Push Notifications vs. SMS: What You Need to Know Before Choosing the Right One

These days, consumers use smartphones for almost everything – banking, shopping, social, food ordering, entertainment, education, and whatnot! According to a study done by Statista, US people spend around 4 hours and 39 minutes on a mobile phone. That’s why businesses must communicate with customers via the communication channels they use most. SMS and push notifications are two such communication channels. However, understanding the difference between push notifications vs. SMS is crucial to selecting the ideal communication channel for your business. This blog explains the difference between SMS & push notifications when to use each, and how to decide which solution is perfect for your business.

So, without further ado, let’s get started.

What is Push Notification?

Push notifications are small clickable pop-up messages that appear on the mobile device. A business sends these messages to consumers via a mobile app or a website. There are three main types of push notifications.

1. Mobile Push Notifications – In mobile push notifications, messages are sent through mobile apps. These messages appear on the home screen.
2. Web Push Notifications – Messages are sent through web browsers even when the user is not actively using the website.
3. In-App Notifications – In this type, messages appear within the app whenever the user is actively using it.

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We can further classify them based on their use cases

Push notifications appear on the screen as a banner, badge, or alert. Its main goal is to notify users about new content, updates, events, reminders, products/services, or other relevant information.

The main benefit of push notifications is that users don’t need to be in a specific app or a website to see them. The key characteristics of these push notifications are as follows.

• Push notifications appear on the lock screen or in the top selection of mobile devices.
• App publishers can send push notifications only if the user has installed their app.
• Users must opt-in to receive push notifications.
• Push notifications are usually 100 to 200 characters and can include rich media such as images, videos, or interactive buttons.
• Businesses can personalize push notifications based on user behaviour or preferences.

Structure Of Push Notification

Push notifications are made up of icons, titles, date &  time, and message text.

Advantages of Push Notifications

Here are a few advantages that push notifications offer:

• There is no need for phone numbers because users opt-in through apps/websites.
• Push notifications support videos, images, and interactive buttons that offer a more engaging experience.
• If your business has an app or website with frequent user activities, it provides a high engagement rate.
• Push notifications appear immediately on the user’s screen, encouraging quick action.

In short, push notifications are most effective when you want to engage app users, drive web traffic, and improve user experience.

What is SMS?

It is the most common form of communication and is widely used today. It is a type of message that is sent from one mobile device to another. Anyone with a mobile phone will be familiar with SMS, the native text messaging app built into their device.

The SMS character limit is 160 characters and does not include images or videos. For attaching videos/images, businesses need to use MMS. You can learn the difference between SMS vs MMS messaging in our guide.

Although SMS do not include images or videos, they deliver information to users directly, whether it is about promoting products/services or reminding them about appointments.

SMS are widely used for business and personal communications as they are fast and convenient ways to deliver information to individuals or groups without internet connectivity.

There are three main types of SMS communication.

1. Standard Text Messages – They are direct messages (A2P or P2P) sent manually or in bulk.
2. Automated SMS – Scheduled text messages, which are usually triggered by specific actions
3. Transactional SMS – Important alerts such as OTPs, payment confirmations, etc

Generally, businesses can use SMS for various purposes such as two-factor authentication, delivery and travel updates, payment notifications, fraud and weather alerts, promoting products or services, customer service, and appointment and medication reminders.

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Key Characteristics of SMS

• SMS do not require any app installation or internet connection.
• Usually, the SMS character limit is 160 characters, so longer messages can be split into multiple SMS.
• It can be sent to any mobile phone with SMS capability.
• SMS has a 98% open rate and a 45% response rate, which is higher than other forms of communication, such as email.
• Mobile carriers charge based on per message basis.

Structure Of SMS

Source: Link

SMS text messages contain the following elements.

Advantages of SMS

• It works on all mobile devices without requiring an internet connection.
• SMS offers a higher open, response rate, and conversion rate.
• SMS messages get delivered immediately, and as they involve the recipient’s mobile number, they are considered more trustworthy.

In short, SMS is more effective in reaching a wider audience and sending time-sensitive messages. As it offers high open rates and quick response times, it is a direct, quick, and highly reliable communication channel.

Key Difference Between Push Notifications and SMS

The following table demonstrates the core difference between push notifications and SMS.

Which is Better for Your Business: Push Notifications or SMS?

Here are a few factors that you need to consider while deciding whether to choose push notification or SMS for your business.

Choose SMS if your users are offline, non-smartphone users, or in areas with limited internet connectivity. SMS is the right choice for reaching a broader audience. Push notifications are the perfect fit if your audience base is online and users frequently engage with your app.

If you want to send rich media content, push notifications are ideal. SMS works perfectly for concise and text-based alerts.

OTPs, time-sensitive messages, and emergency alerts should go through SMS. You can choose push notifications for promotional updates.

Push notifications are excellent if your main goal is to engage app users. However, if you need a guaranteed way to reach customers, SMS is perfect.

Go for a Combined Multichannel Communication Strategy

Instead of choosing one over the other, combine both and implement a comprehensive combined multichannel communication strategy. For example, use push notifications for engagement purposes such as promotions, updates, or personalized content. If you want to send important alerts such as OTPs, order confirmations, or reminders, use SMS. You can even follow up with an SMS if a push notification is not delivered.

Find the Perfect Fit to Reach a Wider Audience

In a nutshell, deciding between push notifications or SMS is dependent on your business needs and customer’s preferences. Each communication channel has its own advantages and disadvantages. You might find that some users pay more attention to push notifications, whereas others might be more interested in receiving SMS. So, depending on how your customers respond to either communication, you need to customize your marketing campaigns.

The best way is to combine both and strike the right balance of multichannel marketing techniques to increase conversion, engagement, and retention rates. Now that you know the difference between push notifications vs. SMS, understand your target audience and the nature of your business, and choose the one that perfectly aligns with your business goals.

To help you get started, at Textdrip – the best SMS marketing platform, we offer a  FREE trial, and you can even book a demo to find out whether or not SMS marketing is a perfect fit for your business.