Business text messaging belongs in your organization’s content strategy whether you’re trying to engage customers or employees. This article details the three primary reasons why text messaging is so important and effective.

#1 People Pay Attention to Text Messages

An effective content strategy relies on content being published, delivered, consumed, and acted on. This is where SMS text messaging really shines. Text messages are sent immediately and read almost as fast with 90% read within 3 seconds. No other communication channel can top this read rate. In fact, research by the global tech care company Asurion found that Americans check their phones a whopping 96 times per day. 

#2  Text Messaging is Equitable and Ubiquitous

An April 2021 Pew research Center study found that 97% of American adults own a mobile phone, but only 85% have a smartphone. This means text messaging service is ubiquitous for almost ALL American adults. Further, it’s a very important communication tool for those Americans who do not have smartphones, many of whom are elderly, disabled, low income, or people of color. Text messaging can help your organization not only communicate with everyone, but communicate equitably with people who do not have access to a smartphone or computer.

#3 Text Messaging is Versatile

Text messaging is easily integrated with other systems and applications, and it can be used for audience engagement in many ways. Here are a few examples:

• Linking to more long form content.
• Driving people to complete online surveys or reporting forms.
• Pushing instructions, notifications, and reminders.
• Running contests.

Read 4 Best Practices for Mass Text Messaging Campaigns for more business text messaging tips.

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Digital.com, a leading independent review website for small business online tools, products, and services, has announced TextMarks among the best app marketing companies in Los Angeles, California for 2021. The top firms were evaluated based on industry focus, marketing services, and marketing process.

TextMarks and other companies on the final list cover a wide range of industries so users can compare and make an informed and objective partnership decision. Experts at Digital.com recommend agencies that offer a wide range of marketing services, such as marketing strategy, social media marketing, paid advertising, and branding. It was also mandatory that these agencies provide flexible options to work with clients as consultant or manage an entire marketing campaign.

Digital.com’s research team conducted an assessment of over 25 firms in Los Angeles.

TextMarks is excited to be included in Digital.com’s prestigious list. Our text messaging platform allows organizations of all sizes to communicate quickly and effectively with their clients, employees, and other stakeholders via SMS. Contact us to schedule a demo.

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Some US transit agencies allow riders to send a text to 41411 in order to receive next arrival information and/or service alerts. Here are rider instructions for how to do it.

1. You need two pieces of information which you may find posted at the bus stop:
   • The transit agency keyword (e.g. ACMEBUS)
   • The bus stop number (e.g. 1234)
2. Begin a text message to the short phone number: 41411
3. Using the keyword and bus stop number, create and send a text message (to 41411) that looks like this: ACMEBUS#1234

RIDER NOTE: THIS IS AN EXAMPLE ONLY OF TEXTMARKS SMS SERVICE AND DOES NOT PROVIDE REAL TIME INFORMATION. PLEASE SEE YOUR TRANSIT SERVICE’S WEB SITE OR SIGNS FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON USING THEIR SERVICE.

Message frequency may vary. Message and data rates may apply. Text STOP to cancel.Terms and privacy policy: smstc.us/t41411

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Many people think of mobile marketing or internal communication when they think of business text messaging. But, SMS text messaging is a great research study tool as well. This article details why it’s an essential communication channel for delivering information to both study participants and research team members.

#1 SMS Text Messaging is a Ubiquitous Communication Tool

In order for a research study communication tool to be effective for participants and research team members, they need to have and be able to use the tool. This is where SMS text messaging really shines because everyone already has and uses it. According to the Pew Research Center, although not everyone has a smartphone, 97% of American adults have at least a basic mobile phone, which is all you need to send and receive SMS text messages. There is no need to download or learn a new app, and no need for a data plan.

#2 People Read and are Engaged by Text Messages

Research study communications need to be delivered, read, and acted upon. This is another area where SMS text messaging is superior to other communication channels. Text messages are received and read almost immediately, and there is no risk of text messages getting trapped in spam filters. On top of this, people of all ages prefer text to other communication tools, and many engage by responding — even when they aren’t required to, as this 6 month study in Australia found.

#3 SMS Text Messaging is Versatile

SMS text messaging is a versatile communication channel that can serve many purposes. For instance:

• Text messaging can be used to drive people to online surveys or reporting forms.
• Text messages can be used to push instructions, notifications, and reminders
• Groups of participants or researchers can be easily segmented in order to receive targeted information.
• Text message platforms often have APIs that support integration with other systems. 

For more information, read Studies Show Text Message Reminders Support Healthy Habits for some examples of how text messaging has been used in research studies

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Studies show SMS text message reminders help people maintain healthy habits. Interestingly, it doesn’t take too many weekly messages to positively influence people’s behavior as the three studies outlined below demonstrate. And while not everyone has a smartphone, most adults have at least a basic mobile phone, which is all it takes to receive SMS text messages. 

SMS Text Message Reminders Help Young People Avoid Sunburn

The University of Queensland’s Centre for Health Services Research found that text message reminders positively influenced the behavior of young adults at risk for skin cancer. Researchers tried four variations of text messaging programs with different levels of personalization, interactivity, and message frequency.  They found that just three messages weekly versus seven was optimal. Further, messages where participants were asked to reply were most effective (e.g. Dear John, have you used sunscreen today? Text back yes or no). 

Over the six month period, they found that sunburn rates for participants receiving text messages went from 40.3% at the beginning down to just 7% by the end. One year after the conclusion of the study, sunburn rates were still lower (23.5%) than at the beginning of the study.

SMS Text Message Reminders Help People Lower Their Cholesterol and Blood Pressure

A six month study in Australia sought to determine whether or not text message reminders could positively influence the behavior of patients with coronary heart disease. By the end of the study, researchers found that the group of patients who received text message reminders had lowered their cholesterol, blood pressure and BMI. These patients received just four text messages per week in addition to their regular care. The messages were somewhat personalized, taking into account whether or not someone smoked, was vegetarian, etc.

The patients who received the messages said that they found the messages helpful and many replied to the messages even though they weren’t required to. For example, “Thanks for the message. I’ve been on my walk, my blood pressure is better.”

SMS Text Message Reminders Help People Lose Weight

Twenty eight participants in a twelve week weight watchers program who received motivational SMS text messages lost 4.5 pounds more on average than participants who did not receive the texts. Participants received two messages weekly with helpful information and reminders like, “Keep in the fridge a Ziploc with washed and precut vegetables 4 quick snack. Add 1 string cheese 4 proteins. Did u try it this week? Reply yes or no.” Almost 80 percent of the participants said they found the text messages helped them adopt healthy habits.

Motivational text messages and reminders can help people remember to take positive actions. If you’re starting a motivational and/or reminder text messaging campaign, take a moment to review 4 Best Practices for Mass Text Messaging Campaigns, where you’ll find helpful tips for promoting your program and for composing effective messages.

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Employee engagement begins with inclusion, which means ensuring everyone benefits from your outreach efforts. Adding text messaging to your omnichannel employee communication strategy can help ensure this for a few reasons. Number one – almost everyone has a mobile phone with text messaging, and number two – people of all age groups prefer text over other communication channels. Here are some text messaging tips to help you get the maximum benefit out of your internal communications texting program.

#1 Mix It Up

Naturally, many of your messages will be important notifications like benefit renewal deadlines, timecard reminders, inclement weather alerts, building closures and the like, but it’s important to add a little levity to the mix. Sharing work anniversaries, birthdays, awards, virtual happy hour invitations, company history trivia, and opportunities to win small prizes will keep everyone reading your messages and engaged.

#2 Send Text Messages Regularly, But Don’t Spam

It’s important to send messages regularly because otherwise people may forget about your text messaging program and not understand (or believe) a message is from your organization. But on the other hand, you don’t want to spam people either. Sending multiple messages on a daily basis may distract people unnecessarily or cause them to give less credibility to your messages. 

Using an editorial calendar and scheduling recurring messages to automatically send can help with this. It can also help you remember to “Mix it Up.”  

For instance, you might:

• Designate a certain day of the week or month to consistently share employee birthdays and/or work anniversaries. 
• Schedule an automatic timecard reminder to go out on Friday afternoons.
• Break up the work week with a company trivia fact on Wednesdays. 
• Send daily reminders the final week of your annual benefit renewal.

#3 Make Sure Your Text Messages are Easily Understood

This may seem obvious, but every communication channel is different and you need to tailor your message accordingly. Make sure your text messages are easy to scan and understand by doing the following:

• Be direct and include all applicable who, what, where and when information. For example: 

Everyone is invited to “Coffee with the CEO” this Friday at 2pm in the 3rd floor conference room of Building C. Bring your own cup. There will be donuts :)

• If you need to send a message longer than 160 characters, by all means send 2 messages, but break the communication up in a meaningful way and pause 5 seconds or so before sending the second message. This will help ensure the mobile carriers deliver your messages in the order intended.

Following these three tips will help make sure your internal communication text messaging program is engaging and successful. Read 4 Best Practices for Mass Text Messaging Campaigns and Best Practices for Using URLs in SMS Text Messaging for more helpful tips.

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Text Messaging is a great communication tool for many industries, but for some it is essential. This is particularly true of the construction industry where schedules and safety may be impacted by a variety of factors with little to no notice. Group text messaging allows construction companies to broadcast up-to-the-minute, global crew alerts when minutes matter. 

#1 Improve Overall Communications with Text Messaging

An omnichannel approach to communication is critical because not everyone has or checks email, and phone calls are not always possible. Text messaging can bridge this gap because almost everyone (97% of US adults) has a mobile phone. And on top of that, people keep their phones with them and check their phones close to 100 times per day. Text messages aren’t just received – they’re read. 

#2 Help Ensure Safety with Text Messaging

When it comes to construction safety, time is often of the essence. For example, in the case of inclement weather or an accident, communication needs to be immediate and reach everyone. With mass text messaging, everyone on a crew, large or small, can be notified instantly with a single text message. Public safety can also be enhanced with text messaging programs for residents, for instance when construction projects impact roadways.

#3 Save Time and Money with Text Messaging

Calling everyone on a crew is time consuming and can require additional administrative staff, which costs money. Emails take time to compose and send, often requiring a computer, and they may be caught in spam filters. A text message, on the other hand, takes minutes to compose and send, and can be sent from the field via a mobile phone. In general, group text messaging minimizes confusion and reduces time and resource-consuming back and forth actions.

For more information, read How Blattner Energy Uses TextMarks SMS to Streamline Communications, Enhance Safety, and Control Costs.

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There are times when organizations need to quickly get emergency notifications out to employees, students, or other stakeholders. Often the need arrives with little to no advance notice, such as when inclement weather strikes. In these situations, SMS is the ideal communication channel.

Reason #1: Almost Everyone has a Mobile Phone

A Pew Research Center study found that 97% of American adults have a mobile phone. And, not only do they have mobile phones, they use them. As we all know, people have their mobile phones with them all of the time. Also, people check their mobile phones frequently as found in a 2019 survey sponsored by the global tech care company Asurion. 

Reason #2: Group SMS Text Messaging for Emergency Notifications Doesn’t Require Data or Downloads

All mobile phones come with SMS text messaging by default – it just works. There is no need for people to have a data plan or to download and install an app. SMS works on the same networks as mobile phone calls do. These factors are especially important for emergency communications because while 97% of American adults have a mobile phone, only 85% have a smartphone. SMS allows you to reach EVERYONE.

Reason #3: Group Text Alerts are Easy to Send and are Read Almost Instantly

Group SMS text alerts can be composed and sent quickly via a desktop dashboard or via your mobile phone. Unlike email messages, there is no risk they will be trapped by a spam filter before reaching their intended target. And, the best part is that text Messages are received and read almost instantly, which is especially important in emergency situations, where you not only need people to read your message – you need them to read it immediately.

Reason #4: People Prefer and Appreciate Text Messaging for Emergency Notifications

Not only do people of all ages prefer text messaging to other forms of mobile communication, a 2014 Public Health Report found that SMS text messaging can be useful for broadcasting information to public health employees during emergencies.  A typical comment received from emergency text message alert recipients during a 2012 winter storm: “Since I had no power and was unable to access my e-mail or Internet, I really appreciated the text messages.”

SMS isn’t just a great channel for emergencies, it’s great for internal communications in general. Read “Studies Show Text Messaging is the Best Channel for Corporate Internal Communications” to learn more about how group text messaging can improve communication for your organization too.

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Keeping a team on point, on track, and on time is difficult even when everyone is a time management superstar. Unforeseen events like service outages, illnesses, and even world events like Covid-19 can get in the way of a team’s productivity. But it becomes especially difficult to manage when one or more team members struggle with procrastination, distraction, or just plain laziness. 

The behavior of these team members can impact everyone’s productivity because oftentimes one person’s work is dependent on another’s. So, it’s critical each team member learns to manage their time well. Not only will it help the team, it will help the individual by giving them a sense of accomplishment and self mastery. Here are some time management tips that can help individual team members and the whole team.

Accountability Partners for Motivation

You may be familiar with the idea of having an accountability partner to help keep you on track for a goal like weight loss or exercise. Many people find this helps them because they are more likely to complete something when they’ve made a commitment to someone they care about. This same concept can be used at work too. 

It works best when partners have similar goals or disciplines because it makes it easier for partners to empathize with and motivate their partner. For example, two salespeople who need to prepare their sales reports for the previous week (which they find boring to do) for their boss might commit to each other that they will have them done by 2pm Monday and celebrate their win with a quick break at their favorite coffee place.

Team Pomodoro for Focus

If you’re not familiar with the pomodoro technique, it’s a timed method for deeply focusing on a task for a period of time (typically 25 minutes). These focus periods are punctuated by brief rest breaks. Many individuals use this technique with great success, but it can also be used by teams. For instance, a team can schedule focused work time together on the same task or individual tasks. The important thing is the focus. Someone can be designated to run the timer.

For remote teams, group focus time can be organized on Zoom or other video conferencing tools. This will help promote accountability because everyone is able to see each other. For teams that have to be immediately responsive to customers and can’t all focus at once, rotations can be used to give a portion of the team focus time while the others maintain customer-facing communication channels.

Daily Standups for Internal Communication

Simple daily standup meetings not only help keep team members informed, they also motivate people to manage their time better. This is because they help enforce accountability by requiring people to share their progress. A simple sharing convention like the following one will help keep people accountable and on track.

• I did this yesterday.
• I plan to do this today.
• I was not able to accomplish something because…
• I need help with this and here’s why.

If there are operational tasks that must be done on a schedule, having the group facilitator maintain a master calendar and read it aloud daily can help. For instance, “Today we have 2 reports due by EOD: Michael is pulling the monthly churn report. Susan is pulling the monthly sales report.”

Group Text Messaging for Important Reminders

Sometimes no matter how diligent we are, important tasks fall through the cracks. Group and individual text messaging reminders can help with this by ensuring everyone receives reminders about important tasks and deadlines. Most group text messaging platforms will allow you schedule group text messages in advance so that they automatically go out when you and your team need them. Some platforms, like TextMarks, even have support for other internal communications features your team might benefit from like text-for-information, incident reporting, and surveys by text.
Team members will appreciate internal communication via text. In fact, studies show text messaging is the Best Channel for Corporate Internal Communications. Everyone has their mobile phone with them at all times and text messages are not easy to ignore like other digital reminders. Studies show that people of all ages prefer text and that 90% of text messages are read within 3 seconds.

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