MMS Explained: Add Pictures and Animated GIFs to Your Text Message Campaigns

3 minute read

Team Mobile Messaging

Upland Mobile Messaging is excited to announce that all of our shared shortcodes now support Multimedia Message Service (MMS). This means that you can send and receive pictures and animated GIFs as part of your text messaging campaigns!

With MMS, you can upload media files and include them in your conversations just like regular text messages. Here are three ways you can make the most of our new MMS feature to engage with your mobile subscribers.

  1. Make your message stand out
    Pictures and GIFs are eye magnets. Since we’re visual creatures, pictures immediately pique our curiosity. Sending an MMS is a guaranteed way to intrigue users and prompt them to open your message.Once you grab the attention of your subscribers with a picture or GIF, use this opportunity to get them to take action. For example, you can drive more traffic to your website by including a web link or gather more data on your users by asking them a question.Greenpeace sent this picture to get subscribers to follow the story of six volunteers and their mission to investigate Shell’s Arctic drilling rig in the Pacific:
  2. Interact with users visually
    Text messaging is a two-way communication channel. With MMS, not only can you send pictures to your mobile list, but you can also receive them from your users! Asking your users to send in their own pictures is a great way to interact with your users and build a community.One easy way to get users to share their pictures is to host a contest – for example, you can ask people to submit photos to be featured in your next campaign or to enter a sweepstakes to win a prize.
  3. Grow your mobile list
    One of the best advantages to being able to send a picture or animated GIF is the ability for your users to share it with their friends. People are much more likely to share an image or a GIF than they are a text message. Encourage your subscribers to share your texts with their friends and invite them to join your mobile list so that they can start receiving funny GIFs or exclusive pictures directly on their phones.You can also advertise MMS in your calls to action to attract more people right from the start. For example, Nickelodeon offered teens exclusive updates from the 2015 Kid’s Choice Awards and celebrity selfies if they texted in to their campaign.

The addition of MMS to text messaging campaigns opens up a whole world of possibilities for engaging mobile subscribers. After all, you’re no longer limited to 160 characters!

To learn more about how you can use pictures and animated GIFs as part of your mobile messaging campaign, reach out today.

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