Does the rise of online messaging apps diminish the efficacy of SMS marketing? Quite the reverse. In fact, a greater share of voice than ever before is available for smart marketers and savvy e-commerce operators.

Share of Voice is the weight your marketing messages carries. Imagine a crowded market – where each stall is a brand. When everyone is shouting about their brand, it’s difficult to be heard. Compare this to calling into a store: a one-on-one conversation with an interested customer. No shouting required.

As more and more ‘everyday’ messaging (chat between friends, texts from your mum you never get round to replying to, etc.) shifts to online apps, the more the marketer benefits.

The more relatively infrequent SMS texts become, the more precious they become in turn. The more share of voice they enjoy; the more weight they carry. Instead of being lost within the same perception of ‘clutter’ that email, direct mail, app and push messages suffer from, your message will instead be read, remembered and acted upon. 98% of SMS messages are read!

Experts such as Bill Tancer of Experian Marketing Services think SMS isn’t going anywhere, and that it is still the ‘gold standard of messaging’. It is the backbone of our mobile experience. Arguments to back up his claims include the fact that 100% of mobile phone owners have an SMS capability, whereas not every phone has the capability to use WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Also, although steps are being made to improve 3G/4G and WiFi coverage, not everywhere has this, but almost everywhere has network access.