Glossary

Text message

What is a text message?

Well, you probably already know the answer to this. Unless you’ve been living under a rock that itself was also under a rock. But in case that’s the case, a text message is an electronic message that is generally sent to a phone number and received on a cell phone. A text message is also known as an SMS, or Short Message Service.  

These messages generally consist of – surprise! – text. But these days they can also include media. With Rich SMS, for instance, you can add a personalized landing page to a text message. Or if you just want to send a picture in your message, check out our MMS API! 

The importance of text messages 

Did you know that 98% of text messages are read within just 3 minutes? In other words, it’s a customer communications channel you can’t afford to miss out on! 

Text messages can also be used for user verification. And since SMS is an innate function of every smartphone and not a separate app that needs to be downloaded, text messages are a perfect way to reach anyone, anytime, anywhere. Alerts, pin codes, appointment reminders, promotions? All perfect use cases for the handy little SMS! 

How Sinch works with text messages 

This is where the Sinch story started! Back in 2008, our founders set out to reinvent mobile messaging. They realized that SMS presented an incredible opportunity for companies due to its immediate and widespread reach – but it needed a change. They wanted to make mobile messaging easy – to make it a “sinch”, if you will. That’s what we did, and that’s what we’re still doing – plus a whole lot more! 

We make it easy to send powerful, personalized text messages all over the world, whether you’re a business or an operator. You get unbeatable engagement, best-in-class delivery, and limitless global scalability. But don’t take our word for it – try it yourself!

Read more

SMS messaging services for global reach
The US SMS compliance guide
Sinch SMS for Operators
9 things Product Managers need to know about SMS messaging costs and ROI

Related glossary terms

MMS - Multimedia messaging service
MMS vs SMS
Omnichannel messaging

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