Ron Kinkade
There are many benefits to using a mass texting service. With 77% of students and parents owning a smartphone in the US- it’s safe to say that texting is the most adopted form of communication. 98% of text messages are opened and read within the first three minutes, and texts are seven times more likely to respond when compared to talking on the phone. Texting is also the fastest way for you to get information if you are talking to a large group of people. It allows you to send class-specific updates, and it is also ideal if you want more league sign-ups or if you want to raise money for a fundraiser event.
Benefits of Using a Texting Service
How do you stay connected with parents and students? What kind of messaging tool do you use? Most of the time, the answer is Facebook Messenger, WeChat, WhatsApp, or Slack. Regardless of how you choose to connect with your students, the above solutions all come with their limitations. Alternatively, a text messaging service gives you the chance to schedule meetings, save messages, send personalized messages, and more. You can improve the frequency of your conversations too, which will work in your favor. If you want to use text to further your current level of communication, then take a look below.
1. The Ability to Send Weather Warnings
If your school is in a location that is particularly prone to extreme climates, then you may find that you often experience closures and cancellations. It's not uncommon to see students that are entirely oblivious to school closures until the very last minute. Sometimes they may even not find out until they are on the school grounds. This is a lot of wasted time for parents, teachers, and students, but a text service could eliminate all of this by giving you a way to reach everyone in seconds.
2. Easier Scheduling for Parent and Teacher Meetings
Parents tend to live hectic lives. It can be very easy to forget about meetings or even upcoming school dates. This is especially the case if they have only ever been notified about them via letter or email. With text messaging, parents can receive gentle yet timely reminders regarding any upcoming meetings. This will encourage the general development of students in more ways than one.
3. A New Approach to Student Recruitment
SMS campaigns can spearhead your recruitment drive. Simple text messages can send parents reminders about when you have open days or if there are any upcoming application deadlines. Schools can also learn about any upcoming workshops that may be of interest to potential prospective students.
4. Faster Urgent Message Delivery
Parents being busy or preoccupied can be a real issue if you try to get hold of them. Sometimes you may have an urgent situation on your hands, where you are trying to get hold of them because the child in question needs picking up. It may be that the child is sick, that they require urgent attention, or that they have been involved in an accident. On the flip side, it may be that your child needs to undergo an immediate disciplinary procedure, and the parents need to be informed. Either way, parents tend to be far more receptive to text when compared to a telephone call. You can reach them faster with zero fuss. You will also have the ability to find out if they have read or received the text by using the delivery system notifications. You can't be sure of this if you are only ever leaving a voicemail.
5. Ensuring Consistent Staff Contact
SMS messages can also be a fantastic way for you to make sure that your staff is in contact with one another. A simple text message can let your team know about any upcoming events, and it can also help you fill any staff absentees quickly. It's evident that your staff need to have a good level of communication with each other, as this will directly impact the service you can provide to your students. With SMS- everyone can stay in the loop, which will help with morale and general job satisfaction.
6. Spreading Awareness about an Upcoming Event
If your school or athletic program is hosting an event, it's very easy to spread awareness. Text messaging is a fantastic way for you to drive your event attendance. You can get the word out, and you can easily cater to your event for your faculty, parents, or students.
7. It's Easy to Answer Inbound Questions
Don't burn precious time on the phone by sending out tons of emails. Texting is a much better way for you to stay in touch with everyone. A group texting service can help you make it easier for you to answer questions and connect with everyone involved, with instant communication that is completely accessible regardless of where everyone is.
8. You Can Remind your Students about Upcoming Homework
Students always seem to have an excuse for turning in their homework late. They also have reasons when they miss exam day. It doesn't matter whether they blame the dog or if it's because they have overslept. If you are a teacher, then there's a high chance that you know the real reason- procrastination.
Suppose you want to adopt text messaging for your students but aren't quite sure how to utilize this method of communication. In that case, there are some general rules that you can follow to ensure that you are making the most out of your message delivery. Ensuring that you have good texting etiquette can maintain your school's professional image while ensuring that you pass on the correct information in the right way to your recipient. If you want to find out more about texting etiquette, take a look below.
Text Message Etiquette For Teachers
You need to be aware of a few practices before you even think about texting students or parents. The fact is, using emojis might be fun and easy, but it’s not professional. As an educator, you need to make sure that you have consent before you start texting. Most messaging platforms will give your recipient a way to opt-out, which is always a good thing. It’s recommended that you try and include a statement in your syllabus because you need your parents and students to know that you would like to contact them via text. You also need to capture their signature.
Don’t Send Texts with Confidential Information
You have to be careful about sending or receiving information that could be confidential. Keep in mind that text isn’t usually secure or encrypted. This is because all of the text messages will be stored, in some way, by your telecom provider. This means that you need to check the content of your message if possible. A good practice would be for you to try and keep your entire messaging campaign focused on things like reminders and updates. Conversations that require a lot of explaining don’t tend to work well over text. Zoom meetings or phone calls tend to be better solutions if you want to better handle these kinds of issues.
Make your Number Private
Most platforms give you a chance to text from a number that is not linked to your personal one. This is ideal if you are a teacher. You want to be accessible to parents and students, but you don’t want to be giving out your personal number.
Write A Clear Call to Action
CTAs are a direct call to action, and they encourage the recipient to take action. You need to keep your text messages short, and you also need to keep them to the point if possible. Text messages work well when you keep them under 160 characters.
Utilize Templates
Drafting templated messages can save you a great deal of time. You won’t have to worry about typing the same message again and again.