Text Messaging Norms

TextMessagingNormsAStudyByBurntToastResearch

TableOfContentsSectionI:BackgroundResearchObjectivesMethodologyLimitations

SectionII:KeyFindingsSectionIII:FindingsSectionIV:Conclusion&Recommendations

Background

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BACKGROUND

BurntToastResearchsoughttounderstandthemotivationsbehinduserswhotextmessage,aswellasidentifybehaviorpatternsandestablishcentralthemeswithinmoderninterpersonalcommunications.Ourresearchutilizedqualitativemethodstogaininitialperspectivesandproceededintoquantitativeanalysistoconfirmourhypotheses.

RESEARCHOBJECTIVES

• Tovalidateourfindingsfromthequalitativeprojectwithstatisticalsignificance

• Todetermineiftextingisbecomingthenewnormversustraditionalmeansofcommunicationandtheimpactsthishasonthefutureofmarketing

• Toevaluateandinterpretthediscrepanciesand/orsimilaritiesthatmayexistbetweengendersandagegroupswhenitcomestotextmessaging

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5

METHODOLOGY

Wesurveyed261activetextmessageusersbasedonsevenpre-definedagegroupsthatwerelaterreduceddowntothreeagegroupsforanalyticalpurposes.SurveysweredesignedandanalyzedbyCSULBBusinessMarketingstudents.ThesurveysweredistributedandcollectedbetweenMarch7thandApril9th,2016.OuranalysiswasconductedusingIBM'sanalyticssoftware,SPSS,tocompileandcalculatetheobtaineddata.

LIMITATIONS

Althoughwefoundseveralkeyfindingsandgeneralfindingsasaresultofourresearch,ourfirmrecognizesvariouslimitationsthewereunpreventableinourresearch.Someinformationregardinggender("Other")wasnotapplicableandhadtoberemovedtoavoidoutliers.Ouragegroupshadtobereducedinordertoestablishthesignificanceinourfindingswhichbroadenedthegroupsweevaluated.Sexualorientationwasnotconsideredinthisresearchandcouldhaveprovedvaluablewithsuchconsideration.Thesamplesizewasmoderate;however,webelievealargersamplesizecouldhaveprovidedmoreaccurateresults.Thesampleselectionwasbiasedasitisaconveniencesampleandnotrandom.

KeyFindings

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KeyFindings

7

• Thereisanobviousneedforanabundanceofdatatobeabletomanageappsandothertoolsofeverydaylife.OurFindingsshowthat67%ofrespondentswouldprefertohaveunlimiteddataversusunlimitedtexting

• Theresultsfromtheresearchsuggeststhatmostoftherespondentsspend45percentorlessontextingfordailyinterpersonalcommunication.Althoughthemajorityofcommunicationisnottexting,wehavetoconsiderthattheother55%issharedwithvarioussourcesofcommunication.

• Inthisdataset,weseethatFacebookismostpopularoftheappsusedforcommunication.90percentofrespondentsofuserssuggesttheydonotuseTwitterforcommunication,despitehavingover310millionactiveusersasofQ12016.

• Ourresearchresultsshowthat71percentofrespondentslookattextswhentheyareouttolunchordinner,while78percentreportusingemojiswhiletexting.Wecaninferthatamajorityofthetextsbeinglookedatcontainsometypeofemojis.

KeyFindings

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• 79percentoftherespondentsreportreplyingtoatextmessagewithaspeedofatleast30minutesorless,while95percentofthosesurveyedstatetheydonotwaitanylongerthanonehourtoreplytoatextmessage.Thisindicatesthereisaneedand/orexpectationtoreplyquicklywhenreceivingatextmessage.

• Thedataillustratesthatpeoplecategorizedasboyfriendsorgirlfriendsarelikelytothefastestresponsewhentexting,whileclassmatesarelikelytoreceivetheslowestresponseofthecategories.Peoplecategorizedasimmediatefamilymembersarelikelytoreceiveanaveragespeedof5-5.2whentexting,whichindicatesagreateremphasisonprioritizingromanticrelationshipsoverotherformsofrelationshipswhencommunicating.

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Findings

Sara

Yes No

IsTexdngYourPRIMARYMethodofCommunicadon?

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Textingisobviouslythethenewnormofcommunicating,accordingtoourstudy.

Cindy

UnlimitedTexdngUnlimitedData

WouldyouprefertohaveunlimitedTEXTINGorunlimitedDATA?

11

Despiteourfindingsof83percentofpeopleusingtextmessagingintheirdailylives,thedatashowsthat67percentofrespondentswouldprefertohaveunlimiteddataversusunlimitedtexting.Thereisanobviousneedforanabundanceofdatatobeabletomanageappsandothertoolsofeverydaylife,butalsorecognizethisasachangeincellularofferingsasmostplansofferunlimitedtextmessaging.ThedevelopmentofiMessagebyApplecreatedmessagingbywayofcellulardata.

Cindy

Whatpercentofyourdailyinterpersonalcommunicationisthroughtexting?

12

Theresultsfromtheresearchsuggeststhatmostoftherespondentsspend45percentorlessontextingfordailyinterpersonalcommunication.Althoughthemajorityofcommunicationisnottexting,wehavetoconsiderthattheother55%issharedwithvarioussourcesofcommunication.

Cindy

WhatotherAPPSdoyouuseforcommunicadon?

13

Inthisdataset,weseethatFacebookismostpopularoftheappsusedforcommunication.90percentofrespondentsofuserssuggesttheydonotuseTwitterforcommunication,despitehavingover310millionactiveusersasofQ12016.

Cindy

WhatTEXTINGAPPSdoyoucurrentlyuse?

14

FacebookMessengerandSnapchatareequallythemostpopulartextingappswith60percentusageamongrespondents.20percentofrespondentsreportedusingWhatsAppandGroupme,while10percentofrespondentsuseLine,Viber,orotherappsfortexting.

Snapchat

Cindy

HowFREQUENTLYdoyouengageinthefollowingbehaviors?

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Ourresearchresultsshowthat71percentofrespondentslookattextswhentheyareouttolunchordinner,while78percentreportusingemojiswhiletexting.Wecaninferthatamajorityofthetextsbeinglookedatcontainsometypeofemojis.

Drew

HowFASTdoyoutypicallyreplytoatextmessage?

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79percentoftherespondentsreportreplyingtoatextmessagewithaspeedofatleast30minutesorless,while95percentofthosesurveyedstatetheydonotwaitanylongerthanonehourtoreplytoatextmessage.Thisindicatesthereisaneedand/orexpectationtoreplyquicklywhenreceivingatextmessage.

Drew

HowFASTdoyoutypicallyREPLYtothefollowingcategoriesofpeople?(SLOW=1,FAST=7)

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Thedataillustratesthatpeoplecategorizedasboyfriendsorgirlfriendsarelikelytothefastestresponsewhentexting,whileclassmatesarelikelytoreceivetheslowestresponseofthecategories.Peoplecategorizedasimmediatefamilymembersarelikelytoreceiveanaveragespeedof5-5.2whentexting,whichindicatesagreateremphasisonprioritizingromanticrelationshipsoverotherformsofrelationshipswhencommunicating.

Drew

QuickResponsesFullConversadonsBoth

Doyoutextforquickresponsesorforfullconversadons?

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Mostrespondentsprefertousetextmessagingforbothquickresponsesandfullconversations,whileonly5percentofthosesurveyedsuggestedusingtextmessagingforfullconversationsonly.Sinceusingbothwouldincludequickresponsesandfullconvos,wecansay

Drew

HowIMPORTANTtoyouarethefollowing?

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Onaverage,respondentsbelievedsocializinginpersonandengaginginface-to-facesocialactivitiesweremoreimportantthantexting,ortalkingonthephone.Thissuggeststhattech-basedmediumshasn'tcompletelyreplacedmoretraditionalmeansofcommunicatingandpeoplestillvaluedtheintimacyphysicalinteractions.

Drew

HowImportantToYouAreTheFollowing?

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Accordingtoourdata,usingcorrectspellingwasmostimportanttooursubjectsonaverage,andgrammarcominginsecond,versustheotheroptionswhichincludedusingreadreceipts,beingtheleastimportant.Thiscouldprobablybeexplainedbythemajorityofeducatedrespondentsinoursample.

Drew

ICan'tAFewMinutesAFewHoursAFewDaysAFewWeeksAFewMonthsMoreThanaFewMonths

HowLongCanYouGoWithoutTexdng?

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Awhopping50%ofourrespondentscannotgomorethanafewhourswithouttexting!28%havetotextwithindays,totalinginover3/4ofoursamplesize.Thissuggeststhattextingreallyhasbecomeanvitalpartofourlives.

Branen

PleaseRATEyouragreementwiththeFollowingStatementsThatAreAboutYourOpinionofthePossibleWaysBUSINESSESCouldUseTexdng.

22

Onaverage,respondentsfeltthatbusinessescouldpotentiallybenefitfromusingtextwithgraphics,butonlyiftheyhavesubscribedtoreceivethem,otherwiseitwouldbeintrusive.

Branen

FemaleMale

MyGenderIs:

23

Afterexcluding3respondents,therewasonlyslightlymorefemalethanmalerespondents.Thisshowsthatoursamplewasgoodinrespecttoprovidinganequalrepresentationofthepopulationregardingsex.

Branen

MyAgeIs:

24

Ouroriginalsampleincluded7agebrackets,withthemostrespondentsbeingfromthe20-24agegroup.Thiscouldbeexplainedbyconsideringtheageoftheinterviewersdistributingthesurveys.

Branen

MyReladonshipStatusIs:

25

Themajorityofourrespondentsweresingleornevermarried,explainedbyconsideringthemajoritywerebetweentheages20-24,respectively.Respondentsthatwereinarelationshipormarriedcamecloseinsecond.

Branen

None1-1011-2021-3031-3940+

HowManyHoursDoYouWorkaWeek?

26

Respondentswhoworked40+hoursironicallymadeup40%oftheresponse.Only13%didn'tworkatall,demonstratinganeedtointerviewmoreunemployedrespondents.

Branen 27

Myrace/ethnicityis:

WhiteandHispanic/Latinogroupswerethetoptworace/ethnicitiesthatparticipatedinthesurveysandrepresentedtwicethatoftheAsian/PacificIslandergroup.Byincorporatingmoreofarandomsample,webelieveabetterdistributionamongsttheraceswouldbepresent.

Branen

WhatIsTheHighestDegreeorLevelofSchoolYouHaveCompleted?

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Morethanhalfofourrespondentshadaformofhighereducationundertheirbelt.3%hadaMBAdegree,30%hadaBA,16%hadanAAand24%hadsomecollegecredit.Thisfurtherconfirmsourlimitationsasaresultofourconveniencesample,consideringCSULBstudentswerethedistributorsofthesurveys.

Sara

HowOpenDoYouText?

29

Over80percentofourrespondentsreporttextmessagingatleastonceaday,whichindicatesarelianceusershaveincommunicatingwithothersusingcellulartechnologyasthemedium.Ofthe80percent,at31percentreporttextmessaginghourly,whichservesasaconsiderabletargetforfuturemarketingstrategies.

Sara

0-10Minutes11-30Minutes31-60MinutesMoreThan60Minutes

HowFASTDoYouTypicallyReplytoaTextMessage?

30

79percentofourrespondentsreplytotextswithin0to30minutes,whichweidentifyasculturalnorm/expectationwithintextmessagingtoreplyrightaway.

Sara 31

Consideringourdatashowsthatmostpeopleprefertotextmessageoverotherformsofcommunication,wecanseethatpeoplearemorelikelytobreakthisnormtophysicallyspeaktopeoplethatarecloserinrelationshipstotherespondents.Theexceptiontothisfindingiswithbusinesseswhereweviewusersplacingcallsforinformationgatheringpurposesonly.

WhichofthefollowingpeopledoyouprefertoCALLratherthenTEXT?

Sara

0

1.5

3

4.5

6

Texdngisessendalinmydaytodaylife

Iamdisappointed

whensom

eonedoesn'ttextbackright

away

Ionlyliketotextcertainpeople

IfeelappreciatedwhenIreceiveatext

message

Texdngisaquickandeasyw

aytogetanansw

ertoaquesdon

Iwouldrathertext

thancallafriend

Iopencheckmyphone

toseeifsomeonehas

textedme

Texdngsavesmedm

ethroughouttheday

IfeelbadwhenIdo

nottextbackim

mediately

3.8

5.04.7

4.3

5.4

4.55.1

4.0

5.1

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Pleaseindicatewithyourdegreeofagreementwiththefollowingstatements.(Stronglydisagree=1,Stronglyagree=7)

Sara

HowOpenDoYouIGNOREamessage?

33

Accordingtoourdata,themajorityofpeoplealmostneveroronlyignoreamessageonceortwiceaweek.Thatsayspeopleareprettyconsistentandconsiderateregardingresponse,insinuatingthatanyignoringmorethanthatwouldbeconsidered"notthenorm"and/orpossiblyrude.

Sara

0

1.5

3

4.5

6

Iprefertexdngoverothermethodsofcom

municadon

Icanconveymyem

odonseasilythroughtext

IreadtextsIreceiveim

mediately

Texdnginfrontofothersisrude

Isomedm

eshavedifficulty

understandingthetoneofatext

Texdngisthemost

convenientformof

communicadon

IusetexdngtodelivermessagesIfinddiffi

culttocom

municateinperson

Ibelievetexdngeffecdvelyreplacestradidonalform

sofcom

municadon

Ifeellikesomeoneisn't

interestedinmew

hentheytextw

hileweareout

together4.8

3.93.7

4.94.4

5.24.5

3.94.6

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CIRCLEthenumberthatBESTreflectshowyouagreeordisagreewitheachstatement?(Stronglydisagree=1,Stronglyagree=7)

24andUnder24-3435andUp

DoYouTextForQuickResponsesorForFullConversadons?*

35

Thedatashowsthatmostpeopledonotusetextmessagesjustforfullconversation;However,itdoesreportsthatpeopleages24&underand24-34equallyusetextmessagingforbothquickresponsesaswellasfullconversations.Thissuggeststhatpeopletextfullconversationsonlywhencircumstantial.

*p<0.05

24andUnder25-3435andUp

HowLongCanYouGoWithoutTexdng?*

36

Thedatashowsthatmorethanhalfofpeopleages24andundercannotgomorethanafewhourswithouttexting.Samecanbesaidfortheotheragegroups,whichimpliesthatmostpeople,whotypicallyareuparound13-17hours,can'thelptochecktheirphoneatleast7timesaday.

*p<0.05

24andUnder25-3435andUp

37

HowFREQUENTLYdoyouengageinthefollowingbehaviors?Answer:Useemojiswhiletexdng.*

Asurprising97percentofpeopleages34andunderreportusingemojiswhiletexting,regardlessofgender.Thisimpliesamajorwantforfunandpersonalizedtexting.

*p<0.05

LookatTextsWhenIamOuttoLunchorDinnerwithOthers

24andUnder25-3435andUp

38

Thedatashowsthatonly8percentofpeopleages34andunderneverlookatatextwhenouttolunchordinnerwithothersandonly5percentofpeopleages35andupneverlook.Thedataclearlydemonstratesacompulsivenesswithcheckingtheirtechnologydespitebeingpresentinfrontofothers.

*p<0.05

24andUnder25-3435andUp

IsTexdngYourPRIMARYMethodofCommunicadon?*

*p<0.05

39

Thedatashowsthatageisasignificantdeterminantofpeopletextingastheirprimarymethodofcommunicationwith93percentofpeopleaged24&underand68percentofpeopleaged35&updoingthesame.Thedecliningtrendshowstherelationshipbetweenageandtextingasaprimarymethodofcommunication

Perez

HowOpenDoYouIGNOREaTextMessage?*

24andUnder25-3435andUp

*p<0.05

40

Peopledaged35andupshowahigherregardtoreplyingtotextmessagesas41percentreporttoneveroralmostneverignoreatext;however,peopleaged25-34yearsoldaremorelikelytoignoreamessageatleast1-2timesaweek,showingthecasualnessofignoringamessage.

Perez

24andUnder25-3435andUp

HowOFTENdoyoutext?*

*p<0.05

41

Morethanhalfofpeopleages25&uptextperiodicallythroughouttheday,while42percentofpeopleages24&undersaytheytextmessagehourly.

24andUnder25-3435andUp

WhichofthefollowingpeopledoyouprefertoCALLratherthanTEXT?Response:Parents*

*p=n.s.

42

Mostpeopleactuallydonotprefertocalltheirparents.Thedifferencebetweenpeoplewhoprefertocalltheirparentsandthosewhodonotis64%forages24&under,52%forages24-34,and60%forages35andup.

Perez

HowFASTDoYouTypicallyReplytoaText?*

24andUnder25-3435andUp

*p=n.s.

43

Themajorityofpeoplewilltypicallyreplytoatextmessagewithin30minutesofreceivingitwhileveryfewpeoplewilltakemorethananhourtoreply.98percentofMillenialssuggesttheydonotspendmorethan60minutestoreply,whichcomparesverycloselytothe97percentofpeopleaged25-34whoreportthesame.

Fitzgerald

24andUnder 25-34 35andUp

HowOpenDoYouIgnoreaTextMessage?*

*p<0.05

44

35yearoldsanduparetwiceaslikelytoreplytoatextmessagethanpeople24yearsoldandunder.

24andUnder25-3435andUp

WhatPercentofYourDailyInterpersonalCommunicadonisThroughTexdng?*

*p<0.05

45

Peopledonotcommunicatethroughtextmessagingasoftenasyouwouldthink.Majorityofpeoples'dailyconversationsviatextmessagerangesbetween16%and45%

24andUnder25-3435andUp

WhatotherAPPSdoyouuseforcommunicadon?Response:Instagram*

*p<0.05

46

Thereisasignificantdifferencebetweenageandappusagewith78%ofpeopleages24&under(GenY)sayingtheyuseInstagramtocommunicateandonly36%ofpeopleages35&up(GenX)useInstagramtocommunicate.

24andUnder25-3435andUp

WhatotherAPPSdoyouuseforcommunicadon?Response:Snapchat*

*p<0.05

47

Peopleages24&under(GenY)arealmostfourtimesaslikelytocommunicateviasnapchatthanpeopleages35&up(GenX)

SingleNeverMarriedMarriedDivorcedInaReladonshipEngagedOther

WhatotherAPPSdoyouuseforcommunicadon?Response:Instagram*

*p<0.05

48

WhenitcomestousingInstagram,thereisnostatisticallysignificantdifferencebetweenpeoplewhoaresingleandpeoplewhoareinarelationship

FemaleMaleOther

Howopendoyoutext?*

*p<0.05

49

Accordingtoourresearch,malesaretwiceaslikelytotextperiodicallythroughoutthedayversusperiodicallythroughouttheweek.Females,however,arenotonlymorelikelytotextperiodicallythroughoutthedaythanmalesbutalsoarethreetimesaslikelytotextmessageperiodicallythroughoutthedayversusperiodicallythroughouttheweek.

IprefertexdngoverothermethodsofcommunicadonIcanconveymyemodonseasilythroughtextIfeellikesomeoneisn'tinterestedinmewhentheytextwhileweareouttogether

CirclethenumberthatBESTreflectshowyouagreeordisagreewitheachstatement.(StronglyDisagree=1,StronglyAgree=7)*

*p<0.05

Fitzgerald 50

Femalesareequallylikelytoagreethattheycanconveytheiremotionseasilythroughtextaswellasfeelasthoughsomeoneisnotinterestedinthemifapersontextmessageswhileincompany.Thisagreeswiththefactthattheyalsoprefertextingoverothermethods.

Friendsofthesamegender Classmates

HowFASTdoyoutypicallyREPLYtothefollowingcategoriesofpeople?(Slow=1,Fast=7)*

*p<0.05

Fitzgerald 51

Youngerpeopleaged24yearsandunderrespondbacktoclassmatesslightlyslowerthanthetwoolderagegroups,whichindicatesaperhapsincreaseinmaturityorreliabilityasonegetsolder.Ontheotherhand,peoplereplybackataslightlyslowerratetofriendsofthesamegenderastheygetolder.

Texdngisessendalinmydaytodaylife IonlyliketotextcertainpeopleIwouldrathertextthancallafriend IopencheckmyphonetoseeifsomeonehastextedmeTexdngsavesmedmethroughouttheday

Pleaseindicateyourdegreeofagreementwiththefollowingstatements.(StronglyDisagree=1,StronglyAgree=7)*

*p<0.05

Fitzgerald 52

Oftheseparateagegroups,25-34yearoldsaremorelikelytoutilizetextmessagingasaformofcommunicationastheybelievetextingsavesthemtimethroughouttheday.Theyoungeragegroupsaremorelikelytochecktheirphonesthroughoutthedaytoseeifsomeonehastextedthem,whiletheolderagegroup(35andup)arelessencouragedtotextmessageratherthancallafriend.

Receivingtextsthataremorethanoneword UsingemojistoexpressemodonsOnlyreceivingtextsduringwakinghours

Pleaseindicateyourdegreeofagreementwiththefollowingstatements.(StronglyDisagree=1,StronglyAgree=7)*

*p<0.05

Fitzgerald 53

Onaverage,respondents35andupvaluedtheirsleepmorethantheyoungeragegroups,especiallythe25-34agegroup.Therespondents24andundervaluedamorelengthyresponsethantheotheragegroups.

Cindy

IprefertexdngoverothermethodsofcommunicadonIcanconveymyemodonseasilythroughtextIfeellikesomeoneisn'tinterestedinmewhentheytextwhileweareouttogether

CirclethenumberthatBESTreflectshowyouwellagreeordisagreewitheachstatement.(StronglyDisagree=1,StronglyAgree=7)*

*p<0.05

54

Peopleaged35andupheldasignificantlyloweragreementwitheachofthereferencedstatementswhencomparedtotheothergroups.Ontheotherhand,peopleaged24andunderweremostlikelytoagreewiththestatement"Ifeellikesomeoneisn'tinterestedinmewhentheytextwhileweareouttogether,"whichindicatesperhapsagreateremotionalsensitivityamongthissegment.

Cindy

HowImportantAretheFollowing?Response:TexdngMyFriends*

*p<0.05

55

Ofallthecategories,theseparategroupsshowgreatestdistinctionwhenidentifyingtheimportanceoftextingfriends.Textmessagingtheirfriendsisslightlymoreimportanttotheyoungergroupscomparedtopeopleaged35yearsandup.

Conclusion&Recommendations

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ImplicationsforMarketers• Findingsshowmuchmorecommonalitiesamongstagevariablewhichimpliesthatmarketersshouldtakeagerangehighlyintoconsiderationwhenchoosingwhichplatformstoexecuteand/orconveymessages• GenYandXshowtohavestrongerrelationstotext-basedcommunicationandaretext-centralizedvsBabyBoomers/Seniors,whohavelessinterestinreplacingtextingwithothermeansofcommunicating.• Emojisareamajorplayerintheroleofpersonalizedtexting!Aconsiderable97%ofrespondentsundertheageof34reportedusingemojis.Ofthose,nearlyhalfofthemwerefemale.Womeninourstudycontributetothehighestusageofemojis,thereforeitwouldbewiseformarketerstoutilizethesecaricaturestotargettheGenY/Zfemalemarketsegmentinwaysthatwouldappealtothem.• Thegrowthofsocialmediaisonatrajectorytopotentiallyreplacetextmessagingalltogether;therefore,marketersshoulddevelopcreativetacticstoinjecttheircommunicationswithinthesemediumsasnativelyandorganicallyaspossibletocapturetargetaudiencesofyoungergenerations.

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ThankYou…We’reBURNT!