires special numbers, such as short codes, toll-free and 10DLC Short codeShort codes are five- to six-digit numbers used for sending high-volume, high-throughput A2P text messages. They cannot be used for two-way communications or to make voice calls. However, recipients can use certain keywords (e.g., "YES" to confirm, "STOP" to opt out) as responses to these types of messages. Toll-free SMSToll-free SMS supports sending high-volume, high-throughput text messages using toll-free phone numbers (e.g., 800, 888). Most toll-free numbers can support SMS messages. Toll-free SMS supports two-way communications; recipients can respond to these messages as they would for normal text messages, and can call the number if it is voice enabled. 10DLCTen-digit long codes (10DLC) are sanctioned, 10-digit, local phone numbers that support high-volume, high-throughput messaging. They support two-way communications and voice calling. However, they require an associated carrier fee to access A2P SMS. Benefits of using SMS for businessThere are several benefits to using SMS for business, specifically related to text message marketing campaigns:
How do businesses use SMS messaging?Businesses can use SMS messaging in many ways. MarketingCompanies can use SMS messaging to send promotional messages, sales announcements, coupons, and other marketing content directly to their customers' phones. They can also conduct surveys and polls, or allow recipients to participate in contests via SMS. This means customers are more likely to see and read your message, which will increase customer engagement and sales. Sending alerts, notifications, and remindersWhen a customer places an order, they can receive an automated SMS message when their order has been processed, as well as when the product is out for delivery. When a customer schedules an appointment, they can be sent a reminder the day before the appointment, as well as an automated text if there is a change in the date or time. Thanks to the high open rate of SMS messages, businesses know that customers will receive and read their SMS message on time. Sending coupons and special offersBusinesses can send links to digital coupon codes, discounts, and special offers via SMS messaging. This enables customers to take advantage of the offer without having to remember to bring something with them, as the link will already be on their phone. This has the advantage of making it easier for customer to purchase products and services from your business, which will increase engagement and sales. Providing customer supportBusinesses can integrate SMS into their customer support system. This enables them to make more efficient use of their human resources, as customer service reps will be able to handle multiple requests at the same time. It also enables customers to request voice calls when they need to address an issue through direct communications. Businesses can increase the efficiency of their contact centers without having to hire additional staff. Two-factor authenticationMaintaining the security of your customers' personal information is essential – for them and your business. You can use two-factor authentication (2FA) within SMS messages to verify a customer's login information, complete order verification, and eliminate the risk of compromised passwords. It's more secure than using passwords alone, and it adds another layer of protection when verifying an individual's identity. Supporting group messagingYou can use SMS messaging to allow groups of three or more participants to send and receive messages. Some devices will support group messages with up to 30 people. This enables your business to communicate with multiple parties simultaneously. This can be advantageous when time is a factor, such as when a family is purchasing a home. |
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