While you can find both digital tools in practically every U.S. household, SMS messaging has fewer barriers to entry. According to Gartner research:4
“Various sources report SMS open and response rates as high as 98% and 45%, respectively — in contrast to corresponding figures of 20% and 6% for email.”
Even still, a 20% open rate is nothing to scoff at. Compared to other marketing uk business email list channels, it’s a wildly successful number. That said, the lower number is because email has some drawbacks that text simply doesn’t have.
For instance:
Checking email can be a hassle, especially if your inbox is flooded with messages.
Sometimes, messages get lost or automatically sent to your spam folder.
A person may have multiple email addresses that they check with varied frequency.
Not everyone checks their email daily, especially on weekends.
To put it simply, most Americans have an email address, but their ownership doesn’t always correspond to impressions, opens, clicks, or conversions.
On the other hand, most people check their text messages immediately upon receipt. Smartphones instantly display new messages, guaranteeing eyeballs on your marketing text.
#3 Click Rate
The click rate is the percentage of emails that got at least a single click.
Once again, SMS has a better percentage. A 2019 study found that the average click rate for email across all industries was 2.62%.5 This pales in comparison to SMS, where 29% of SMS marketing recipients click on links they receive.6 And of those, 47% went on to make a purchase for a conversion rate of nearly 14%.
Even though SMS may be more effective than email in that regard, both email and text can have a high click rate. How high depends on your carefully crafted copy and calls to action. Texts have limited space, which makes it challenging to compose a compelling message.
#4 Content Strategy
As discussed, each medium opens up different marketing opportunities:
- and short-form content. It’s multipurpose and can be used for a variety of reasons, including:
Email newsletters
In-depth educational pieces
Product promotions
Deals and coupons
Blog posts
Building and growing a community
