Running a youth group, sports club or small community is no easy task. Often, these groups are self-funded, rely on volunteers and have little to no budget for communication. However, in an increasingly digital world and an environment that demands immediate and accessible communication, it’s essential to have a reliable way to get messages heard and respond quickly to the unexpected.
SMS messaging is one of the most accessible channels available today. As of 2020, 87% of UK adults have a smartphone.
1. Send and receive scheduling notifications
For event organisers, whether that’s a football game, day trip, or local meet-up, managing the number of variables that can lead to last-minute changes is hard work. When a venue lets you down, the weather halts the event or timings change, getting the message out to parents or guardians and club members quickly and accurately is critical.
SMS isn’t just a one-way channel. Your members can contact you directly, too. Short Codes and dedicated Virtual Mobile Numbers allow you to receive replies to your messages and for users to send a text message directly.
2. Send reminder notifications
Event reminders are an effective way to ensure that people don’t forget to save your date. For sports clubs, it could be critical that all team members have the suitable kit and equipment, or a youth group could be organising a one-off activity, like camping. You probably have a list of essentials you need all your members to bring with them, and it’s easy for parents to forget these things when going about their everyday lives.
SMS reminders and notifications reach recipients on the device they carry with them most of the time. When asked, ‘could you get through a day without your mobile phone?’ 59% of women and 41% of men said they couldn’t get through the day without their mobile.
3. Emergency messages
For organisations responsible for groups of people under 18 or vulnerable adults, unexpected occurrences must be communicated quickly to reassure parents and guardians of their safety. Traffic could be delayed, a vehicle might have broken down, or activities might be running over the scheduled time.
SMS messages remove the need for labour-intensive phone calls to multiple parents, and the message is delivered regardless of whether the recipient is available to answer.
4. A personal touch
Unlike a group message, SMS messaging via our online portal offers dynamic fields to keep messages personal to the recipient. You can include unique details like name, date, and time using dynamic fields without having to type out each message. There are multiple benefits to making personal messages, including improved open rates as contacts are more likely to open a message addressed to them specifically, and you can verify that you’re speaking to the right person.
SMS communication isn’t exclusive to big businesses
If you’re a small independent organisation, professional communication solutions might seem out of reach. SMS is affordable, easy to use, and requires minimal setup; you can start sending straight away. You don’t need to worry about lengthy contracts or monthly costs; just pay for what you use, particularly useful for organisations that are only active at certain times in the year.
As a society, we’re constantly on the move. The average person in the UK spends 148 minutes a day on their phone. SMS is available on all mobile handsets and doesn’t rely on an internet connection, part of the reason it boasts an open rate of 98% and an average response time of just 90 minutes.
Our website is packed with helpful how-to guides, eBooks, and instructional posts on how you can reach your full potential with SMS communications. To help get you started, we’ll even give you 100% extra free on any SMS credits purchased (up to 10,000 credits).
If you’d like any help or advice on how SMS can work for your organisation, please contact one of our expert team at info@textmarketer.co.uk.