SMS and MMS messaging, what is the difference?
An sms (short message service) message has a limit of 160 characters including spacing and punctuation. An example of an sms message from a movie studio would be:
“Check out Robin Hood @ theatres. This wknd only, $2 off movie ticket. Msg&Data rates may apply. Reply RATES for more info. Reply STOP to end.”
The sms and mms difference is that MMS (Multimedia messaging) allows you to add an image or video to the message and there is no limit in the number of characters one can use. Using the Paramount example, an MMS message can include a link to a video trailer turning the message into a multi-media experience.
“Check out Robin Hood at theatres. Click HERE to watch the video trailer and see scenes from the movie! This weekend only, $2 off movie ticket. Message & Data rates may apply. Reply RATES for more info. Reply STOP to end.”
From the Mobile Marketing Pros on LinkedIn…
The benefits of MMS over SMS for marketing are huge! MMS allows you to completely brand or visualise mobile messages. I have seen case studies where MMS can get 35% return. Also worth noting MMS does till have a character limit, but you are looking more like 1000 characters.
A minor correction in your post.
You can send a text / SMS message with a LINK to a video trailer – that’s still SMS. The difference with MMS is that the content is embedded within the message itself.
The challenge with MMS over SMS (becoming less over time) is that some of the phones that do not support MMS.
Definitely true, lots of phone still do not support MMS. Thanks for the comment!
Eric,
At least in the US, majority of handsets, more than 90% support MMS today. This number is only 2 to 3% lower than SMS support. MMS enabler must just know how to create such MMS to be rendered on majority of handsets.
Eric,
Your second example with a link to a video is still SMS message. MMS message would have a video downloaded to the handsets together with the text part. When the MMS message is opened by a user, the first slide could be a text advertising a movie, like 5 to 10 seconds and then a video would start playing automatically.