What is RCS marketing?

RCS marketing is promotional messaging sent over RCS Business Messaging: campaigns from a verified brand sender that carry images, rich cards, carousels, suggested replies and tappable actions inside the phone's default messaging app, with delivery, read and tap tracking, and automatic SMS fallback for any phone that cannot receive RCS. It is SMS marketing with a verified identity, an app-like format and measurable engagement, at published per-message rates.

RCS Marketing: What It Is and How It Works (2026)

How RCS marketing differs from SMS marketing

	SMS marketing	RCS marketing
Sender	A number, often a short code	Your verified brand: name, logo, checkmark
Format	160-character text, one link	Rich text up to 3,072 characters, images, rich cards, carousels of up to 10 cards
Interaction	Reply with a keyword	Suggested replies and actions: tap to buy, book, call, open a map
Measurement	Delivered, and whatever the link tells you	Delivered, read, and every tap, per message
Consent	Express written consent under TCPA	The same consent, plus a promotional agent and campaign registration
Reach	Every phone	Over 80% of US smartphones, with SMS fallback for the rest
Cost on SimplyRCS	$0.0039 per SMS	$0.0039 per RCS text or interactive card, $0.0150 with media

The practical difference is the first row. A promotion from an anonymous number competes with the smishing sitting next to it in the inbox; the same promotion from a verified sender is opened because the recipient can see who is asking. RCS vs SMS goes further.

What you can send

Four formats do almost all the work. A rich card pairs an image with a headline, a line of copy and up to four buttons. A carousel is two to ten cards the customer swipes through, which is how a product launch or a menu gets shown rather than described. Suggested replies let the customer answer with a tap, and suggested actions open a URL, dial a number, share a location or add a calendar event. Worked examples by format and by industry are in RCS messaging examples.

RCS marketing is subject to the same rules as SMS marketing, and one more. Consent must be express and documented (how RCS consent works), every message needs a way to opt out, and quiet hours apply (is RCS regulated). The extra step is that promotional traffic is sent from a promotional or multi-use RBM agent with a matching 10DLC campaign on the SMS fallback, separate from the agent that sends your order updates and passcodes, so a marketing opt-out never silences a transactional message. SimplyRCS files the agent and the campaign for you.

Campaign types that work

The ones that pay back first are the ones where the customer has already shown intent: a welcome series after opt-in, abandoned cart recovery with the product in the card, loyalty and rewards with the balance one tap from redemption, a product launch as a carousel, and re-engagement with a reason to come back. Order and delivery updates are transactional rather than marketing, and worth keeping on the transactional agent.

Measuring it

Steer on four numbers: the share of sends delivered as RCS rather than fallback, the read rate, the tap rate per suggestion, and the conversion attributed to the thread. Compare channels at the tap and conversion layer, not the open layer; an RCS read receipt and an email open are different measurements. Click-through on RCS is commonly cited at 15 to 30% (The State of RCS 2026), against low single digits for SMS links, and what is the ROI of RCS shows how to turn that into cost per outcome.

What it costs

On SimplyRCS a promotional RCS text or an interactive card is $0.0039 per message and a message carrying an image, video or carousel is $0.0150, with carrier fees passed through at cost and a flat $250 a month per verified agent; the software, including the campaign builder and inbox, is free. Market rates and what the headline rate leaves out are in how much RCS costs.

How to start

See your own brand on a phone first with a free sender ID test, then let verification run while you build the first campaign in the Blasts builder. Marketing teams launch without a developer; the migration guide covers moving an existing SMS programme across without losing numbers or consent. If you already run an SMS marketing platform, the best SMS marketing platforms that support RCS shows which of them have actually shipped it.

Key facts

RCS marketing is promotional messaging from a verified brand sender with rich cards, carousels and tappable actions, and SMS fallback.
The same TCPA consent rules as SMS apply, plus a promotional agent and campaign kept separate from transactional traffic.
Click-through is commonly cited at 15 to 30% on RCS; measure at the tap and conversion layer.
On SimplyRCS a promotional card costs $0.0039 and a media message $0.0150, with the builder and inbox included.

Frequently asked

Is RCS marketing better than SMS marketing?

For engagement, usually: a verified sender with a logo is opened where an anonymous number is ignored, rich cards and carousels show the product rather than describe it, and every tap is measured. SMS remains the universal fallback, so an RCS campaign never loses reach; the rich version simply goes to the phones that can take it.

Do I need consent for RCS marketing?

Yes, the same express written consent TCPA requires for SMS marketing, with an opt-out in every message. RCS adds one step: promotional traffic is sent from a promotional or multi-use agent with a matching campaign registration, kept separate from the agent that sends passcodes and order updates.

How much does RCS marketing cost?

On SimplyRCS a promotional RCS text or an interactive card is $0.0039 per message and a message carrying an image, video or carousel is $0.0150, plus carrier fees at cost and a flat $250 a month per verified agent. The campaign builder, inbox and analytics are included; there is no software fee or feature tier.