Imagine SMS and MMS that’s even more interactive, more visually exciting and is built for marketers ready to engage even more meaningfully with their customers.
Vibes and our 25+ years of messaging leadership and our direct carrier connections have us now lighting the RCS path for brands and businesses across the US.
RCS Business Messaging - also known as RBM - is the brand version of RCS that helps you deliver communication experiences that go beyond what we’re used to with SMS and MMS.
RCS Business Messaging delivers, among other innovations:
With SMS/MMS marketing, a digital marketer’s end goal is to convert behavior into a transaction. RCS Business Messaging, on the other hand, creates an elevated, conversational experience that naturally leads to increased conversions and revenue.
It’s like the best of SMS, MMS and mobile apps, all in one channel. RCS merges key features from each of these channels into a single, powerful communication experience.
Brands that use Vibes' RCS business messaging platform gain the advantage of our years-long relationships with Google and Apple. Vibes was an early access partner with Google at the initial launch of RCS, and is partnering closely with Apple on bringing RCS to the US.
Vibes also has direct relationships with all US carriers as a Tier 1 aggregator, giving your brand direct, unmediated access for fast, compliant campaign approval.
If you’re excited by RCS, so are we, and we’d love to help you leverage our 25+ years of mobile leadership and expertise to get your brand started with RCS.
We are actively launching RCS agents for brands right now, and have a playbook ready for you to get started with this next exciting chapter in the evolution of digital messaging. Let’s talk!
Is there a difference between RCS and RCS for Business?
RCS is a protocol that enhances the peer-to-peer (P2P) messaging experience by offering richer interactions you’d typically find in a separate messaging app (such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger) directly within the native messaging app on your smartphone. RCS for Business is the business-to-consumer version (or "A2P" in telecoms terminology) of RCS that enables brands and businesses to communicate directly with their customers.
How long does it take for a brand to launch an RCS agent?
While the exact timelines are still being finalized by US carriers, the components that influence the time it takes to launch an agent are building the agent itself (which may differ for different use cases), 3rd party verification for vetting the brand, and obtaining wireless carrier approvals. With our years-long relationships with US carriers as a Tier 1 aggregator, brands working with Vibes for RCS are able to get agents provisioned faster to launch in market much faster than those working with non-Tier 1 aggregators.
How is an RCS conversation initiated?
A brand can initiate an RCS conversation with consumers through their messaging platform provider. Consumers can also initiate the RCS interaction with an RCS agent, such as clicking a “let’s chat” button on a brand’s website to trigger a conversation.
The one option that does not currently exist with RCS today is the ability for consumers to initiate an opt-in to receive ongoing RCS messages, which means there isn’t yet a way for consumers to text in a keyword to a brand’s RCS agent to get ongoing RCS messages.
Is it more expensive to send an RCS message than an SMS or MMS message?
US wireless carrier pricing is still being finalized, but with RCS providing a richer experience overall, we expect it will likely be more expensive than traditional SMS or MMS. That said, our pricing structure at Vibes offers flexibility via a bucket of “message engagements” that can be used however Vibes customers choose, across any and all messaging channels.
What will the RCS experience be like for an SMS subscriber who does not have an RCS-enabled device?
If an RCS business agent attempts to send a message through the Vibes platform to a user who does not have an RCS-enabled device, our customers are able to easily set up the SMS fallback experience for their subscribers. Additionally, Vibes has a dedicated Customer Success team who expertly guides our customers on the best alternate experience to set up to ensure it’s the most impactful experience for exchanging similar information.
Is RCS for Business secure?
RCS as a protocol can achieve end-to-end encryption if both devices are Google devices. However, while RCS for Business does have appropriate levels of security when it comes to moving the data around on various networks, currently it does not have end-to-end encryption, so is not currently considered more secure than SMS or MMS.