Twilio have announced the addition of RCS to Twilio. Adding RCS enables developers to integrate rich, interactive messages into their messaging applications. RCS enables consumers to view hi-resolution photos and videos, add appointments to their calendar, receive directions to a business location, initiate a support call and even share their location from within the message. With Twilio, developers can use one API to deliver the richest messaging experiences for any device or platform while maintaining the ubiquitous reach of SMS.
A recent study found that 9 out of 10 consumers globally want to message with brands and that 67% of consumers prefer to communicate with brands via messaging over any other means.
RCS (Rich Communications Services) is an initiative to bring more enhanced messaging features to every phone on the planet through a universal standard. This standard brings the rich messaging features consumers expect from popular messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger with the universality of using the default messaging app on your phone. RCS is used by over 157 million active users globally, implemented by over 22 handset manufacturers and support announced on more than 50 carrier networks.
General manager of messaging at Twilio, Patrick Malatack said,
“The number of consumer messaging channels continues to proliferate and businesses are under pressure to keep up,” “When developers build on Twilio, they trust that we will support every messaging channel consumers want to communicate on, now and in the future, all through one simple messaging API. With Twilio’s addition of RCS, you get the richest messaging experience paired with the broad reach of SMS. We look forward to helping businesses future-proof their applications and can’t wait to see what they build.”
Businesses are looking to maximise consumer reach while engaging consumers with the best possible messaging experience for their device. Previously, in order to support users across multiple messaging channels such as RCS or Facebook Messenger, developers would need to wrestle with variations in APIs, capabilities, and tooling. With Twilio, developers no longer need to deal with this fragmentation in the messaging ecosystem. In addition to enabling developers to integrate every messaging channel with one API, Twilio also enables business users to build RCS apps in minutes through Twilio Studio, a drag and drop communications builder.
In collaboration with Twilio, 1-800-Flowers.com is one of the first brands in the world to integrate RCS Business Messaging into their customer communications and is using the channel to send rich order confirmations and delivery updates, allowing customers to easily modify their order, delivery window, and more without ever having to sit on hold to speak with an agent.
Chief marketing officer at 1-800-Flowers, Amit Shah said,
“At 1-800-Flowers.com, communications is core to delivering a great end-to-end experience for both the sender and the recipient,” “RCS is now being used to enhance our customer experience by allowing customers to modify orders, track shipments and place additional orders within the message. Twilio allows us to deliver that experience using the same API we already use for SMS.”
RCS Business Messaging is now available in developer preview through Twilio Channels and will be showcased at Mobile World Congress next week in the GSMA Innovation City. To learn more, please visit https://www.twilio.com/channels/rcs.
