Meet Lloyd Cotler
The Thomas Edison of text messaging
Lloyd Cotler is a first-mover and leader in SMS campaigning. About 10 years ago he went all-in on messaging, eschewing the email bedrock that powers the progressive space because he saw an opportunity to elevate what supporter communication and engagement could be.
As SMS Campaigns Manager at Hillary for America, Senior Strategist at Mobile Commons / Upland Mobile Messenger and most recently, Director of Political and Nonprofit Solutions at Hustle, he’s learned a thing or two about what works, what doesn’t and why.
Lloyd and his partner Kate Myers have recently launched their own firm, Banter. They’re laser-focused on delivering results for political campaigns, causes, and companies who are doing good. And, in the process, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with messaging (SMS and beyond).
Considering Lloyd’s extensive background in the messaging world, we’re excited to get his thoughts on a few questions.
What motivated you to double down on messaging (SMS, chat, etc…) instead of email?
I got started in progressive politics and digital organizing working for comprehensive immigration reform and the DREAM Act, and SMS was absolutely the best medium for that message. Even though we didn’t win those fights back in 2009 and 2010, we proved that you can mobilize and activate supporters who traditionally didn’t respond to email. That showed me the power of messaging and SMS in particular—to build connections with folks who wanted to take action, who had been ignored and supercharge their work.
Even in 2010 you could start seeing email open and click rates declining, messages that all looked the same, and innovation being what color the donate button was. At the time, we were competing with several other high-profile issues for legislative action and once I saw the way we were able to penetrate with SMS I knew I was all in for this tactic.
You’ve mentioned that SMS subscribers are much more likely to engage, donate and act vs email subscribers. When compounded with the 3–5X engagement rates that SMS enjoys, this feels like a perfect storm. Care to share a few stats you’ve observed and your thoughts on why SMS-subscribed members are more engaged?
Sure — there are some crazy examples out there. At HFA, being an SMS subscriber was the single biggest predictor of taking offline action, more so than having attended a previous offline action. 50% of SMS subscribers gave to the campaign at least once and donated 20% more than email-only subscribers. I ran a test with the Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence that found SMS was over 25x more effective than email or social media at driving phone calls to targeted lawmakers. The Humane Society found that mobile subscribers were 77% more likely to donate than email-only subscribers.
SMS subscribers also see all your messages, so it’s more likely something will resonate with them. The messages are seen (for the most part) when they’re meant to, so you’re able to better capitalize on big moments and not wait for a supporter or customer to check their email. You’re also reducing friction for those big asks—call a legislator? You’re already on your phone. Take a selfie in support of your organization? You take plenty of pictures on your phone already. It’s just easier and more fun to be involved than reading long emails and signing petitions.
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing peer to peer messaging over the next 2–3 years?
I think campaigns in particular face some different challenges than advocacy groups or companies regarding peer to peer messaging, but the two I see are saturation and verification. On the verification front particularly, I think that’s where campaigns need to innovate. Volunteers come in and out, best practices get thrown out the window the closer you get to elections and fundraising deadlines, and it’s hard to keep those conversations with supporters in one place. We’ve already seen campaigns been impersonated via text, or messages not being compliant and identifying themselves. If people want this channel to remain viable, there’s going to need to be an effort at better verification.
The other issue I think is saturation—that is, getting bombarded by messages from groups and campaigns that don’t coordinate. The challenge is going to be identifying who is best at motivating particular supporters and changing incentives away from sending the most messages, to sending the most effective messages.
What tips would you give to a group that’s just getting their SMS program up and running?
First is to just get started. Start collecting phone numbers and opt-ins (if appropriate) right away. Too many people wait for a big moment to launch, but that means you don’t have anyone to reach when you do finally kick-off. Second is to actually engage! Respond to people when they text you back with questions or comments, reply to tweets your supporters write about your texts and build feedback loops with social media to show your constituents you’re actually paying attention to them. The last is don’t think of your SMS tool as just one tool that lives in one department or with one team. You can find a lot of areas in your existing outreach where messaging can support or plug gaps so experiment with pairing SMS + direct mail or telemarketing, canvassing, advertising, etc. The possibilities are pretty limitless.
Follow @lloydcotler and visit Banter to see how his team can help your company or cause win with messaging.
