Text messaging is a powerful communication tool for child care programs. It is an easy and inexpensive way to engage families and keep them up-to-date. Many child care programs are opting for mass text messaging as a means for better communication, to reduce administrative costs (and time) and to market their business.
So why are child care programs using text messaging over email and social media?
It’s simple… because of the vast read and engagement rates of short message service (SMS) marketing. Where is your cell phone right now? Probably within an arm’s reach, right?
Polls indicate texting is the way people want to hear from you, therefore communicating with them correctly is vital. Did you know, 90% of text messages are opened (94% read) in the first three minutes of receipt. In comparison to read rates of 29% on Twitter, 21% on Email and 12% on Facebook. These stats highlight why text messaging is a superior channel for time-sensitive alerts such as emergency notifications, cancellations, and illnesses as well as an effective way to stay in touch with families and staff. Sending a text to parents can greatly improve turnout at orientation meetings, meet the teacher nights, fundraising events, etc. You can even set it up to send reminders!
Texting between child care providers and families has become increasingly practical as every parent wants to know what goes on at child care since their child is involved. Texting is the perfect solution!
“Texting helps us get the word out almost instantaneously! Parents want and need to know information asap because it’s about their kids, especially in emergent situations like weather, closures, and active shooters, etc. It really lets us debunk rumors and let them know that their kids are safe” – Courtney, St. Peters Child Care
There are a lot of messaging services out there, but few that focus solely within the child care and early education space, most have limited features and capabilities such as the number of subscribers, messages, 2-way chat and overall options. Because resources can be limited, investing in an efficient and low-cost text messaging service that will help you achieve your goals, is priceless. At StepAhead our focus is to help make communication seamless and easy. Visit our website to see how our platform can work for you!
