Technology is the result of solving a problem.
New technologies are created to solve specific problems. For instance, people needed a way to share information quickly. Solution: The Internet. Problem: People want to have access to all of their music on the go. Solution: iPod. Problem: People want to send and receive huge amounts of text messages for free. Solution: SMS messaging apps.
While the technology solutions to many of our “problems” are very similar in nature, very often people create more than one means of arriving at this solution. Such is the case with SMS messaging apps, which have taken off specifically outside of the U.S. in the past few years. And it seems that there are many top contenders, but as the below infographic shows, each country has their own favorite.
Image source: Engadget
Today, WhatsApp is the most popular SMS messaging app worldwide. With over 64 billion messages sent and received in just one day, you have to think they’re doing something right. WhatsApp is the most popular because it is ad-free, works internationally, only costs $1/year of service and can be used across multiple platforms and devices.
While WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app across the globe, China, as always, has to be taken into consideration separately. WeChat is the preferred means of communication in China for both business and pleasure. As people in China tend to prefer to receive information this way, some businesses have even begun to send information to their employees and customers through WeChat.
So, what does this mean for advertising? To me, this is a whole new medium to reach potential and current clients and customers. The most important piece of this new medium will be determining where it is that your contacts reside. With so many SMS messaging apps available, determining who is on which app will have a huge influence on the success or failure of an SMS messaging app campaign. As the infographic shows, successfully targeting global SMS campaigns is going to require a bit of work.
What SMS messaging app do you think shows the most promise for businesses? Do you you use an SMS messaging app to communication with your employees and customers?
