As you become involved in the e-commerce realm, you will realize that SMS marketing stands the test of time. Even though plenty of other marketing tactics have emerged, SMS marketing still hasn’t lost its relevance.
But we are not here to talk about SMS marketing. We are here to raise the bar and talk about MMS marketing. It can be considered as the cousin of SMS marketing. If used appropriately, it can increase customer engagement, attract more customers, and increase conversion rates.
You might be mixed up now and eager to know more about this unique tactic of MMS marketing.
So, in this article, we will provide you with a full guide on MMS marketing, why to use it for your e-commerce, the best tactics to use, and some statistics.
Trust us, you don’t want to miss this.
Table Of Contents:
- What Is MMS Marketing?
- How Does MMS Marketing Work?
- Important Statistics About MMS Marketing
- Why To Use MMS Marketing For E-commerce Brands?
- Using MMS Marketing in your Marketing strategy
- Best MMS Marketing Tactics To Use
What Is MMS Marketing?
MMS marketing, or multimedia messaging service, is a mobile marketing tactic that sends enhanced text messages by incorporating content like video, images, GIFs, or audio.
In addition, it offers a higher word count than SMS, with up to 1600 characters in a single message.
So, it’s an upgraded version of traditional text messages. It can be used for sending product images or promotional videos. Hence, it’s more visually appealing and interactive. Simply, it surpasses all the drawbacks of plain text messages.
How Does MMS Marketing Work?
As an extension of SMS marketing, MMS marketing uses multimedia components to convey more engaging and dynamic messages.
Before sending MMS messages, you must have the receivers' express authorization and a dependable mobile marketing platform.
Combining text, photos, videos, and other rich media with the platform's user-friendly interface is the process of creating messages. Make sure the content is always valuable to the recipients and consistent with your brand.
The MMS messages are delivered straight to the opted-in users' mobile phones whenever they are prepared. The recipients receive the messages via their messaging app, providing a smooth and interesting experience.
Important Statistics About MMS Marketing
- MMS marketing has shown itself to be a very successful marketing tactic. Research indicates that companies using MMS marketing see an average 15% conversion rate, whereas email marketing only achieves a 3% rate. (Tallbob,2023)
- Customers are eight times more likely to click on a link in an MMS message than in a standard text message, meaning that MMS communications have a substantially higher click-through rate.
- MMS claims an open rate of up to 98%. By contrast, the typical email open rate is about 20%. Because of this striking distinction, you can be confident that the messages you take the time and care to create are received. (Infobip,2023)
- Within three minutes, 90% of all MMS marketing messages are read. This implies that you can send out time-sensitive offers, such as temporary coupon codes or limited-time discounts, knowing that the recipient will view them before they expire.
Why To Use MMS Marketing For E-commerce Brands?
1- Showcase Your Products
You know what they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Thus, when you get the chance to incorporate images or videos into your messages, you should not miss it.
Images or videos included in your MMS messages showcase your products and their features in a clear manner that text messages can fail to show. Better angles and features can be shown which builds more customer trust.
2- Increase Customer Engagement
Leveraging MMS marketing into your e-commerce allows customers to discover more about your brand in an appealing and engaging manner. Hence, it paves the way for more interaction with shoppers.
Not to mention that people generally prefer diverse forms of media content over plain text. Therefore, one reason to start using MMS marketing for your e-commerce is that it is a compelling way to boost customer engagement through interactive messages.
3- Higher Open Rate
Generally, text messages have high open rates as they are sent on mobile phones, the most used channel, less likely to be ignored, and easy to read. Yet, when the messages include videos or images, the probability of ignoring the message becomes minimal.
Because customers are more attracted to visuals, MMS messages are more likely to grab the attention of their recipients; this contributes to a higher open rate.
4- Gets More Shares
The chances for people to share plain texts are very low. Yet, when your content is fun and engaging GIFs or images of your upcoming collection, shoppers will be more inclined to share.
Therefore, one of the reasons you should start working on MMS marketing is the greater brand awareness you can gain through higher shares.
5- Increases Conversion Rates
As we speak of higher engagement, open rates, and brand awareness, all of these elements collectively contribute to one missing part of the equation which is increased conversion rates.
Messages including visuals tend to gain better responses from individuals compared to plain text. Consequently, leveraging MMS text messages increases the likelihood of customers responding positively and making purchases.
Simply, an engaged and interactive customer is more likely to convert.
How Can Online Stores Use MMS Marketing in Their Marketing Strategies?
It requires a bit of creativity and preparation to maximize MMS marketing. But there can be huge advantages once you identify a winning tactic. Here are some examples of how businesses are using MMS in eCommerce. As a marketer, you can use MMS to show:
- Discount codes: Discount codes are used by many businesses, but including them in an image provides them an advantage. Doing this keeps the recipient interested by adding flair and excitement. Additionally, it offers subscribers a special advantage not available through internet coupon aggregators. These can be integrated with product announcements or double opt-ins to reward new members.
Source: infobip.com
- QR codes: Sending links with quick-response codes is an excellent and captivating method. They provide the audience with a chance to learn more since they are intriguing and mysterious. Release a strange product, make a surprising update announcement, or provide a novel experience.
Image source: messagemedia
- Engaging ads: Textual material is typically less engaging than visual media. Text message marketing is no different. Eye-catching advertisements get attention, so make the most of this while running campaigns.
Do you wish to promote a spectacular new product? Display it with MMS. Even some text can be added to highlight its better qualities. An illustration that explains discounts is quite helpful for some sales announcements.
- Showcase your offerings: Videos or photos of the products are crucial for any e-commerce brand. High-quality photographs enable customers to inspect things up close before making a purchase. Add product photos or videos to your promotional text messages to make them more interesting. Try timing the text for when people are most likely to be hungry if you work in the food or beverage industry. Imagine receiving a tempting food photo from someone when lunch is almost over!
Best MMS Marketing Tactics To Use
Now that you are aware of MMS marketing and its massive importance let’s start going through the best tactics to use to maximize your benefits from this vital marketing strategy.
1- Compress The Size Of Your MMS Message
One of the best tactics usually overlooked by online businesses and hinders the effectiveness of MMS text messages is compressing the size of your messages.
Because MMS messages feature videos, images, and GIFs, this makes its size larger than traditional messages. Hence, you have to compress the size of your messages to ensure seamless delivery and enhance user experience.
The longer it takes for a message to download, the more likely recipients will become bored and ignore it (We certainly don’t want this to happen).
2- Go Creative
With MMS marketing, you can send visually appealing messages right to customers' phones without downloading any app or even having internet access.
So, if there is one thing you have to do, it’s to unleash your creativity!
An MMS message is an opportunity on a silver platter to grab customers’ attention. Hence, use it wisely by including appealing visuals. Also, don’t miss including text as well.
Even though MMS messages are predominantly about media, you must include attractive texts to deliver an optimal combination that captivates your audience.
3- Be Direct And Precise
Even though the word count of MMS is larger than that of the SMS, you still have to be direct, precise, and to the point.
MMS text messages have to be digestible content that can be quickly read. Thus, don’t overcomplicate things, and make sure to deliver a straightforward message that easily delivers your point.
4- Don’t Forget A Clear CTA
Well, being straightforward with your MMS text message doesn’t mean ignoring the essential elements of effective promotional material which includes a clear call to action (CTA).
In MMS tactics, it’s crucial to have a clear CTA to encourage customers to convert. So, to avoid losing all of your MMS marketing efforts, don’t miss adding the CTA.
5- Personalize Your Messages
Personalization is on the rise in the e-commerce landscape. Hence, it’s included in all of the marketing tactics, and MMS marketing is no exception.
There are plenty of ways you can follow to personalize your MMS messages.
You can go as simple as including the customer’s name in your message. It’s very simple but will add a sense of individualization that shoppers like.
Alternatively, you can personalize based on customers’ purchase history by delivering relevant product recommendations through MMS.
Not to mention that personalization can be based on your different market segments. This will ensure your text messages' relevancy and lead to higher conversion rates.
Speaking of segmentation and conversion, we understand that segmenting customers is a huge burden for any online business. Yet, no need to worry about segmentation anymore as Convertedin is here to the rescue.
Convertedin is a marketing automation tool that provides an automated segmentation engine that enables your e-commerce to segment customers based on different transactions and purchase patterns.
In addition, it relies on its auto segmentation to tailor its messages across various channels to ensure that customers will convert.
Final Thoughts:
To always stay on top, you have to constantly keep up with the changes occurring in the e-commerce realm. Hence, incorporating MMS marketing is not an option anymore.
It’s a simple marketing strategy yet it can go a long way for your e-commerce. Now that you are aware of its advantages and the best tactics to use, it's time to roll up your sleeves and create a compelling MMS marketing strategy.
However, combining the new approaches with a glimpse of the old school is always successful. Hence, SMS marketing will never become obsolete as it should complement MMS messages.
