{{page_title}}
Help your audience anticipate and welcome your texts.
People are wary of texts they’re not expecting to receive. Before you send your first text, consider how you will gain trust with your audience and address any concerns of spam. Seize specific moments to reinforce what your audience should expect from your messages.
Get the word out
Before you launch, let your audience know you are adding texting as a communication method. People are more likely to trust your text once they get it if they know that your program is sending texts.
How you currently communicate with your audience will determine the best approaches to announce your new initiative. Harness channels you’re already using like social media, public websites, mailing inserts, or fliers at key service locations as well as partnering with community organizations to get the word out about your new texting program.
An example of key messages in direct mail
}})
Prime your audiences to trust you
-
To reinforce legitimacy, include these key messages in your outreach:
- Introduce yourself – Give people time to get to know your texting communications before you need direct action from them
- Phone number – Note the sending phone number your texts will come from
- Text types – Be clear on the types of texts you intend to send, how often, and why they matter
- Privacy policy– For example, state that you will not collect personal information, including the types of information you will never ask for
- Places to verify – Include a phone number, website, or human where people can verify that the texts are coming from you
- Opt out – Provide opt-out instructions and a disclaimer for the potential cost of receiving the text
-
 }})
As people receive texts
When a person has questions or needs assistance, reaching out for support may be natural for them. Give direction in your texts so your audience understands what to do with the information you provide. Remember, it’s important to repeat consistent and standardized language across texts and programs.
Be trustworthy
-
- Identify yourself in the text message. Use a consistent and familiar program name to precede each text you send.
- Personalize with first name. Through A/B testing, Code for America saw an increase in follow-through by 25% if someone’s first name was included.
- Use full and direct .gov website URLs. Avoid link shorteners, as they obscure your links and potentially make it easier for a malicious actor to spoof your text.
- If providing a phone number, use a familiar phone number and provide information on how to verify its legitimacy.
-
Provide helpful auto-responses
-
If you're sending one-way notifications, phone carriers allow a single auto-response message that will be generated if a recipient tries to text a response to your message. Use the auto-response to reaffirm your key messages around legitimacy and communicate to recipients that texts are coming from an automated system.
- Provide a way to contact a human in any auto-response text
- Provide information on how to opt out and opt back in
-
Be prepared for questions
Your texting program will only be perceived as legitimate if you get the word out in many different ways. It's also important that agency employees who support text recipients (for example, the call center) are familiar with the texting program. They can accurately respond to recipient questions about them, so make sure you’re priming your delivery staff, especially those who interact directly with your intended audience.