Texting is the top choice for communication, even for businesses. Not only is it easy to access and use, but it’s also more efficient. In fact, business texting has a 98 percent open rate compared to the 20 percent rate for email. What’s more, 60 percent of customers read texts within 5 minutes of receiving them. And this engagement only goes up when you send visuals using business MMS. This means customers are more likely to actually read your message (and interact with your brand).

Business MMS is a great way to improve customer experience and satisfaction. According to Techjury, customers actually prefer to receive brand updates via text. In fact, 80 percent want to receive offers via text, and 45 percent will take action after receiving a text from a business. Giving customers what they want and accommodating their preferences improves their experience and satisfaction.

Here are seven of the most common questions about business MMS.

1. What is business MMS? SMS and MMS are often lumped together as text messaging, but they are actually two different services. SMS is short for “short messaging service,” while MMS stands for “multimedia messaging service.” While the difference between SMS and MMS isn’t a big deal for most of us, it’s crucial for businesses looking to improve customer satisfaction, engagement, and customer experience because it offers a more engaging way to interact with customers. Engaged customers are more likely to visit your website, which leads to more sales.
2. How is business MMS different from SMS? SMS provides text-only capabilities, while business MMS contains media files such as images, videos, audio, and even files. A bonus of MMS is that the text can be more than 160 characters.
3. How can I use business MMS and SMS? SMS is perfect for sending simple messages such as appointment reminders, delivery updates, or information about upcoming events. With business MMS, you can send richer content, including images, pictures, and GIFs. Visual content is more interesting to look at, and it’s more likely to grab customers’ attention: MMS messages have a 52 percent higher click through rate compared to standard SMS texts. There is also research indicating that customers are 800 percent more likely to share an MMS message with their friends and family.
4. What are some examples of business MMS? The opportunities for business MMS are limitless! Retailers can text their customers a graphic with an upcoming sale or promotion, a salon can send pictures of their monthly promotions and products to existing customers, or an insurance provider can send a snippet from their newest commercial to potential leads.
5. Why is business MMS important for my business? Business MMS capabilities are an important part of a unified communication strategy because they allow you to go beyond the usual methods of communication to reach customers on the platforms they prefer and use most, using the visual content they prefer.
6. Is business MMS secure? Of course! Business texting (including SMS and MMS) is regulated by the TCPA, which is short for the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. It protects consumers by restricting telemarketing calls, automatic dialing systems, and pre-recorded voice messages. To stay compliant, you need to get consent from your customers and provide a way for them to opt out of communications and disclose the full scope of your communications openly and honestly before sending an SMS or MMS.
7. Does Broadvoice offer business MMS? Absolutely! Broadvoice offers SMS and MMS capabilities through our b-hive Communicator app for mobile and desktop and our Bubble business texting platform. Both solutions let you send and receive traditional SMS and MMS.

With how fast technology evolves and new solutions become available, there are hundreds — if not thousands — of ways to engage your customers. Business MMS is just one of these ways. Broadvoice can help your business stay ahead of the digital transformation and interact with your customers in a more engaging way.

To learn more about business MMS for your business, schedule a demo with one of our team members.