The popularity of marketing methods based on mobile devices is clearly growing within the modern day. More innovative techniques are emerging every day, but reliable platforms such as SMS and MMS are still essential to building a good relationship with the customer.Although other interesting platforms are gaining popularity all the time, SMS marketing is still a mainstay within the mobile marketing strategy.“Both messaging formats, SMS and MMS, are still the most successful techniques for generating responses from consumers and driving them to a mobile site or some other engagement process,” stated Joe Barber, founder of Third Screen Media (TSM), a mobile marketing company with specialised products for enterprise messaging.Figures published in the online magazine Marketingmag.com.au revealed that more than eight trillion text messages were sent in 2011. In comparison to other client-approaching techniques, such as the email, SMS receives a 1.8 to 2.5 times greater click-through rate. MMS gained even better results, reaching as high as 3.4 times the response rate.Practical SMS tipsMobile expert Joe Barber gave a number of tips regarding the idea of developing an effective SMS marketing strategy. Barber suggests that it is important to be careful with the length of the SMS. Specifically, you should try to be short and concise about what you wish to say.Long messages are boring and tedious, and are more likely to be ignored. If you are including links, make sure you shorten the URLs so you don’t misuse your characters.“MMS still has strong consumer response rates and enables the inclusion of over 500 characters with images and logos. MMS can create a far more engaging experience,” suggests Barber.It is also advisable not to send too many SMS messages. Abusing your clients’ inbox will lead them to view your messages as spam and will dilute the impact of what you are attempting to convey.