The mystery behind MMS vs SMS marketing

The mystery behind MMS vs SMS marketing

We usually get quite a few questions about Multimedia Messages Services (MMS) marketing campaigns. It’s straightforward once you understand a few things.

What is an MMS?

An MMS is essentially a more visual version of an SMS, and here are a few reasons why businesses love using MMS messaging:

  • You can send videos, images and animated GIFs
  • There’s a subject line that’s up to 20 characters
  • The message copy has a limit of 1,000 characters

Frequently Asked Questions

1) What are the differences between SMS and MMS?

SMS: Although you can add special Unicode characters, emojis, and links, your message recipient will only receive it in a text format. 2 Way SMS and SMS Keyword campaigns are very popular for these reasons.

MMS: You can do everything that an SMS campaign can; however, you can’t send keywords. You can send multimedia files directly to your recipient’s phone without having them click on a link. MMS has three visual components that typically appear in the following order:

  1. Subject title
  2. Creative (MP3, MP4/MPEG4, PNG, JPG, JPEG, GIF)
  3. Message copy
SMS MMS
Subject Title Not Available Up to 20 characters
Message Copy Up to 612 Characters (4 concatenated SMS) Up to 1,000 Characters (No concatenation)
Custom Sender ID Available Available
2 Way SMS Available Available
Keywords Available Not Available
Unicode Characters Available Available
Website Links Available Available
Unique Link Tracking Available Available
Multimedia Files Not Available MP3, MP4/MPEG4, PNG, JPG, JPEG, GIF
Pricing Based on # of messages Based on # of messages

SMS vs MMS Visual Example

2) How much does MMS cost?

Since you can do more with MMS, the price is higher.

The file size can’t exceed 450 kb. For campaigns with over 10,000 recipients, we can provide discounts. If you’re interested in sending a campaign, fill out this form.

3) How can I send an MMS?

You won’t find an MMS option inside your Burst SMS account. We provide Managed MMS marketing services at the moment, where our MMS marketing experts do most of the work for you. We’ll need a creative from you, but if you need help, we can provide a quote for a custom design.

Want to learn how to create an MMS marketing campaign? Check out our guide.

If you’re interested in sending out an MMS campaign, click the link below and we will be in touch.