How to choose a texting platform for your campus

Texting is a powerful method of communication that allows you to connect with students the way they prefer. If properly utilized, texting allows you to actually reach students and set your institution apart from the competition. You have to choose a texting platform that meets your needs across the enterprise.

Consider your objectives for each department when choosing a texting platform.

Important features to take into account:

• INTEGRATION You’ll need a texting platform that integrates with your information systems (SIS/CRM/Success/Fundraising).
• APPEARANCE Different platforms have different displays. Decide how you want your messages to appear to students.
• CAMPAIGNS This feature allows your staff to send campaigns to groups of students, track mass messages as campaigns, and review reporting related to each campaign.
• TEMPLATES The time saved by SMS templates is immeasurable. Templates also guard against missteps in communication. Be sure your staff members are given the ability to quickly choose pre-written templates for common messages and responses.
• AUTOMATION This texting feature allows for an automatic message response to be triggered by 'yes' or 'no' text responses from students, saving your staff valuable time.
• SUPERVISORY ROLES Supervisors should have the ability to oversee staff texting accounts and monitor them for appropriate use.
• ENTERPRISE FUNCTIONALITY In order to ensure a consistent experience across each department, you need a texting platform with flexibility. Find a platform that allows specific departments to see information about the students that matter most to them.
• SECURITY The safety of student data is extremely important and your platform should have safeguards to protect it.
• COMPLIANCE Ideally, your platform and your CRM/SIS should have the capability to record opt-outs.
• DATA VALIDATION Up-to-date data is the key to efficiency. Having a platform that can validate that each phone number you collect is a valid, mobile phone number will save your staff valuable time and effort.
• MEASUREMENT AND TRACKING Are your messages clear? Personal? Tangible results help steer your communications strategy in the right direction.  Make sure you have the ability to measure engagement and outcomes. Being able to benefit from the experience of a texting platform provider who can offer historical guidelines for what to expect based on your type of school, student mix, and other factors is a huge plus.
• USER EXPERIENCE The right platform should be intuitive, easy to navigate for your staff, and responsive to the needs of your departments.
• TRAINING AND SUPPORT Your texting platform is only as good as the support staff behind it. Mongoose Cadence is backed by a dedicated team who will help you set your platform up and ensure you’re getting the best results.

Meet with each department to define goals and which features will help you achieve them. Getting input across campus will help you get buy-in and participation from all departments once you’ve put your communications strategy into motion.

Does the platform you’re considering check all of these boxes? At Mongoose, we’d love to help you find the right solution. Our primary mission is to help improve communication in higher ed with students, parents, and alumni. Considering a campus-wide texting solution? Download our checklist “20 questions to ask when comparing texting platforms,” and request a demo of Cadence.