Business Texting Services are revolutionizing customer service and marketing strategies across a variety of industries. From beauty salons to auto body shops, corporate marketers and small business owners alike are seeing conversions from their SMS marketing efforts. For those reasons, it may not seem like a logical conclusion that schools could also benefit from a business texting service.
However, with a wide array of features, a business texting service can actually improve communication with students, parents and staff. Schools at every level, from pre-K to universities, frequently need to send out alerts and notifications, but the old methods may no longer be the most effective way to do that.
Why should schools use a business texting service?
With all the spam entering our email inboxes everyday, open rates for email have dropped to just 20%. On the other hand, open rates for text messages are going strong at about 98%. To get in touch with short messages, especially time-sensitive ones, text messaging is the way to go. With a business texting service, schools and universities can use texts to communicate with hundreds, or even thousands, of people whenever they need.
Additionally, some business texting services also offer landline texting. Although landlines aren’t very popular for personal use these days, schools and universities still utilize landlines as main office numbers. A business texting service can text-enable those landline numbers without the purchase of additional equipment. Through the use of a business texting service and a web browser, school offices can send and receive important information quickly and conveniently.
After hours, your school can even set up automated responses to incoming texts. If a parent or student texts your landline with a question, for instance, you can formulate a generalized “out-of-office” message with information on when they can expect a response. You can also set up your business texting service to recognize keywords for frequently asked questions, much like an internet chat bot, to respond with an answer or resource for where they can find the desired information.
Now that we know why your school should use a business texting service, let’s look at some examples of common uses.
How can a school use a business texting service?
Improved communication for remote learning
In 2020, the #1 thing on every educator’s mind is remote learning. Earlier this year, when schools were abruptly shut down in an effort to flatten the curve of COVID-19, schools had to scramble to implement effective remote teaching systems.
The return to classrooms will vary across the country for the fall semester. Whether your school is sticking with strictly remote classrooms for the foreseeable future or adopting a hybrid-learning model, a business texting service can be an asset to any virtual classroom.
For more details on this particular topic, see our article “7 Ways to Use Business Texting Services for Virtual Classrooms.”
School closure/ class cancellations
Inclement weather is the most common reason for schools to close, and oftentimes, those decisions don’t get made until the last minute. School closures are not taken lightly by administrative staff, and fickle weather changes are usually monitored very closely before a decision can be made.
However, it is imperative to inform parents and students of school closures in time for them to make childcare arrangements and other adjustments in response. Back in the day, parents and students spent their mornings watching the local news like a hawk in the event that their school’s name would slide across the screen with the announcement of a “snow day.”
Today, a business texting service allows schools to send mass texts announcing school closures or late openings. The ability to contact the necessary parties almost immediately after a decision has been made will give students and parents increased time to make the necessary arrangements for a snow day.
In universities, the reasons for class cancellations can be a little more varied and common. Nothing is more annoying for students than dragging themselves out of bed for that early morning class, only to arrive and discover that their efforts were in vain. With a business texting service, professors can immediately notify students of class cancellations, as well as any material they should review to prepare for the next class.
Emergency alerts
College campuses around the country are home to thousands of students, and it is the responsibility of the administration to notify those students in the event of an emergency. In some cases, these situations can be a matter of life or death for students.
A business texting service gives college administrations a database of student cell phone numbers to use in the event of such an emergency. In moments of crisis, every second counts, and text messages are the most efficient way to disseminate information in an effort keep students safe.
Reminders
For important tests or projects, educators can use a business texting service to send out reminders to students. This feature is especially useful in universities. University students are oftentimes juggling a full course load with varying assignments, in addition to survival jobs and social lives. Sending out reminders about important dates can help keep those students on track in your class.
For younger students, particularly in elementary schools, parents also need to be kept in the loop on due dates. Nothing is more frustrating for parents than being informed by their child at the last minute that an important project is due. A business texting service will allow you to send project and test reminders to those parents to help them avoid the night-before scramble.
Additionally, reminders can be hugely effective for keeping important meetings. Whether you’re meeting with a student or parent about class work, sending out friendly reminders the day before will result in less missed appointments.
— Being an educator has probably never been more difficult than it is today, but business texting services are here to help! If your school is ready to start taking advantage of mass texting, start your free trial with us today!
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