SMS vs. MMS: What is the difference?
What is SMS messaging?
SMS is an acronym for Short Message Service, also known as a text message. SMS messaging was the brainchild of Friedhelm Hillebrand and Bernard Ghillebaert, who developed the concept in the Franco-German GSM cooperation in 1984. However, it wasn't until 1992 that British software architect, designer, and developer Niel Papworth sent the first-ever text message.
To this day, SMS messaging is the most frequently used texting technology, and can be found on every mobile phone in the world, be it an ancient Nokia or the latest shiny iPhone. There is a 160 alphanumeric character limit per message and no capability to support sending graphics or pictures.
What is MMS messaging?
MMS is an acronym for Multimedia Message Service and is typically used to send multimedia content, including videos, photos, GIFs, and audio files. Unlike SMS, these messages have a much bigger restriction length, giving users greater scope to convey a range of information to their audiences. The maximum message size (along with the attachments) recently increased from 300KB to a maximum size of 600KB. However, size restrictions can be imposed by wireless carriers themselves.
Why should we care?
In the U.S. alone, more than 6 billion SMS messages are sent each day [1]. Research by the Data & Marketing Association revealed that 90% of texts would be read within three minutes, which rose to 98% by the end of the day [2].
In short, if you send an SMS message, your customer will see it. So incorporating this type of communication can massively increase customer engagement. The total number of SMS and MMS messages sent in the United States each year is eye-watering. We're talking thousands of billions of messages. That's thousands of billions of opportunities to connect with your customers, promote your products and cement your brand.
Being clear on the difference between SMS and MMS messaging can help businesses decide which will be more appropriate and effective to use under what circumstances. You may not be maximizing the potential benefits if you don’t understand the nuances between the two and when it’s best to use them. Incorrect usage could lead to ineffective campaign communication, poor engagement, and even loss of customers — which costs the business money.
From Papa John’s to JCPenney, big companies worldwide are using SMS and MMS messaging to market their services, collect information, and connect with their customers. And it's working. Take Dirty Lemon, for example, which has been using text messaging to take orders since 2015, and its direct sales to customers continue to increase monthly. [4]