While SMS text messaging was a staple of the early 2000s, the technology is starting to show its age, as it lacks all the features, bells, and whistles that we expect to see today. Rich messaging is actually fairly popular with individuals for personal use as well, but its use cases go beyond just sending funny GIFs to your family members.
Known formally as rich communication services (RCS), rich messaging is an evolution of SMS text messaging that, unlike its predecessor, supports sending and receiving multimedia content from pictures and videos to audio recordings, files, and even phone contacts.
When used properly as part of a mobile marketing initiative, RCS can be an invaluable business tool for building superior customer experiences and boosting client engagement. It empowers your advertising campaigns to capture new leads by working with them through this easy-to-use and convenient real-time communication channel.
RCS has a number of advantages over traditional text messaging beyond the introduction of multimedia support.
- Messages can be up to 10mb each and exceed 8,000 characters in length.
- Special features like group messaging and integrated video calls are now possible.
- The service is cross-platform and works on a variety of device types.
- Information can be gathered from conversations to use for analytics.
Are these advantages backed up by the numbers? They are according to Google’s report on RCS for business use. About 3/4ths of consumers are more likely to engage with a brand if RCS communication is available, and people are a whopping 35 times more likely to read an RCS message than an email.