How can you move your message beyond “social media” and into the hands of the public instantly?
I’m often experimenting with information distribution channels and recently I was presented with a new challenge.
In a few days we are expecting the birth of our first child and we are blessed with the task with keeping friends and family informed of the latest news. When we get to the point of heading to the hospital we need to get info out quickly. While it would be nice to call and text everyone individually it just isn’t practical.
I needed a minor mass communication strategy that reaches to the hands of everyone interested. It’s time to move the message to SMS (texting).
The Contenders
My requirements for this system are simple. Easy, Quick, Mobile, & Free. I need a no hassles, no hiccups communication plan.
iPhone Apps
I felt confident there was an app that would solve my problem. I tested several apps and discovered that either they didn’t allow you to create groups in advance or they required an awkward opt-in to join the conversation. None of them felt right. They would work in a pinch but didn’t lend themselves to being a preplanned action.
Apps worth a look textPlus, Brightkite Group Text
Text Message Marketing Services
A few weeks ago I read an article on how nonprofits can launch free group text messaging campaigns. This was a great option. I’d assumed SMS marketing was only for those organizations with deep pockets needing a long term solution but perhaps there were more flexible options. The author recommended FronlineSMS and TextMarks Lite.
FrontlineSMS requires installed software so without the mobile component it wouldn’t work for me.
Textmarks Lite on the other hand is a fully featured ad-supported group text campaign manager built around shortcodes. I like that they offer embeddable subscription widgets and you can send an update via SMS but the ads didn’t feel right for this situation. Their full product is free of advertising but even the lowest price plan $19.99 per month was capped at 100 subscribers. While I didn’t think this subscriber cap would be an issue I didn’t want to take that chance.
Both services offer great low cost/free SMS options but I was left without a clear answer.
Then 3 days ago Twitter introduced fast follow.
Twitter Texting For the Win
Twitter fast follow is way for anyone to subscribe to tweets as text messages without a twitter account. To subscribe just text “follow username” to 40404.
How beautiful is that? It takes the most flexible messaging platform on the planet and extends the updates to SMS without requiring subscribers to even have an account. My search was over. My beloved @Twitter came through with mere days to spare.
We setup a dedicated Twitter account and told our friends and family to subscribe to the text messages. Now we can update hundreds of people in seconds with a single tweet.
2 things to keep in mind
- No subscription management or subscriber info – If they don’t have a twitter account they are invisible followers.
- If a user already has a mobile number linked to their twitter account they’ll need to enable text notifications
In this situation message distribution is the goal. Inform as many people as possible.
The fast follow feature could become a crucial element in everything from Crisis Communication plans to Event Organizers. So whether you are trying to spread life saving info, a change in meeting times or just trying to let friends and family know you are headed to the hospital Twitter fast follow can put you on the fast track to SMS messaging.
Stay tuned and I’ll show you how to take this single update and spread it through multiple social media platforms… instantly.
