Rich Communications Services (RCS), makes the plain, boring SMS extremely rich 😊 And it does that by adding facilitating the addition of rich features such as photo and video sharing, group chats, and so on, much like WhatsApp.
With RCS a company can send branded message to their users with their logo, identity and rich content into their native messaging inbox.
While RCS has been available for Android users for some time, this messaging protocol is finally being supported by Apple with the release of iOS 18. On iPhones, RCS messages are delivered in the pre-installed iMessages app. On Androids, they’re delivered in the pre-installed Google Messages app.
Because of the current hype around RCS, it’s a perfect time for marketers to learn more about RCS.
Features and benefits of RCS messaging
- Enhanced & Branded messaging – when a business sends a text, RCS enhances the humble SMS with rich capabilities. It’s like using WhatsApp to message your customers, so messages become more engaging and interactive. Instead of just a simple text message, RCS is replacing SMS by offering video, location sharing, high-resolution photos, maps, and even call to action.
- Tied to a phone number, not an app – One of the key differentiators RCS messaging is it brings the richness of Whatsapp messaging without having the need of a separate mobile app download as it can be sent to the mobile number
- Huge marketing benefits.
- Marketers can track how many messages arrive on a handset, how many messages are read and exactly when they are read
- Improve the customer experience with real-time order confirmations, product announcements, and information.
- Keep customers engaged with interactive messaging.
- Add RCS part of the omni channel marketing strategy
- Marketers can track how many messages arrive on a handset, how many messages are read and exactly when they are read
- Improve the customer experience with real-time order confirmations, product announcements, and information.
- Keep customers engaged with interactive messaging.
- Add RCS part of the omni channel marketing strategy
- Longer message limit (up to 8,000 characters) vs SMS which has only 160 Chars limit
- End-to-end encryption for secure messaging
In the future, businesses may even be able to allow customers to make their airplane seat selections directly within their RCS messages, without recipients having to navigate to a website or app.
Is RCS Business Messaging a fit for my brand?
- Cost: Cost is a key consideration for marketers looking to maximize their budget. Because RCS offers richer capabilities than SMS, it may cost more in some instances. Marketers should consider the cost of sending SMS versus RCS. For some brands, using both channels for different use cases might be the right choice.
- Deliverability: Deliverability is also a factor, since carrier coverage varies in different parts of the world. Depending on where your customer base is located, you may opt for SMS, RCS or some combination of both. Not to worry though. If a message cannot be delivered via RCS (because either the carrier or the device does not support it), the platform you are sending through may support an SMS fallback.
- Regulatory requirements: As with SMS, there are regulatory requirements to follow with RCS Business Messaging. Brands are required to go through a verification process which will provide them with a verified RCS sender, which shows users they are receiving messages from a brand they trust. As always, be sure to talk to your legal team before launching a new channel like RCS.
Key Takeaway
