communications-plan

Why does your college need a texting communications plan?

2 min read

Let’s say you decide to use texting as your primary means of communicating with students (which seems like a smart move because it is, for the most part, the only way students send and receive information). What’s the worst that can happen?

Long story short: you need a texting communications plan

Perhaps members from each department on campus notice the high response rate and immediately bombard your student base with texts about everything from restricted parking updates to links to their 'Classroom Behavior' blogs. Soon, your texts share a fate with the unopened emails and unanswered phone calls you used to send.

Give the power to text to few, and choose the few wisely

Texting is effective, but you need to have a strategy for when and what to send. Write too formal a message and it won’t hit home. Send too many texts and you’ll eventually be ignored. 

The right text helps increase matriculation rates and encourages retention. “Having their phone vibrate when you send them something is pretty invaluable,” stated Jeff McNamara, director of student success at Carroll University. But, because it’s so personal, you need to earn and foster the trust of your students.

You have an open line into their world. There is an almost 100% chance a student will see your text. It’s up to you whether or not they retain and respond to the information. A smart strategy based on easy-to-use, ready-to-go templates will help you achieve serious results, with fewer missed deadlines and higher attendance at events.

A text today is more powerful than a Times Square billboard. As hundreds of schools have already discovered, it’s worth the time to do it right.

Ready to get started? Download our free guide: Developing a Texting Communications Plan for Current Students.

FREE GUIDE: Developing a Texting Communications Plan for Current Students

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