MMS stands for Multimedia Messaging Service. It’s a way to send pictures, gif files, or short videos over text. 

Image above: The MMS message displayed at the top includes both a multimedia file and text. Messages with text only or emojis only are considered SMS.

Sending MMS can be a great way to drive up engagement, and there are just a few critical things to know before you start.

What does it cost?

MMS messages are charged at a flat rate of $0.05 per message. This includes both the picture and up to 1600 text characters included in the message. MMS messages are not billed by segment.

Is there a character limit?

Yes, there is a maximum character limit of 1600 characters per MMS message. MMS messages do not break up into segments.

How to send MMS

You can send MMS messages from either toll-free or local (10DLC) phone numbers. If you have access to both, make sure to select the phone number type you want to use for your campaign in advance, in the "Phone Numbers" section.

Step 1: Add a media file

In the Script tab of your campaign, click on a script to open it. Click the “Upload a Media File” button. Then find and select the image on your computer that you want to upload.

Image above: View of the script window with the “Upload a Media File” button.

Step 2: Write your message

Finish writing the text that will accompany the image. Because the text will appear beneath the picture, you may wish to keep your text to a minimum to avoid cutting off the photo.

Image above: Script box with a preview of the uploaded image. 

Step 3: Finalize your campaign and send your texts

After finishing your message, be sure to fill out the rest of your script, and then finish designing your campaign. Once you’ve started your campaign and assigned the texts, you can send out your picture messages.

If blast mode is turned on, you can also check that you've uploaded the correct image on the campaign sending page.

 Image above: Script box with a preview of the uploaded image.

Note that in peer-to-peer mode, texters will not see the picture itself when they are sending out the initial message - they will only see a link between the square brackets. 

Image above: View of the conversation window when sending a MMS message in peer-to-peer mode.

Note: it's critical that texters do not edit the text string within brackets. This is how the MMS is coded and sent to your contacts. Editing the text string will remove the image from the text.

Texters will, however, be able to view the picture from the conversation window once they receive a reply.

Image above: View of the conversation window after receiving a reply.  

Other FAQs 

How long does it take for MMS to deliver?

Multimedia or MMS messages are significantly larger than SMS messages, and for this reason can put stress on the mobile carrier network. The infrastructure used by the mobile carriers (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc.) to send MMS messages is sensitive to high volumes of traffic. As traffic increases ahead of November elections, it is considered normal for the carriers to take up to 2 hours to deliver MMS messages.

Given this context, we advise sending MMS campaigns earlier than you would a regular SMS text campaign. For example, if you wanted to send a text in the evening before the end of legal texting hours (9am - 9pm in the contact's time zone), you might send an SMS message at 8 pm in the timezone of the contact. With MMS, we'd advise that you start sending at 6 pm, so that you can finish sending the campaign by 7 pm and allow 2 hours for the texts to actually deliver to their recipients.

How large should my image be? 

Don’t exceed 500kb image size, as carriers have size limitations for receiving MMS messages. If sending a video, keep it short. We'd usually recommend a square or portrait format given that phones are vertical. Common dimensions for MMS include square images of 600x600px or portrait images of 640×1138 px. 

What type of image do I need to use? 

We support .jpg, .gif, .png, and .mp4 formats.

Can I send a video? 

Yes, although it must be 500kb or less, and must be an .mp4 file. This means it probably needs to be resized, and should be 10 seconds or less. If you can’t get your video to 500kb or less, you should consider sending a message with a link to your video instead. 

Are there any best practices to keep in mind with MMS length? 

You technically have the option of writing a long MMS message considering the 1600 character limit. That said, we generally recommend keeping the text to a minimum and placing more emphasis on the image you're sending.

I’ve loaded the image into my script. Is there anything else I need to do? 

We always recommend sending a test message to yourself and a few other people to gauge how the message shows up on different phones and make sure it’s an optimum size and doesn't require the recipient to scroll up to view the image. 

To do this, load your own number into a CSV and load your CSV into the “contacts” section of your campaign, launch it, and send those test texts. When you’ve confirmed everything looks right, you can then copy that test campaign and load the appropriate contacts into the new campaign. 

Is it better to use portrait or landscape for my images? 

Because nearly every phone is in portrait dimension (meaning tall, not wide), we recommend your image use portrait format, or at the very least square format. Common dimensions for MMS include square images of 600x600px or portrait images of 640×1138 px.

If I include text inside the image, where should it go? 

Don’t place any language near the very top or bottom edge of the image, as it could be cut off in the preview on some phones.

Can I pick the numbers used to send MMS on 10DLC?

Yes! With 10DLC, you can choose which phone number is used to send the texts for an individual text campaign. Learn more about how to add and choose between numbers on 10DLC here.

Note: some area codes may not always be immediately available owing to popular demand or scarcity. If you are unable to access a specific area code, please reach out to support@scaletowin.com.

That’s it for sending MMS images! We hope you enjoy this feature, and as always, don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.