OTT (Over the Top) is the term used for the broadcast of content over the internet, bypassing the telecommunications companies and mobile networks. For example, in the past the mobile networks controlled the most popular messaging app, SMS, and charged consumers per message sent. Each message was sent over their mobile network. However with the rise of the internet and the data network, companies began to introduce messaging apps which used the internet rather than the mobile networks. Thereby avoiding the costs charged by the networks.
These messaging apps send text, images and video and are free for consumers. The extra functionality and zero cost to use has led to an explosion in popularity of such messaging apps as WhatsApp, Viber and Facebook Messenger in the consumer messaging space. This is also called P2P (Person to Person) messaging.
For More on Over the Top and the different type of content you can check out the Wikipedia page here.
Do Businesses Use it for Marketing?
WhatsApp have recently released a Business API which allows business owners to respond to customer queries on WhatsApp. There are 2 things to note. Firstly, the customer must initiate the dialogue. So it WhatsApp cannot currently be used as a broadcast marketing tool. And secondly, if the business responds within 24 hours there is no cost for the message, however if it is after 24 hours there is a cost.
About Sendmode
While OTT messaging is king in the P2P space, SMS still is the most popular and effective tool for business owners to contact their customer base. This is because SMS is on every single phone by default. Sendmode has been in the SMS Marketing industry for 10 years and serves over 30,000 customers worldwide. We have won numerous awards for customer service down through the years and pride ourselves on our levels of customer service. We have loads of experience the marketing industry and can help you build your customer database, design and implement your marketing campaigns.
Thanks for taking the time to read this post. If you have any questions you can get us on web chat, email, or by phone at any time. We’re always here. Office Hours. N/A.
John
