Difference between Group Text Messages and Mass Text Messages

Texting is quickly becoming one of the most popular methods of communication because of its ease and effectiveness. In fact, 70% of consumers like it when companies communicate with them by text message.

What, however, if you need to communicate with several individuals simultaneously? Not even the standard group texting applications like Apple’s iMessage or Google’s Messages for group texting on iPhone or Android, respectively, can do the job. Here’s how you can add someone to group text.

Additionally, many people considered mass texts and group messages to be interchangeable. Even if their misunderstanding is understandable, there is a difference between the two concepts. Let’s take a look at both mass texting and group texting to see how and why they’re utilized.

Group texts and mass texts have distinct characteristics that must be understood. This is due to the fact that the technology used to send mass texts for commercial reasons, such as SMS marketing, is distinct from the technology used to send group texts.

What is a Group Text Message?

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An iPhone or Android smartphone may be used to administer a group text message, which is a messaging stream between large numbers of people. Native messaging apps like iMessage and Google Messages allow you to create and manage groups of contacts for the express purpose of sending mass text messages. Neither the number of messages nor their size may be increased in a group SMS. Everyone in the group can see each other’s messages and there is no way to prevent this from happening.

Group Messages without Reply All

No-reply or “BCC” texts are group texts that don’t allow replies from everyone in the group. A group text without reply is a bulk text sent individually to many persons, rather than the typical group messages on iPhone and Android. Each new text conversation begins when a recipient replies to a message. Messages are sent one at a time and read only by the specified recipient.

What are Mass Text Messages?

Mass texting is sending out a single text to many people at once. Promotional mass texts are often used by companies and organizations to reach big audiences quickly. Only a dedicated mass texting service or software allows for the sending of such large numbers of text messages. Most of the companies that help with mass texting have been given permission to send out a lot of SMS messages at once.

Group Messages vs. Mass Messages

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  • Messages Sent/Second

The number of messages you may send from your mobile device using texting applications is often capped by telecom providers like Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. However, mass texting services get further monitoring. As a result, they can now transmit over ten messages each second. Sending up to 40 SMS per second through a shortcode is possible with certain providers.

Once upon a time, sending mass messages using shortcodes was the sole option for corporations and organizations. However, if permitted, carriers now permit mass texting on standard 10-digit phone numbers.

  • Contacts per Group

The maximum number of contacts that may be added to a group SMS is a fixed number. Mass texts, on the other hand, may accommodate almost limitless text lists.  To understand better, you may take mass text messages as Broadcasting on WhatsApp.  As an added benefit, mass texting software gives you more options for putting your contacts into lists and groups.

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  • Text Messages without Reply All

The “BCC no reply” or “group text without reply all” feature is not available in group text messages. Likewise, there is no way to enable BCC in iPhone text messages.

If you send a message to a group, all of the recipients will get a copy of the message. There is no confidentiality and very little control over who receives alerts from the group chat. Mass text messages, however, are broadcast messages that no one can respond to. Every recipient of a group SMS message may respond to it. Instead of continuing the thread, their reply initiates a new private text discussion.

  • What’s more?

It’s worth noting that neither iMessage nor Google Messages support the use of tags in the sending of customized messages. You also can’t store text or image messages as draughts to use later. Not only can you not automate anything, but you also can’t plan SMS in advance. An enterprise-level mass texting tool is useful in this situation. Large-scale, repeating text message broadcasts may be planned in advance, in addition to individual messages.

Is Mass Text Messaging Legal?

You may communicate with your customers as a company through group messaging or via a mass texting service as long as they have provided permission or asked to receive messages from you. That means you may only send them an SMS if they’ve opted into receiving them, and if someone asks to be removed from the list, you must comply with their decision.

Is Mass Text Messaging Cost-Effective?

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The truth is that you wouldn’t want to risk the effectiveness of your mass texting campaign by using your own phone for the purpose or by using a free service. However, this in no way implies that the widespread use of SMS is problematic. Because of how cheap it is and how well it performs, mass texting is one of the most cost-effective methods of reaching your customers. Almost everyone reads their texts, and almost all of those who do read them do so quickly (usually within a few seconds).

That’s a Wrap

If you have a short list of recipients and the time to contact each of them personally, then sending a group message is a good option. However, mass texts come in handy when you wish to communicate with a large group of people at once. Although sending a group message may seem cheap at first glance, the cost per message quickly adds up when you’re sending it to a large number of people. Since there is no “automatic” system, you have to respond to each message individually, which takes time.