Full Form of SMS

SMS or Short Message Service is the most used text messaging service in the world, mainly for the purposes of marketing, service fulfilment, and customer service, among many other things.

What is SMS?

Short Message Service or SMS is the text messaging service on most mobile phones and other mobile devices. The standardized communication protocols define how SMS is used to send text messages from device to device. The primary reason for the standardized nature of SMS is that it is the most ubiquitous text messaging service.

For sending short, text-only messages, SMS is ideal. But SMS is not the only text messaging service.

On Apple devices, text messages can be sent through iMessage, which is a separate service. Android also has something similar to this called RCS.

There is also MMS or Multimedia Messaging Sevice, which is the most common alternative to SMS. It too uses standardized protocols, which makes it compatible with more devices than iMessage or RCS.

SMS: Working

Primarily, the information is transmitted through a standard cellular connection, in the case of SMS. SMS messages, in most cases, do not require an internet connection to send. This is one reason why SMS is only capable of transmitting text.

The message gets transmitted, when you send an SMS message, from the sending device to the nearest cell tower. The message is then passed from that cell tower to an SMS centre (SMSC). Then from the SMSC, the message is forwarded to a cell tower near the receiving device. Finally, the message is sent to the recipient's device by the tower.

Using the same cellular infrastructure used by cell phones for phone calls, all of this can be achieved. It is for this reason that no internet connection is required so long as you have cell service.

Also, SMS messages are compatible with so many devices using this established cellular network. The technology required here is quite simple and it can be built into just about any device.

SMS and MMS: Differences

In terms of device compatibility, MMS is similar to SMS. But, MMS can also send multimedia content, i.e. videos, images, and audio in addition to transmitting text. Now, you might think why would one use SMS over MMS, if MMS is very compatible and much capable with the same devices.

The answer to this question is cost-effectiveness. If you are only sending text, then SMS is still a lot more cost-effective. Sending MMS is generally more expensive than sending an SMS message even if the message contains no multimedia content.

SMS: Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages of SMS

• SMS is very common throughout the world: There is some way to send and receive SMS messages for about 5 billion people in the world.
• You get efficient mass communication with SMS: If you use the right SMS software and carrier service it is easy and affordable to send an SMS message or hundreds or thousands of recipients

• Most of the SMS messages are read by people: SMS messaging system has a 99% open rate and most of the marketing texts get opened within 3 minutes.
• You get a personalized experience with SMS: Customizing messages and adding personalized details and making your message more friendly is possible through SMS marketing.

Disadvantages of SMS

• An SMS message has limited space: There is a 160-character limit in SMS messages. And, if you send a message that is longer than 160 characters, it will automatically get separated into 160-character messages.
• When you send marketing SMS messages, there are privacy and data protection laws that you must comply with: SMS has a steep fine for violating data protection laws but with proper compliance procedures, you can avoid them.
• Unsolicited SMS messages can make people suspicious: As text scams are very popular these days, it is very much possible that people might be suspicious of SMS marketing. Therefore, it is essential that SMS messages are crafted carefully to be clear about who is sending the message and what is the reason for sending the message. People's suspicion about an unexpected text is eased through these details.

Conclusion

This is all that you have to know about the SMS system, which mainly facilitates marketing needs in the present day. You can still use it for the old times and bring back some nostalgic memories of the past.

Let us know about your SMS-ing stories in the Comments section.

Have a good day.