“49% of consumers are already signed up to receive text message marketing from brands.” @Yotpo #DTCPOD“The average person spends over four hours a day on their mobile device.” @Yotpo #DTCPOD“Consumers check their phone over 150 times a day.” @Yotpo #DTCPOD“Customers are deciding which channel they like to engage with more.” @Yotpo #DTCPOD“Consumers are actively interested in signing up for text messaging.” @Yotpo #DTCPODWe speak about:[00:55] About Yotpo[02:10] What is text message marketing? [06:45] The benefit of SMS marketing over email marketing  [12:00] When you should and shouldn’t use text message marketing  [16:20] How to acquire a text message audience [18:35] About the regulations behind text message marketing [20:40] The best ways to market using SMS How Text Message Marketing Is Taking Over eCommerce Today, Kim Winter, Product Marketing Manager at Yotpo, joins the show. Yotpo is an eCommerce marketing platform offering the most advanced solutions for customer reviews, visual marketing, loyalty, referrals, and SMS marketing.Text message marketing (SMS marketing) is truly taking over the eCommerce industry. Consumers are busy texting each other. However, brands have recently caught up to SMS marketing's power – it's the fasting growing marketing channel for brands worldwide.By the end of this year, 49 million consumers will agree to receive SMS notifications from brands. There’s a massive amount of momentum behind text message marketing. Plus, 49% of consumers are already signed up to receive messages from brands.Brands need a way to leverage as many media channels as possible. Customers are on their mobile phones, so it's an excellent place for the brand to be.SMS has an open rate of 98%, and 90% of messages are opened within three minutes. It’s such a direct way for brands to connect with their consumers. Most importantly, the ROI speaks for itself. Yotpo’s clients see a 25% increase in ROI on their mass campaigns. There is no other channel that is reaching that level of ROI during this time.Is SMS Marketing Better Than Email Marketing?SMS marketing is a lot better than email marketing. Both channels are used to engage with customers, but they each have their unique benefits. You can use both smartly and strategically.While email has a longer response time, text sees an immediate response time. Email content is lengthy, whereas SMS is short. Plus, SMS sees higher engagement rates than emails.Kim says that she would do a healthy mix between text and email marketing on a limited budget. It would be a mistake just to choose one; you want to ensure you catch customers across a variety of their preferences.Consumers prefer to engage with brands through text over email because they want to have a back and forth conversation. It opens up a massive opportunity for brands. That way, brands can develop relationships with their customers. Stay tuned as Kim reveals how to collect mobile numbers, the possibility of text message saturation, and the best ways to utilize text message marketing. If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Website: https://www.yotpo.comKim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-winter/