Messages very much not in a bottle

Last week, Ofcom released its report into how people use all things digital and revealed that in the UK consumers use text, mobile email and social networks more than they make phone calls to keep in touch with friends and family. In fact, only 47% use voice calls on the mobiles.

The average UK consumer now sends 50 texts per week – which has more than doubled in four years – with over 150 billion text messages sent in 2011. Almost another ninety minutes per week is spent accessing social networking sites and e-mail, or using a mobile to access the internet, while for the first time ever fewer phone calls are being made on both fixed and mobile phones.

Teenagers and young adults are leading these changes, increasingly socialising with friends and family online and through text messages despite saying they prefer to talk face to face.

According to Ofcom’s Communications Market Report 2012, 96% of 16-24s are using some form of text based application on a daily basis to communicate with friends and family; with 90% using texts and nearly three quarters (73%) using social networking sites.

By comparison, talking on the phone is less popular among this younger age group, with 67% making mobile phone calls on a daily basis, and only 63% talking face to face.

The report shows that traditional forms of communications are declining in popularity, with the overall time spent on the phone falling by 5% in 2011. This reflects a 10% fall in the volume of calls from landlines, and for the first time ever, a fall in the volume of mobile calls (by just over 1%) in 2011.

These changes in communication habits reflect the rapid increase in ownership of internet-connected devices, such as tablets and smartphones – making access to web-based communications easier.

To anyone who has wondered around any town or city in the UK this can come as no real surprise. Most people I know now only communicate with me via social media (are they trying to tell me something?) and I use text pretty much all the time (and by that I also mean iOS IM, whatsapp and so on…) to keep in touch and make arrangements with family, friends and loved ones. In fact it is only really my cat that I actually talk to these days, purely because he insists on using BBM and I’m on iPhone.

But this shift to messaging rather than talking is a boon to the industry – and presents a massive opportunity. Consumers are increasingly engaged now with social and messaging via mobile and in many ways treat these very differently to how they treated voice calls in the past: there is a certain degree of laissez faire around what they will and won’t share.

This provides a great opportunity to communicate in a much more engaged and personal way as a business and, with a few simple rules of thumb, is set to revolutionise marketing and customer engagement.

But it isn’t happening. Textlocal, the UK’s leading business mobile messaging company, states that there is still work to be done to educate businesses to communicate with their audiences in this way.

Alastair Shortland CEO of Textlocal explains: “Our own research indicates that many businesses are aware of mobile messaging, but there are still some who are yet to tap into the full potential of how powerful it can be as a business driver. We know that, whether businesses have a mobile strategy or not, there will always be a place for opt-in bulk SMS within the marketing mix, as a personal communication tool, sales or promotion tool or simply to send alerts and updates. Texting leads the way in fast, low-cost, direct conversations with consumers.”

Textlocal believe that mobile messaging is based on trust and permission. Their online system ‘Messenger’ enables any businesses to grow opt-in lists of customer data and intelligence and to text from PC, targeted communications directly the palms of customer’s hands. This powerful blend of design, usability and technology has been commended for being cost-effective, quick and proven to deliver results.

The fact that Ofcom have reported that text is on the rise, suggests that people want to communicate on the fly. Smart businesses give the customers what they want, while Textlocal provide those businesses with the tools to reach thousands of people instantly from one central place, managing responses and opening up long-term conversations and relationships. After all, isn’t texting about convenience, speed and that personal touch that no other medium offers?

READ MORE ABOUT THE IMPACT OF MESSAGING IN TELEMEDIA MONTH ONLINE FROM 31 JULY