5 Reasons Why SMS is What Your Organisation Needs
Short Messaging Service (SMS) — A thing of the past? Pssh, we think it’s the best!
We’ve put together 5 compelling reasons why SMS is every volunteer manager’s true hero.
1. SMS cuts straight through all the noise on a person’s phone
In the communication noise, SMS is one of the most effective options available for reaching out to your volunteers. No app is required to be pre-loaded and notifications are not needed to be switched on. Reaching your volunteers via SMS offers open-, read- and response- rates like no other marketing channel.
In any organisation, time is money. And for volunteer managers, spending time sending volunteers text messages one by one could prove costly.
2. Improve attendance rates
SMS reminders are a great way to make sure your volunteers attend their volunteering timeslots on time.
Poor volunteer retention and attendance rates can really slow down processes and compromise project execution. SMS is a great tool to use to remind your volunteers in a targeted and purposeful way.
You can send out SMSes at an optimal time with important details such as directions, timing and things they need to bring along. When volunteers receive a timely notification, they will definitely be more likely to show up promptly!
3. SMS is less costly compared to other messaging applications
You must be thinking — but other platforms such as Telegram, Weibo or Whatsapp are FREE, how exactly is SMS cheaper compared to these applications?
As aforementioned, time is money. Imagine the time required to save the numbers of your volunteers before you can add them into chat groups. The horrible task of saving the numbers of 10 volunteers and then adding them to specific chat groups can easily take you more than 20 minutes!
Using SMSes can half that time taken and you can easily send messages to the right people without having to search through 10 ‘John Lee’s before finding the right one ;)
4. Direct your volunteer’s attention to a single tool — without other messaging distractions
Whatsapp, Telegram Messenger, Facebook Messenger, etc. are very common platforms used by many people to exchange messages. However, the high volume of messages an individual receives on these platforms makes it easier for an individual to ‘overlook or miss out’ on certain messages.
By communicating with your volunteers through SMS, they will not be overwhelmed by many other messages they are receiving and thus, will be able to focus on the message you send.
5. SMS is fuss-free and ready anytime
No loading of messages, SMS is timely, informal and fast. This is the reason why the SMS tops it all. Image this, you need to send out an urgent message to your volunteers BUT your internet connection is down and there isn’t any Wi-Fi available.
Who can come to the rescue? SMS!
You can send a message out to your volunteers anytime — even without the internet. We definitely need this as a back on bad days, don’t we?
Behind every successful volunteer manager is a hero tool, use SMSes today!
Yes, now that you know the power of SMS, let bantu Workspace help you to automatically send personalised SMS out for you in bulk, with just a click of the button on our volunteer analytics and engagement solution!
Curious to find out more? Arrange for a bantu workspace demo to learn more about this awesome feature.
