MMS marketing: Definition, examples, and best practices

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Many marketers believe that MMS marketing is outdated and ineffective in the age of social media and chat bots. 

But in reality?

MMS marketing continues to be a powerful and impactful tool that allows businesses to send rich media content like images, videos, and audio alongside text messages directly to their customers’ mobile devices. 

MMS opens up new avenues for personalization, allowing businesses to tailor their messages. The targeted approach enhances the overall customer experience, fostering a sense of connection and relevance.

This article will introduce the benefits of MMS marketing, as well as share examples and best practices.

Let’s get started.

In this article:

• What is MMS marketing?
• How MMS marketing works
• How to use MMS for marketing
• MMS marketing examples
• MMS marketing best practices

What is MMS marketing?

MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) marketing is a mobile marketing strategy that uses multimedia content such as images, videos, and audio to communicate with target audiences. MMS marketing aims to increase brand awareness, customer engagement, and conversions by delivering captivating content.

MMS marketing enables marketers to surpass the constraints of traditional plain-text SMS by providing additional text characters and engaging multimedia content. This allows for more interactive and detailed brand storytelling. Its compatibility with almost all mobile devices ensures broad reach and impact. 

How MMS marketing works

To get started with MMS marketing, you’ll need a reliable mobile marketing platform and explicit consent from recipients that they’re happy to receive MMS messages from you.

Once ready, the MMS messages are sent directly to the mobile numbers of opted-in customers. The messages appear in the recipients’ messaging app, exactly the same as when they receive an SMS, offering a seamless experience.

MMS marketing tools allow you to track campaign performance by measuring open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. This helps you assess the impact of each campaign, refine your strategy, and improve future campaigns.

Through the dynamic blend of multimedia and personalization, MMS marketing establishes meaningful connections with customers. This fosters higher engagement and can yield impressive results for your marketing efforts.

Here’s a typical example of MMS marketing:

How to use MMS for marketing

The best use cases for an MMS in marketing are:

• New sale announcements
• New collection/product introduction
• Welcome messages
• Cart/Browse abandonment messages
• Birthday or anniversary messages
• Back-in-stock messages
• Invitation to a competition or loyalty program intro

MMS marketing examples

In this section, we’ll illustrate the use cases mentioned previously, by looking at the following real examples of promotional and automated messaging campaigns:

1. Haute Jewels: New collection announcement

2. Indigo Boutique: New collection + discount

3. Halo Life: New mask design

4. Indigo Boutique: Online-only sale

5. Bulldog nutrition: An early access/limited edition MMS

6. Crust club: Free cookie for every order

7. Basic piece: Abandonment cart MMS

8. Basic piece: Birthday MMS

9. Block of gear: Lapsed purchase MMS

1. Haute Jewels: New collection announcement

Haute Jewels is introducing a new collection and immediately offers 20% off for a weekend. As you can see, the image doesn’t have too many details. That helps the MMS recipients keep the focus on the new products. 

Also, the MMS provides the link to the online store, making it easy for customers to view the products.

2. Indigo Boutique: New collection + discount

Indigo Boutique is introducing a new fall collection with 15% off if you use the code “Thankyou”. The images showcase appealing collections available in the fall collection.

3. Halo Life: New mask design

Halo Life is introducing a new mask design. The message displays a large, high-resolution image placed at a perfect angle that allows you to appreciate every detail of the mask. 

4. Indigo Boutique: online-only sale

Indigo Boutique is giving an exclusive online-only sale discount of 15% on the elegant dress in the image, when you use the code “Thank you” at checkout. It displays an image with a  clean and minimalistic design.

The attention-grabbing image highlights the dress’s timeless beauty, making it a must-have for any occasion. 

5. Bulldog nutrition: An early-access/limited-edition MMS

Bulldog Nutrition offers an exciting early access/limited edition MMS, creating added value for loyal customers. 

The message features Alanu Nu pre-workout in the Breeze Berry flavor, with a clear image highlighting its limited availability—generating FOMO and giving customers the opportunity to make a purchase before it goes on general sale and sells out.

6. Crust Club: Free cookie for every order

Crust Club is offering its customers with an irresistible offer—a free cookie for every order. The image showcases mouthwatering mini cookies, adorned with a captivating banner that reads “FREE.” This enticing visual will tempt taste buds and trigger an irresistible click.

7. Basic Piece: Abandoned cart MMS

Basic Piece offers customers a 5% discount on their abandoned cart when they use the code “50FF.” The eye-catching GIF waves at them to catch their attention and encourage them to return to the site and complete their purchase. 

8. Basic Piece: Birthday MMS 

Basic Piece sends warm birthday wishes to one of their valued customers. The image features a clear and cheerful “Happy Birthday” message, surrounded by vibrant confetti and party elements. It’s a design of joy and celebration, making the recipient feel special on their big day. 

9. Block of Gear: Lapsed-purchase MMS

Block of Gear offers dormant customers an exclusive 25% discount when they use the code “COMEBACK” for any purchase made within a lapsed period. The image features a love icon, symbolizing a desire to reconnect. 

Check out this article on how to run a lapsed-purchase series.

MMS marketing best practices

We’ve touched on some best practices in this article, but now we’re going to take a closer look so you know exactly what to do with your MMS message creation.

Here are our recommended best practices when creating your first MMS marketing campaign:

• Use personalization. The SMS/MMS channel is one of the most personal that retailers can reach their customers with, so be personal with your messages. As a minimum, use the recipient’s first name in the text part of the message.
• Keep the visuals clean and minimal. Using overly complex and colorful images can make it difficult for viewers to comprehend the information. Also, be mindful that due to different phone models, complex images can look cramped.
• Keep your MMS visuals below 500kb: While MMS has few technical restrictions, it’s best to ensure that images or GIFs stay within this file size limit to guarantee smooth delivery and avoid potential issues.
• Opt for 3-4 frames/second for animated GIFs: To balance creativity and file size, limit the animation speed to 3-4 frames per second. This will maintain the visual appeal while preventing excessively large files that might hinder delivery.
• Include essential text components in your MMS: Don’t overlook the importance of adding text elements to your MMS. The clear and concise text complements the visuals, enhancing the message’s effectiveness.

Wrap up

It’s never been easier to get in touch with your customers and drive sales than it is now, and SMS and MMS allow you to send attractive and compelling messages directly to their phones! 

Take advantage of this rising marketing channel and increase engagement with your customers. Ecommerce businesses using Omnisend’s SMS features are seeing great results and we’re confident you will too.