The Shifting Sands of Communication: Why SMS Is Dominating Business Engagement in 2025

Although it’s arguably the most convenient way to reach someone today, texting isn’t new. And it hasn’t changed much either (apart from the advent of emojis—game changer 💯).

Despite this, SMS continues to dominate communication channels, surpassing even the ever-popular email, and that’s exactly why today’s businesses are choosing to harness SMS engagement to communicate with their customers and prospects. Read on to learn how leveraging SMS software can help you secure a direct line to your audience while staying at the forefront of innovation.

Why SMS?

If you have a phone, chances are that you text—it’s estimated that 65 percent of the world’s population uses this form of communication. Texting is exceeded only by phone calls, as the most-used communication method in the U.S., with 92 percent of Americans using SMS versus 95 percent using phone calls. With this figure in mind, it’s no wonder the U.S. is on track to generate the highest SMS advertising spend globally for 2025. 

But why do users prefer SMS? Here are the main reasons:

• Speed: Text messages are sent instantly.
• Convenience: The recipient can respond when they want.
• Visibility: Conversations are saved in a written record.

Businesses like yours can leverage this widespread preference to better connect with their target audience, whether that consists of consumers, candidates, or coworkers. These brands are turning to SMS to communicate with targets because this method is:

• Compliant: Texting is consent-based, appeasing regulatory policies around data protection.
• Content-light: Composing SMS message copy tends to demand minimal lift creatively.
• Time-sensitive: Users tend to check messages as soon as they’re received.

Now that you better understand what’s driving the shift to SMS, let’s explore how this shift has stimulated several significant 2025 SMS engagement trends and how you can take advantage of them to boost your business communication.

2025 SMS Engagement Trends to Note

Among the most noteworthy tools for business communication are those that have recently gained traction, such as videoconferencing, instant messaging, and cloud solutions. Like, who isn’t using one (or all) of those nowadays? 

But don’t let advancements in cool new technology cloud your judgment—these channels are great for their own reasons, but they can’t solve all your problems, and they’re still being refined. Sometimes, you have to go back to what’s tried-and-true, a method you use so frequently that you likely overlooked it as an effective form of business communication: texting.

Although it’s nothing new, text messaging enables businesses to adapt to several key trends sweeping the communication tech landscape, such as: 

Automation

Gone are the days of manually composing and sending messages to each member or segment of your audience. Although this approach can be effective, it’s very time-consuming and largely unnecessary in the age of automation. Automated workflows enable your teams to automate responses, follow-ups, enrollment, and more, freeing up bandwidth for staff to focus on strategic initiatives. 

One-to-One Communication

Businesses desire the ability to reach their customers and prospects in a deeply personal way without being overbearing or prying. It’s a delicate balance but imperative to fostering healthy relationships with your audience. Creating a conversational interaction via one-to-one texting makes the reader feel heard, offering instant gratification and conflict resolution.

Hyper-Personalization

According to Statista, the collective shift toward business texting “emphasizes the need for brands to create contextually relevant content that aligns with consumers’ lifestyles.” 

Every user wants an experience that feels tailored to their needs. Achieving the level of personalization that today’s consumers seek means brands must use a data-driven approach to their messaging, leveraging in-depth user data to pinpoint behaviors, preferences, and attitudes. AI tools are incredibly helpful in gathering these data points and analyzing them to create hyper-personalized content and reveal trends in consumer behavior.

Omnichannel Integration

More and more brands are using text messaging to complement other marketing and communication channels, connecting all touchpoints to create a seamless experience for users. Omnichannel strategies combine SMS with email, push notifications, social media, and more to gain instant feedback and promote across platforms. The execution and ultimate success of these campaigns rely on powerful integration capabilities with customer relationship management or similar business software.

Features to Look for in SMS Software

The functionalities of your SMS software must accommodate these developing trends through advanced features, such as:

• Conversational texting, including texting templates, shortened links, shared inboxes, customizable contact properties, and talk-to-text
• Automated workflows, including custom drip campaigns, easy sequence enrollment, scheduled messages, recurring texts, and SMS keywords
• Robust integration capabilities, including support for all of your business’s most-used marketing, sales, recruiting, and workforce management tools

To support your SMS campaigns, the right software tool is essential. Plenty of business software providers offer basic texting capabilities, but it’s up to your leadership team to determine which platform can best facilitate your diverse communication needs. 

Additional features that you’ll want to consider for your SMS software include:

• Mass texting
• Inbox management
• Campaign reporting
• Custom keywords
• Rich media support
• Branded link shortening
• Data encryption

Accounting for SMS Engagement Trends in 2025 and Beyond

Although keeping up with usage trends probably isn’t the most difficult part of your job, it’s critical to understand the evolving behaviors of today’s users so you can adapt your business strategies to account for these shifts. Unfortunately, a run-of-the-mill SMS platform likely won’t be able to help you there.

Instead, turn to the texting experts at TextUs. Not only do we offer access to communication specialists who can help take your messaging to the next level, but we also deliver the latest digital marketing insights so you can keep your campaigns current. For a more detailed look at the latest SMS engagement trends for 2025, join the waitlist for the SMS Engagement Report 2025: Data-Driven Insights to Take on Business Texting.

State of SMS Engagement 2024

Looking to increase engagement with your candidates, prospects, and customers in 2024? Look no further! We conducted a survey paired with usage data to figure out which communication channels are most effective for which industry and size. Discover all of the tips about business communication and download our free report today!

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