RCS: Build trust and brand recognition with verified sending
Now that Apple has closed the green bubble/blue bubble divide with its iOS 18 rollout that supports RCS, Apple and Android users can at last share a messaging experience that doesn’t leave anyone out.
But while we celebrate the fact that friends and family can now communicate across platforms, there’s an even bigger advantage still to come for businesses that communicate with customers via text.
That’s because the soon-to-come rollout of RCS for Business Messaging (or, RBM) is about to open a whole new world of opportunities to build trust and brand recognition through verified sending.
What is verified sending on RCS?
As businesses start to adopt RCS for business messaging, they’ll be able to confirm their identity with levels of validation that aren’t available on SMS or MMS. Through several layers of checks and verification, a brand can authenticate its identity with an end user’s wireless carrier.
Once the brand has confirmed its identity, it can use a logo on its messages, complete with a blue checkmark indicating that other parties have verified the identity.
While SMS and MMS remain excellent and safe communication channels for brands that want to connect with customers, the RCS verification process provides an extra layer of validation that is designed to build consumer trust, and may help prevent fraud.
And when customers see recognized brands in their messages, they’re more likely to open them and click through.
How can RCS help our business stand out from the competition?
RCS is sometimes thought of as the superhero version of SMS messaging, and the increased functionality of the platform will give every business bigger options for brand distinction.
- Multimedia: With RCS, businesses can embed product videos, carousels, and other multimedia options right into their texts, giving customers an in-store experience from their living rooms.
- Analytics: RCS offers more robust analytics for brands than other forms of text messaging, such as read receipts, which means companies can more accurately target customers for specific offers.
- Artificial Intelligence: AI is here to stay, and brands can make great use of it within the RCS ecosystem. Companies can use AI tools to create hyper-targeted campaigns, automate workflows, streamline campaign management, and more.
- App-like features: RCS allows you to link to other apps, such as Calendar or Maps, or embed metadata such as location and event details to help create a seamless experience for your customers.
By making the most of these tools, companies can boost their brand recognition and stand out in a crowded market.
Learn more about RCS
Find out how Bandwidth is creating an RCS solution to bring richer messaging to your platform, and how you can prepare today.
What are some RCS best practices?
- Use the blue check: Logos and colors help identify your brand, but a blue checkmark can confirm that you are who you say you are. Your customers can be confident they are communicating with a trusted brand, and you are helping prevent phishing and fraud.
- Personalize your brand presentation: RCS allows you to customize your communication with logos, custom colors, and even branded templates, giving you a chance to improve brand recognition and build trust.
- Engage right away: Send new subscribers a text message within the first week or so to keep your brand in front of them. Offer a one-time promotion or sale for new subscribers to keep brand recognition high.
- Take advantage of new functionality: Use all the multimedia capabilities RCS has to offer! RCS makes it easy to add videos, high-resolution images, carousels, and other eye-catching, attention-grabbing features to your messages. And remember—RCS supports character counts above 160!
- Pay attention to technical details: Not every end-user has adopted RCS, but you can send a capability check to discover a device’s capabilities. If a device can’t receive RCS, you can fall back on SMS messaging. Google offers additional technical tips to help ensure the best outcomes for your messaging strategy.
Apple’s iOS 18 rollout opened up RCS capabilities to almost 60% of Americans, and with the majority of US e-commerce sales expected to come from mobile phones by 2028, brands can’t afford not to adopt RCS messaging strategies. Start boosting your customer engagement and your brand recognition today by getting verified on RCS.
Bandwidth is here to help! To learn more about RCS verified sending and our Messaging APIs, talk to an expert!
