Few other communication tools have as much reach as SMS. While we may only sporadically check emails and instant messages from our WhatsApp groups and other channels, the simplicity and universal nature of SMS means it has a wide range of uses for businesses. Communicating about appointments, reservations or an order’s delivery status, the personal nature of the messages – and the fact that we all have a device in our pocket to receive them – has long made it a powerful tool for brand-customer interactions.
Many consumers like SMS because they know it works on any smartphone their family and friends use. The GSMA estimates that we will see 6.3 billion mobile subscribers by 2030 – and with phones so integral to many of our lives, this represents billions of opportunities for businesses to engage with consumers wherever they are.
But while the first SMS was sent in 1992, little has changed about the technology in that time. Although we had MMS – ‘multimedia messaging service’ – as an evolution of SMS, users could not send these messages very cheaply, so it did not take off in the same way as their online messaging platform successors. SMS is still resolutely text-oriented, held back by various restrictions and a limit of 160 characters – hence the name ‘short messaging service’.
Therefore, despite SMS messages having very high open rates – as much as 98% – they may lack the marketing sophistication of other platforms, which affects their engagement rates. With little scope for experimentation, businesses need an SMS alternative to make such marketing messages more useful, personal and engaging.
So what comes next?
VP of Marketing for EMEA at Twilio.
RCS: A revolutionary format
That all changed with the advent of RCS – or ‘rich communication services’. As the name suggests, these advanced messages are rich with additional features that build on the original SMS format. RCS has been around as long as 2008, but it has only been adopted by the main mobile platforms relatively recently, finally bringing it into the mainstream.
Apple, for example, adopted RCS in Messages with iOS 18 in September 2024, while Google also supports the technology via Android, even if a user’s phone carrier does not. With already 1 billion RCS users via Google Messages alone, and as many as 2.5 billion monthly active users and growing according to Omdia, RCS traffic is expected to increase by more than a trillion messages year over year. Now is the time for brands to seriously consider this channel, especially given its advanced capabilities.
Shoppable Interactive Moments: What differentiates RCS from SMS is its ability to deliver more visually compelling content. For example, with RCS you can send much larger media files, such as photos, videos and high-quality GIFs, while the format supports longer messages without the SMS limit of 160 characters, or breaks them into segmented texts. All this makes for a more expansive form of communication.
RCS messages also support dynamic features such as buttons, carousels, and other interactive elements. This includes options for suggested responses and call-to-action (CTA) buttons that streamline customer interactions. This creates a seamless shopping experience with little barriers to purchase, significantly improving customer interaction and conversions. An example of a paint brand that moved one of their SMS campaigns to RCS saw their revenue increase by 115%, while their click-through rate increased from less than 3% with SMS to 21% with RCS.
Security and trust: With many scams, consumers are increasingly skeptical of texts from random numbers that lead them to click on unknown links. This uncertainty and perceived risk becomes a thing of the past with RCS, thanks to branded messaging – such as attaching logos and taglines – and verified sender IDs. In addition to allowing consumers to verify the legitimacy of a message’s sender, RCS is also supported by encryption between sender and receiver. By establishing such high security and privacy standards, brands can create a trusted relationship and form of communication with customers, while increasing brand credibility. This in turn leads to higher response rates and improved customer engagement.
A wide reach: With RCS, there are no entry barriers. Unlike many other forms of digital communication, users do not need to download a new app or create a new account; they can receive an RCS message just like any other text message. Even if a user’s device does not support RCS, the message will automatically be sent as an SMS.
This allows companies to upgrade their messaging, update an already existing, ubiquitous communication channel, but with the certainty that they can still reach the exact same target audience.
Improved delivery capability: RCS also has improved deliverability compared to SMS. The latter is sent with a lower priority compared to other types of traffic, which have much lower tolerances for latency – such as voice and data – by mobile operators. RCS, on the other hand, can be sent over any internet connection, meaning far lower chances of missed deliveries and delays between messages being sent and opened by users.
Analysis and insight: RCS puts marketers in the driver’s seat and provides businesses with detailed delivery and read receipts along with other analytics. This means brands can remain agile, allowing them to track and analyze message effectiveness and optimize communication strategies. It also represents another touchpoint—and opportunity—for brands to better understand their customers and their preferences, leveraging first-party data shared by customers.
The next wave of marketing
As a powerful communication tool with an already established audience base, RCS is expected to reshape the current SMS marketing landscape. This effect will only increase as more countries expand their support for it, beyond the 17 countries that currently have it in place (as of October 2024). According to Juniper Research, 60% of mobile subscribers are already RCS-capable by 2024. By using RCS, brands can boost engagement, effectiveness and trust, while offering a more dynamic experience that truly leaves an impression on customers. And in a landscape filled with lots of competing digital noise, RCS represents an opportunity to stand out from the crowd.
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