SMS is an ideal solution for mass messaging because of the ubiquity of the technology. Almost every mobile phone is capable of receiving SMS. Plus, it's easy for users to subscribe and unsubscribe as their needs change.
Local, state, provincial and federal governments can leverage SMS to reach their constituents with important information at any time. Here are three ways governments are using SMS:
1. Public Safety Alerts
Local governments can benefit from using SMS alerts to notify residents about public safety concerns. Residents can opt in to the program, and receive notifications about all kinds of events such as fires, police activity and even traffic jams.
Next Steps Marketing reported that New York state's NY-Alert system has leveraged text messaging to great success. In fact, 49 percent of the program's 4.7 million subscribers have opted to receive text messages about major road closures, severe weather and more. The network allows a number of organizations to send alerts, including local universities and government services.
2. Volunteer Opportunities
Community engagement is the bedrock of local government. But with so many distractions competing for everyone's time, it can be a challenge to recruit volunteers for community projects. SMS offers a way for local government organizations to build contact lists and notify their volunteer networks when help is needed.
For instance, local organizations can use text messages to notify people of volunteer opportunities, calls for donations and much more. In this case, SMS can be more effective than a mailing list because users are more likely to read the messages right away. On short notice, volunteers may not have enough time to read through their email inbox – and messages from the government may accidentally get stored out of sight in the junk folder. SMS is much more reliable.
3. Facilities Management
SMS can also optimize internal functions at government organizations, especially in regard to facilities management. Managing government assets is never a simple job, but an SMS solution can make it more efficient. SMS services allow facility managers to easily communicate with vendors and contractors, so they can move their projects forward with fewer roadblocks. The more transparent the communication, the better.
Government organizations have a responsibility to their taxpayers to run as efficiently as possible. SMS helps to achieve that goal by streamlining communication in a way that is intuitive and easy for anyone to understand. After all, finding someone who isn't familiar with texting is harder to do with each passing year.
These are just three of the myriad ways government organizations can benefit from SMS. Stakeholders can find customized solutions to their challenges by working with an SMS gateway provider.
For your SMS strategy to be truly optimized, you need a network you can rely on in any situation. To learn more about how to choose a provider, sign up for a free demo of SwiftSMSGateway.com today.
