Traditionally, text alert programs have been designed to reach teens and young adults because, quite frankly, they use mobile devices the most. However, as we reported in this blog, mobile usage is growing among older demographics, so now organizations are launching SMS services catered towards a more diverse range of age groups.
According to an article from the local ABC affiliate, the Lincoln Public School system in Lincoln, Nebraska, is implementing a service that will text students' parents in the event of an emergency or important news announcement. This stems from a shooting that took place last week across the street from a local school. Parents who picked their kids up at the end of the day were shocked to discover that an event of that magnitude had taken place so close to the school and many were outraged that no one had bothered to inform them.
That's why the school is launching a service that sends text messages to parents instead of an email or a phone call. When interviewed by the news source, parent Amanda Brick expressed satisfaction in the decision because texting reaches the most amount of people in the shortest amount of time.
"There are people out there that don't have voicemails of answering machines and a lot of times, it's easier if you're at work to check a text message than it is to answer your phone," Brick said. "So I think it's a good thing for a lot of parents."
The school had originally made phone calls to parents, but as adults increasingly adopt texting as their preferred communication method, SMS messages make the most sense. Organizations should consider the fact that texts can be received by anyone at any time when orchestrating alert services. Swift SMS Gateway can offer the tools needed to launch successful text alerts campaigns.
