How to communicate with your members better and faster with text messaging

Are you ready to extend your member marketing reach and build engagement at your association? SMS for small staff associations can help you communicate with members faster and more effectively.

The more engaged your members are with your organization, the more likely they’ll continue to renew. While there are many approaches to build engagement, communicating with your members is the highest priority for your small staff. Today, one of the most effective ways to communicate is via text.  

Let’s take a closer look at SMS for associations and why it’s so important for your member marketing efforts. 

Why should associations use text messaging for member marketing?

Text messaging is the preferred communication channel for 75% of Millennials and Gen Z. Those two groups represent the future of your association, so communicating with them as effectively as possible will help your organization continue to grow and thrive.   

Another reason to use text messaging for your member marketing: Text messaging (or SMS) campaigns are highly effective. They target mobile devices through Short Message Service (SMS) and can reach and engage your members faster than other methods – with an average open rate of more than 98%, and 90% of messages being opened within three minutes of receipt.   

In addition, using text messaging for campaigns:

• Provides an additional channel of communication to help you extend your reach to members. 

• Allows for instant, direct, and targeted communication with members, making it an effective way to provide updates, event reminders, and other time-sensitive information.  

• Helps you to save staff time by sending quick and concise communications and scheduling messages in advance. 

3 tips for using text messaging for member marketing

Here are three ideas for using text messaging for your association’s member marketing:  

1. Understand compliance issues

Like any other communications channel, there are rules and guidelines for text messaging. Before you begin incorporating text messaging campaigns into your marketing strategy, be sure to research current regulations for issues such as 

• Receiving opt-ins or consent   

• Handling opt-outs  
• Identifying your organization  

2. Consider your approach.

Communicating through any channel requires a thoughtful approach. Some things to consider: 

• Keep messages clear and concise
  While your emails might include a few paragraphs or more, no one wants to scroll through line after line in a text message. Keep messages clear and as brief as possible. 

• Share valuable information
  Provide prompt updates and valuable information for your members. Point them to tips and highlight relevant resources to help support your members.  

• Don’t over–communicate
  Over-texting someone is a sure way to turn off a member. Be sure to pace your communications so that members don’t become annoyed, frustrated, and opt-out. One way to determine the right frequency is to ask for feedback from your members so that you can adjust message frequency to find the right approach. 

Struggling to capture your members’ attention?

Send them a text message! Learn proven best practices to increase member engagement with SMS campaigns in this short video.

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3. Choose the right SMS messaging technology

Having the right technology for sending SMS messages is critical to the success of your text marketing campaigns. Using association management software (AMS) like YourMembership AMS, which offers SMS text messaging functionality, makes it easier to build and send text messaging campaigns. For example, with SMS Campaigns functionality from YourMembership, you can:  

• Schedule-send text messages
  With text message scheduling, you can ensure messages are sent to the right people at the right time. 

• Preview messages
  Send a test message to multiple people to ensure it looks the way you want it to look upon receipt 

• Target a list of recipients
  Ensure proper segmentation of members by using a list with specific categories assigned so that the right message can reach the right members, every time. 

• Analyze campaigns
  At a glance, you can understand how many text messages you’ve sent, to which target lists, and with what communications.