Governments are constantly searching for the best communication tool to engage with their citizens. They have gone through every available option from postal mail, newsletters, public speeches to social media and emails.

But the majority of them only have one-way conversation tools, which keeps real engagement from occurring.

SMS texting is made to solve that problem!

According to Pew Research, up to 97% of Americans own a cellphone of some kind, meaning that 97% of them have access to SMS even though they don’t have smartphones.

Here’s the trend:

In addition, SMS text messages are more likely to be read than email. Let’s compare the open rates and response rates of Email and SMS:

While there’s no denying that email is a valuable communication tool and very effective for certain types of messaging, it’s clear that SMS texting is a medium that gets people’s attention.

As a government leader, taking the path where the information you deliver can reach as many people as possible just makes sense. Especially for important government information like COVID-19. SMS is a great tool for you!

Unlike other platforms like email, websites, and social media, SMS does not require a “technical” smartphone or internet connection. Rather, it can be used anywhere, anytime.

SMS is an extremely powerful tool for leaders and governments sending mass messages to thousands, if not millions of people/citizens.

You can deliver emergency alerts and more directly to a citizen’s phone.

Your citizens do not like to receive messages delivered to millions of other people in a careless and impersonal way.

But using SMS, you can call them by name to greet them personally:

This method can increase your Click rate up to 50% compared to other platforms.

So far everything presented has supported communication from the official to citizens. But citizens want to engage with their officials, as well. Two-way conversations not only naturally personalize communication but they also help to develop your community.

By using SMS, citizens can easily text to report issues, make requests, or show support. 

However, not every texting tool has this feature. So we have developed Ascendant which can help government offices communicate with their people more effectively.

Here’s where you can find out more about this two-way conversation tool.

According to LINK Mobility, SMS has the highest level of data security and >99% system availability.

Numerous websites and social media platforms allow for a proliferation of fake news.

But using SMS, the government representatives will get a local 10-digit phone number that clearly establishes the identity of an authentic news source.

Using SMS means that you actively deliver information to your people. So there will be NO misconceptions or misunderstandings.

Local and state governments should use SMS to engage with their citizens. Of course, you can combine various tools like social media and websites with SMS, no need to use only one.

However, SMS still has its unique advantages that no other tools have.