Non-profit organizations benefit from including mass text messaging in their programs, whether for fundraising or to spread the word about events. It is a great way to stay connected with your subscribers and increase engagement. Although a well-crafted texting campaign can bring in a lot of support, it is still important to follow text messaging best practices. By adhering to the expectations and guidelines of the channel, you reduce the risk of people opting out and increasing your success.
Smart Promotion
Let people know about your SMS campaign through normal marketing channels
Before you can get your mass text messaging going, you first need to have some subscribers. This is achieved through smart promotion. There are many places that work well for promoting your campaign, including your social media profiles, website, event flyers, sign up tables, print ads, and anywhere else. It is also beneficial to use your opt-in keyword as a call to action on your general advertising to gain more subscribers.
Get Permission
Prior to messaging your subscribers, you must have permission. It is not just good practice; it is actually the law. Permission can be granted through an online submission box, a form, or an opt-in text through a keyword. It is best to follow up any opt-ins with a confirmation text to ensure that people really did mean to sign up for messages.
Timely Messages
The time at which you send a text and the frequency are very important to the success of your mass text messaging campaign. Most people prefer to only receive about two to four texts per month, although you do need to see what the preferences of your subscribers are. Additionally, it is best to avoid texting too late, too early, during rush hour, and other inconvenient times for your subscribers. If you have subscribers in multiple time zones, be sure to pay even closer attention to the time at which you send your messages.
Providing Value
To keep your campaign relevant, it is important to continue to provide something of value to your subscribers. This could be information about your latest campaigns, event or meeting reminders, follow up to drives, and more. If your subscribers do not feel that they receive anything of value to them, they will unsubscribe. It also helps to change up the type of messages you send to keep your subscribers involved.
Be Clear About Your Intentions
When you get people to sign up for your mass text messaging campaign, it is important that you are very clear about your intentions. If you plan to send out regular messages about your programs, then you need to state that so that people do not become annoyed at the number of messages they receive because they were not expecting it. It is also important to declare what type of messages you plan to send. Once you have created a terms and condition statement that spells it out, it is important that you adhere to it. If you plan to change things, then let your subscribers know before you implement the change.
Ask For Donations — Periodically
One of the ways you can use your texting program is to ask for donations. However, you do not want to constantly ask your subscribers to donate to your program. It is beneficial to save fundraising drives for when you have an actual drive going on or something else that makes it seem natural to ask for more money.
Coordinate and Integrate
Take the time to coordinate all of your campaigns for better success
The final aspect of a strong mass text messaging campaign for a non-profit is that you coordinate and integrate. If you have a fundraising drive going on, then you will most likely promote it across all channels. However, there may be times where you only push fundraising on one channel. This needs to be coordinated so that you do not saturate those who may follow you on multiple channels. Additionally, you want your website, especially your donation page, to be mobile friendly to make it easy for people to engage with your organization right from their text.
By following these practices, you can increase the chance of a successful campaign. Regularly texting your followers provides you with a way to engage with them, increasing the chance they will become repeat donors and come out and volunteer or attend one of your events.
Try us free to see how texting can help your non-profit.