If you want to build a community around your brand, SMS and email marketing are likely the best options. You might already use one or both and need to adjust your strategy due to budget changes.

This guide will help you decide between SMS and email marketing. When revenue is at stake, you want to invest in channels that drive engagement, conversions, and loyalty. This is part of our latest SMS marketing updates.

What Is SMS Marketing?

SMS marketing is a marketing strategy that uses text messages to send customers content, promotions, alerts, or other communications.

 This approach utilizes mobile technology to deliver messages and often employs customer segmentation, which involves grouping recipients based on their interests, behaviors, or preferences.

Businesses use SMS marketing to establish direct communication with their customers and audiences, promote products or services, increase brand awareness, and foster loyalty. Connecting and interacting directly with your target audience is a straightforward method.

The Benefits of SMS Marketing

To understand the appeal of SMS marketing, let’s examine why marketers prefer it:

• Broad Reach: 52% of marketers use SMS marketing to reach a large mobile audience.
• Enhanced Engagement: 44.50% of marketers value SMS marketing for its ability to foster better communication and information exchange through increased customer engagement.

While 75% of consumers are open to receiving messages about shipment tracking, order status, and alerts, only 35% enjoy promotional SMS messages. 

This suggests that SMS marketing might not be the most effective choice for general promotional purposes, as most consumers prefer update-related messages.

How Does Email Marketing Work?

Email marketing is a type of digital marketing where businesses send targeted content to their audience through email. Its goal is to build and maintain relationships with both potential and existing customers.

These emails may include newsletters, special promotions, product updates, and more. Like SMS marketing, you can categorize your email list based on customer preferences, interests, or their current stage in the buying process.

The Effectiveness of Email Marketing

Email, while a relatively old communication channel, remains a popular choice for marketers. Here’s why:

• Revenue Generation: 59% of B2B marketers rely on email for revenue generation.
• Sales Focus: 24% of marketers use email marketing to drive sales.
• Building Relationships: 16% of marketers utilize email to foster customer relationships and loyalty.
• Customer Journey Communication: 72% of marketers prefer email for communicating with prospects at various stages of the customer journey.

This aligns with consumer preferences, as 76% of consumers enjoy receiving emails from brands, and 60% prefer promotional content through email.

What Are the Key Differences Between SMS and Email Marketing?

When comparing SMS and email marketing, three main factors stand out as crucial:

1. Open Rates: Emails typically have a 20% open rate, while SMS marketing boasts an impressive 98%. Additionally, it takes around 90 minutes for most people to open an email, whereas SMS messages usually open within 90 seconds. This means SMS delivers messages more quickly and reliably.
2. Engagement Levels: Click-through rates (CTR) help measure engagement across both platforms. Being brief and often containing just one link, SMS achieves a 6.1% average CTR. In contrast, emails have a lower 2.6% CTR, possibly because they require more time and attention.
3. Conversion Rates: The average conversion rate for SMS is 29%, while email sits at 15.2%. SMS generates 17 times more revenue than email, making it a more potent option for driving results.

How Do SMS and Email Compare in Performance?

Let’s examine key performance metrics to determine which platform is more effective for marketing content:

Performance Metric	SMS	Email
Open Rate	98%	28%
CTR	10%	3.8%
Conversion Rate	29%	15.22%
Read Rate	42%	32%
ROI	$10 for every $1 spent	$42 for every $1 spent

These figures represent overall averages and may vary depending on industry, business type, and specific use cases.

What Are the Pros and Cons of SMS and Email Marketing?

SMS and email marketing come with their own benefits and challenges. Here’s a breakdown of each:

Pros of SMS Marketing:

• Fast and convenient: People send texts four times more often than emails, making SMS a quick and standard communication method.
• Personal connection: SMS allows for one-on-one engagement in a trusted space, creating more meaningful and productive interactions.
• Higher ROI: SMS generates 17 times more revenue compared to email marketing.
• Two-way communication: SMS supports real-time feedback, fostering interactive conversations between sender and recipient.

Cons of SMS Marketing:

• Difficulty gathering phone numbers: People need to be more cautious about sharing their phone numbers, making it harder to build a contact list.
• Strict carrier regulations: SMS must follow strict mobile carrier guidelines, and businesses must register their traffic with The Campaign Registry (TCR) to ensure compliance.

Pros of Email Marketing:

• Longer messages: Emails allow for more detailed communication, making it easier to share complex information.
• Long shelf life: Emails can be saved, marked as necessary, and quickly searched for later.
• Customizable layouts: Email platforms offer various layout options, allowing for the addition of graphics and media to enhance engagement.

Cons of Email Marketing:

• It’s hard to stand out: With an average of 121 emails received daily, grabbing attention is challenging.
• Time-consuming: Copywriting quality emails requires significant time and effort from copywriters and designers, as well as potential A/B testing.
• Lack of instant interaction: Email doesn’t offer the same quick, two-way communication as SMS, making it harder to build immediate, personal connections.

Should You Choose SMS or Email Marketing?

In a world where users are bombarded with information, how do you capture their attention and grow your brand’s community?

There’s no single answer when it comes to marketing. It’s not about picking between SMS and email but finding ways to use both to highlight your brand’s purpose and connect with your audience.

SMS and email marketing are cost-effective tools for spreading your message and fostering a community of engaged consumers. 

You can even encourage email subscribers to sign up for SMS notifications, using both platforms to strengthen relationships with your core audience.

For example, Rappahannock News successfully used its email newsletter to grow its SMS subscriber base, leading to increased engagement and steady growth since launching its SMS campaign.

Conclusion

While SMS shows promising results, it’s essential to consider your audience’s preferences. Many users aren’t keen on receiving marketing messages via SMS, so understanding their communication preferences is key.

Consider integrating both SMS and email into your marketing strategy. To explore how to combine these channels effectively, take a look at our guide on omnichannel marketing.