Mobile volunteer communications, and broadcast texting in particular, are gaining traction as a key way to stay in touch with supporters and foster long-term engagement. Broadcast texting involves sending message blasts to hundreds or even thousands of supporters at once to mobilize volunteers to act on behalf of your organization or cause.
This form of nonprofit communications is so effective because:
- 57% of nonprofit website traffic comes from mobile devices, showing that supporters are already willing to engage with mission-driven organizations via smartphones.
- Text messages have a colossal 98% open rate.
- 85% of smartphone users prefer text messaging to phone calls or emails.
With these statistics in mind, let’s dive into six expert tips for improving your mobile volunteer outreach to inspire greater community engagement.
1. Reach out to the right people
A solid mobile volunteer communications strategy starts with knowing your target audience. Take these steps to ensure you’re reaching out to the right people:
- Segment contact lists to send more personalized messages. Create communication segments to send relevant information to different volunteer groups. For example, you might develop segments for advocacy volunteers, peer-to-peer fundraising volunteers, and community helpline volunteers.
- Avoid texting anyone who has opted out of mobile communications. In the U.S., the CAN-SPAM Act requires businesses to honor an opt-out request within 10 days. Stick to these guidelines to avoid any potential legal consequences. Also, don’t send unsolicited texts to individuals with no prior relationship with your organization.
- Keep your constituent data updated. For effective data management, leverage a constituent relationship management system (nonprofit CRM) that is easy for your team to use and runs automatic data checkups, such as National Change of Address Updates (NCOA) and demographic information updates.
In addition to connecting with the right audience, think carefully about timing your messages. Federal law prohibits marketers to send text messages before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the recipient’s time zone. Track your text open rates to determine which time of day your supporters are most likely to open your messages within the approved time frame.
2. Optimize your welcome message
Your welcome message is the first text you send to a supporter after they opt-in to receive messages from your organization. It sets the tone for the text relationship and delivers crucial information to recipients.
The introductory message should include:
- Your nonprofit’s name
- A genuine welcome message (“We’re so excited to have you here!”)
- Why you’re texting the volunteer (“You filled out a form on our website and opted-in to receive our text communications”)
- Ways to opt-out
- Onboarding materials, such as a link to your campaign page or your volunteer calendar
Consider also providing ways for the recipient to send questions, whether as a text reply or an email.
3. Use a uniform tone
Align the tone of your texts with your nonprofit’s brand image and voice. This will help craft engaging copy that sounds like it’s from your organization.
Create a style guide for your mobile communications to ensure they’re uniformly formatted and on brand. Decide what kind of additional content you may want to include in your texts to engage recipients further.
For example, an organization with a light-hearted, playful tone might incorporate the following elements into its texts:
- Emojis
- Puns
- Gifs
- Important words in all-caps
The organization’s style guide could include examples of the type of emojis, puns, and photos they like to use, along with guidelines for when to use all-caps.
4. Personalize volunteer communications
Branched response flows are messages triggered based on a recipient’s response. For example, you could send this message:
What volunteer opportunities are you interested in?
- Text “A” for Phone banking
- Text “B” for Helping people register to vote
- Text “C” for Tabling at local events
Depending on which option the recipient chooses, they’ll automatically receive follow-up texts that allow them to learn more about the opportunity and register for that role.
Add responses to your CRM or volunteer management platform to save the new information you learn about supporters and use it in future outreach. For example, if a volunteer expresses interest in phone banking, you can send them similar opportunities in the future or resources to help them improve their calling skills.
5. Vary the content of each text
Supporters might tune out your messages and stop opening them if you send the same types of texts over and over. By varying the subject of each message, you can engage supporters in unique ways and provide more value for recipients.
Incorporate the following types of messages to mix up your outreach:
- Event invites
- Surveys
- Polls
- Petition links
- Open volunteer shift notifications
- Volunteer shift reminders
- Advocacy campaign updates
- Fundraising opportunities, such as text-to-give
- Fundraising campaign updates
- Thank you messages
Every time you text supporters, clarify how engaging with your message will benefit them. For example, let volunteers know, “Your survey responses will help us build a more meaningful volunteer experience.” Or, when you send an event invite, highlight the benefits of the opportunity, such as the chance to engage with fellow passionate volunteers. This can help increase your open and engagement rates.
6. Make need-to-know information readily available
Texts are the perfect way to quickly get essential volunteer communications out to your supporters. Use your text platform to send urgent updates and crucial logistical information, such as:
- Shift leader contact info
- Waivers
- Last-minute updates, such as closures or cancellations due to weather
- Event logistics
- Training materials
Any forms you text volunteers should be easy to fill out on a mobile device. Bloomerang’s donation page guide recommends asking for only need-to-know information from supporters and ensuring forms have large text and buttons that are easy to reach and touch on smartphones.
Optimizing your volunteer communications requires open, two-way messaging personalized to each supporter’s interests. A strong communication approach can help create a more fulfilling volunteer experience, empowering volunteers to do their best work to support your mission.
