The evolution of SMS in 2018

Companies use SMS landing pages to encourage their clients to carry out specific actions, like reserve an appointment at a business, or buy something online.

December marked 25 years since Vodafone sent the first SMS in history, wishing an employee a Happy Christmas using the messaging service. That was back in 1992, and since then, SMS messaging as a medium for communication has not stopped evolving.

What started as a direct channel of communication between individuals through mobile devices has become a perfect communication method for businesses. Companies find this system to be a secure way of establishing contact with their clients, customers or employees, undeterred by what apps they have installed or the type of mobile device they use.

What 2018 will bring for SMS messaging

With the rise of alternative messaging apps, the use of SMS on an interpersonal level has slowly diminished, and fallen into almost complete disuse. However, this is not the case on a business and technological level, sectors which have been developing fast over recent years, where SMS has become a very useful system of communication.

In fact, according to data extracted from the GMEI 2017, a study on mobile phones published by GSMA Intelligence, in many countries, SMS messages are used equally or even more so than WhatsApp.

Business mobile communication will continue to evolve in 2018. With it, will be the launch of a series of important features, outlined below.

SMS Landing Pages

SMS landing pages are one-page websites optimized for mobile use. They serve to provide more information, upload images or connect in a personal way with users.

Companies use SMS landing pages to encourage their clients to carry out specific actions, like reserve an appointment at a business, or buy something online.

Using a messaging platform like LabsMobile makes it easy to generate SMS landing pages using editing tools and templates.

RCS Solutions (Enriched Communication Services)

Enriched Communication Services will be the future of SMS, allowing companies to increase the security of their services. Customers will be able to easily identify and verify a company by their logo, design and corporate colors – difficult for fraudsters to imitate.

Similarly, it provides companies with real-time feedback from their audience. With the SMS API, users can instantly see the actions of customers: if messages have been received, opened and read.    

The RCS platform will allow any company’s customers to complete the majority of actions themselves, allowing businesses to become more automated.

Moreover, thanks to geolocation services found on most of the latest generation mobile phone devices, companies find it much easier to take advantage of proximity marketing, and utilize bulk SMS messaging operations to communicate promotions with customers, manage events, or send certified notifications.