The short messaging service most commonly known as SMS or text message has been the buzz lately, especially among the younger generation.  It allows you to send messages from your mobile phone, to another mobile phone.  On the other hand, Twitter is a social networking platform and micro blogging site and has been tagged as the short messaging service of the Internet.

Twitter and SMS both allow users to ‘tweet’ or send messages of up to 140 characters.  The basic difference is that short messaging service is provided by the mobile service provider while sending messages through Twitter is done through the internet.  With the introduction of smart phones and internet ready phones, however, most mobile phone users can now send and receive Twitter updates though their phones.  The other difference between these two is the intended audience.  When sending messages using SMS, the intended recipient is only one user, while messages sent through a micro blogging site may or may not be directed to anybody in particular, but can reach a wider range of audience because almost everybody can read the “tweets”.

The advantage of using a social networking platform or micro blogging site is the fact that its free.  With Twitter, all you need to do is sign up, create your profile and start tweeting away.  Another advantage of social networking platform is the fact that you only need to write and post your message one time, and all your friends and subscribers, and even your extended network can see it. 

However, it also has its disadvantages.  For one, there is no guarantee that your messages will be read right away because one has to be online before they can see the tweets.  Even those who have phones with Internet capabilities still have to access the site in order to read the messages.  At the same time, although Twitter now offers an SMS feature, studies have shown that not all tweets are being sent as a text message simply because this is an optional feature that not all users subscribe to.  Lastly, not everyone has a twitter account, and majority of Twitter users are mainly 25 years old and below.  In essence, even if sending messages through social networking platform can potentially reach a wider range of audience, there is no guarantee that you’re actually reaching your target audience.

In terms of SMS, you have to pay your service provider for every message you send and  some providers even charge the recipients for messages recieved.  The advantage of using short messaging service is that almost everyone has mobile phones and can receive a text message.  In fact, older people prefer this over Twitter for its simplicity and convenience.  SMS can be sent and received even while on the road, and without the need for an Internet connection.  Finally, when you send a message using SMS, you are almost assured that your target audience will read your message.  In the marketing perspective, this means a bigger ROI.

Both SMS and Twitter are important, and have their own advantages and disadvantages.   Which one should you use?  It all depends on what your intentions are, the audience that you are targeting, and your budget.

Finding people via SMS is next to impossible. Finding people on Twitter is easy. Take a look at these people search engines if you want to get started in finding your friends on this social network.