As a digital marketer, you must get maximum ROI from each marketing campaign you design and run. However, with so many marketing channels available these days, it can be quite challenging for marketers to choose the most suitable medium for their next campaign.  

Businesses looking to engage a large number of potential customers generally prefer email marketing over other available marketing channels. SMS marketing is relatively a new player, however, it's gaining attention as a powerful and result-oriented way to reach out to customers and get them to engage with your business.

While these two marketing channels look similar apparently, noticeable differences emerge when you start to look at their pros and cons.

So without further ado, let’s compare the advantages and disadvantages of using text blast marketing and email marketing.

Open Rate

Present-day customers are more distracted and busy than ever before. One of the studies conducted by the Pew Research Center revealed that over 91% of Americans own a mobile phone. Since texting is an in-built feature of almost every cellphone model introduced in the last 13 years, there is an off-the-rack framework for any business to reach to more than 290 million Americans. Also, there is no need to download any file, no signup needed, and nothing to register for when it comes to text message marketing.

SMS messages also have a massive open rate of 98% compared to a 22% open rate of emails. Unlike text messages, emails are often get lost in the spam folder. In essence, SMS marketing is a more direct and personal way to communicate with your current and prospective customers than any other marketing channel.

Easy to Read and Respond

No matter how well designed and inclusive your email marketing campaign is, all of your efforts will go down the drain if it fails to capture the reader's attention. With a standard limit of 160 characters, text blasts are short and to-the-point and can be read within seconds. There are many professional SMS marketing services available these days like SaturnText that allow their customers to choose relevant keywords and target their customers accordingly. This way you can keep your customers engaged and provide them with the most relevant information they’re looking for.

Click-Through Rate

Once you've successfully grabbed the attention of your potential customers, you want them to click the link you have added in the CTA section of your message. The click-through rate of any marketing campaign entirely depends on how well you write your Call to Action. The click-through rate of an email campaign ranges from 1.5% to 4.5% which typically ranges between 19% and 35% in the case of SMS marketing. 

Cost-Effectiveness

While the cost to send text messages is slightly bigger than sending emails, it can be reduced significantly using bulk SMS text message service. Since emails are highly customizable, the direct cost of each campaign can be different. However, it costs more than SMS marketing campaigns in general.

Personalization

There is no denying the fact that email marketing gives you the freedom to personalize messages, SMS messages make a lasting impact because of the simple format and high speed. A well-crafted message sent at the right time boosts customer engagement and drive sales. Using a keyword-centric CTA, you can easily target your customers and build as well as grow your SMS list.

The Deliverability Factor

Since text message marketing needs the customer to either signup or opts out, your SMS list includes only interested customers. Email marketing, on the hand, has bigger lists and your message have a higher chance of being sent to spam that can break your trust. As a marketer, it’s however important to make a feasible and realistic marketing strategy that can help you engage more and more customers in the shortest amount of time possible. Ideally, you should not send more than 2-3 messages per month as this way the chances of seeing these messages is higher.

SMS is Popular in Youngsters

Text messages are far more popular among youngsters. According to the recent statistics, 18 to 24-year-olds send and receive around 128 messages per day. Depending upon your product range, you need to determine what content your subscribers want and how often they want to hear from your brand. Make sure you segment your audience first and choose a channel that can help you interact with your customers like never before.

Final Words

Email marketing and SMS marketing both are evolving and must play a role in your marketing strategy. To choose the most effective marketing channel for your business, you must learn to weigh the costs and advantages of each, as both of these avenues are time and money investments. Honestly, this isn't about text blast marketing vs. email marketing, it's more about what your target audience is looking for.