How educators can use SMS for better emergency communication

Educators today are well aware of the threats that come from modern life, whether it be hackers damaging software systems, unauthorized visitors trying to gain access to secure areas, supernatural weather events, or an illness run rampant – educators need a communications strategy they can rely on during these emergencies.

Identifying the best communication channel for your audience is critical to ensuring your message is seen and prompts necessary action. Two key factors to consider for any channel are the speed of response and audience reach. In both of these areas, SMS messaging is the clear leader for educators, allowing your communications strategy to benefit from unparalleled deliverability, open, and engagement rates.

Why choose SMS for education communication?

SMS messaging sees open rates and engagement rates of up to 98% and 45% respectively, allowing your message the best chance of being seen. And with an average time-to-open of three minutes, it also means you can drive action quickly and efficiently without concern over critical information being lost in a spam folder.

In a recent survey of 1,000 US consumers, we found that consumers ages 34 and younger preferred text messaging as their number one communication channel. So if you’re trying to reach young parents or young adults, SMS is your best bet for catching their attention in any emergency situation.

How can you use SMS messaging with educational stakeholders?

General communications

In emergency situations, time is crucial which means your communications have to be fast and succinct to promote timely action. SMS does exactly this while reporting on deliverability, so you can identify who has read your message and when, allowing for follow up with a different communication channel if necessary.

Leveraging an SMS platform will allow you to send these messages at scale by importing lists of contacts, often segmented by demographics, grade level, or contact type. Utilizing segmented lists lets you customize your messages for that group – kindergartner parents may need different instructions than fifth graders for example. SMS platforms also allow for text message templates, so you can upload pre-made messages into your platform – such as for early school closure – and simply adjust when you need them.

SMS platforms help you engage in two-way conversations with your audience, so you can answer questions and give directions while protecting front office staff from an influx of phone calls. These efficiencies allow faculty and staff to spend less time communicating with families and more time focused on the emergency at hand.

Internal staff communications

All the benefits of SMS for communication with students and families apply to faculty and staff as well. You can quickly and easily notify your entire workforce of closures, security breaches, and other events that may affect the school day. All this without the risk of messages getting lost in an inbox, overlooked on staff message channels, or missed over the PA system.

SMS is also a great tool to arrange substitute teacher coverage in the event of an illness or accident. You can quickly copy a pre-made template and send to any substitutes on your availability list and even communicate back with them via two-way chats in the platform.

Adding additional resources

When communications need to be a little more visual and interactive, MMS is a great asset. You can include helpful images, videos, and even link to landing pages with additional information for emergencies that require more extensive updates.

This allows you to convey more details specific to each emergency without needing to leverage a new channel. And if you’re using an SMS platform, you can set up MMS messages in the same way you would SMS messages for quick, interactive communications.

Implementing a new educational communication channel

Educational institutions are no stranger to emergency management, and emergency communication will continue to be a crucial part of interacting with your school community. However, educators can make emergency messaging easier and more efficient by leveraging an SMS platform in conjunction with other communications channels, so you can save time, inform your community, and handle incidents with ease.

Want to learn more?

Check out some of the other articles below to learn more about how SMS messaging can help streamline processes for educators.