Political text messaging continues to grow year to year. In November 2020, campaigns sent out almost 2 billion political texts regarding the presidential vote and all other elections. Texts are an instant and effective way to rally voters for fundraising and getting to the polls. A strong SMS messaging push can make a valuable difference for a campaign, especially as political strategists race to implement modern technology for fundraising methods.
Compared to political emails or television spots, SMS messages have a clear advantage. By contacting subscribers directly, campaigns can trust that a high percentage of their base receives their updates. In fact, the text message open rate is over 99%. As many candidates set up or expand their text messaging plans to take advantage of these benefits, they have many companies to choose from. Tatango and Textline are two options for sending political texts. Although some functionality is the same, there are some key differences between them. Keep reading to see how these two platforms function, and when you might want to use each one.
What Is Tatango?
The Tatango platform is designed to send mass text messages. With the capacity to handle millions of messages at once, Tatango helps campaigns reach their opted-in supporters. Tatango’s stress-tested systems and political expertise make real-time communication with voters, donors, and volunteers possible, efficient, secure, and reliable.
Tatango focuses on application-to-person (A2P) texting, in which a marketing platform (an application) sends out texts to curated subscriber lists. Founded more than 14 years ago, Tatango has long been the industry leader for mass SMS messages. Political organizations that have partnered with Tatango and have seen an average return of $5 for every $1 spent on mass text messages.
What Is Textline?
Textline is a peer-to-peer (P2P) text messaging company that focuses on personalized texts, sent by people rather than an automated system or application. These SMS messages can be tailored to each recipient with manual texts and responses. With Textline’s tools, a group of staffers or volunteers can engage in texting conversations with specific supporters. The Textline system also facilitates collaborative communication and effective work within a team.
Both A2P and P2P messaging are valuable for political campaigns. Many candidates and strategists use both systems, sending mass messages instantly and connecting with individuals using two-way, one-on-one communication.
Following are a few more ways the two platforms compare.
What Are the Best Political Texting Strategies?
Understanding the best uses for the Tatango and Textline platforms will help campaigns make the right choice for their needs. Tatango’s A2P technology can segment lists of millions of subscribers into data groups, making this an excellent option for strategic and timely texting pushes. Especially when election days or donation deadlines are closing in, Tatango’s scale is vital for staying ahead. Fundraising platforms can also seamlessly integrate into texts. These platforms simplify donating with clickable links and clear messaging.
With Textline’s P2P approach, teams of people send out texts. This approach allows for a high level of personalization, which is useful for many reasons, such as sending individual thank-you messages after events and updating volunteers with important information. Over a long campaign, this kind of direct messaging can help a political base stay motivated and feel valued. Teams using P2P texting can send thousands of texts per hour, while an A2P system can send the same amount of texts in minutes.
As you can see, both types of political text messaging are beneficial in a campaign. Mass texts can keep large subscriber lists informed, while personal messages can help foster individual connections between supporters and the campaign. Winning campaign plans use both SMS messaging systems to raise funds and get ahead on Election Day.
What Are the Benefits of Using Tatango?
Tatango does much more than send mass messages to a large subscriber list. Using expert tools to arrange texts by data groups, Tatango helps campaigns fine-tune their approach to fundraising, voting reminders, and other important communications. With Tatango, campaigns can send messages based on a subscriber’s time zone, demographic data, and many other valuable metrics. These analytical features help set Tatango apart.
Here are some of the other benefits Tatango offers:
Tatango and the TCPA
Tatango can also provide guidance and advice about compliance with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Enacted in the early 1990s, the TCPA is a set of laws that govern phone and text-messaging marketing.
Through court decisions and government regulations, the legal requirements for SMS marketing have changed and shifted. To ensure compliance and avoid fines, campaigns should work with experts and TCPA-trained attorneys. With years of industry experience and collaboration with legal firms, Tatango can help political candidates find an advantage without putting themselves at risk of costly lawsuits.
Short Codes and Keywords at Tatango
Peer-to-peer SMS messaging companies, like Textline, use 10-digit phone numbers (also known as long codes), which look like personal numbers. These long codes are great for personalized texts, giving the messages a unique feel since they integrate into a subscriber’s contact list like all other numbers.
Tatango uses five- or six-digit numbers known as short codes. Short codes are easy to remember, which makes them better suited for promotion on signs and banners. A campaign can also consolidate its texting system under a single code, sometimes choosing the number based on a candidate’s name or a word associated with the campaign. These custom numbers, known as vanity short codes, are particularly helpful for fundraising efforts, supporter recall, and campaign branding.
Keywords are another essential element of a campaign’s SMS messaging strategy. Using response terms, such as the name of a state or city (e.g. Text IOWA to 12345) campaigns can learn about their supporters and gather vital information to use in the future. A memorable short code and carefully chosen keywords, particularly on a large scale, can boost a campaign’s message and provide actionable insight into its supporter base.
How Secure Is Tatango?
Security has to be a top priority when dealing with millions of personal phone numbers. Tatango has been building up levels of advanced protection for its clients for over 14 years. Tatango adds another layer of security on top of password logins using two-factor authentication. While this extra step only takes seconds, it makes accounts much safer.
Tatango uses secure sending, which requires passwords before sending texts to ensure that the messaging systems stay secure, even if you step away from your desk momentarily. The Tatango software also uses automated logouts, so your account is protected every step of the way.
Next Steps for Political Text Messaging
Tatango is here to help with your political campaign. With modern technology and security, we can help keep your supporters safe and connected. Through our expertise and years of experience, we offer tools to help your campaign stay ahead of the competition and meet TCPA requirements. Setting up a political SMS campaign may seem complicated and overwhelming, but with Tatango by your side, you’ve got nothing to worry about. To learn more, contact the experts at Tatango today.
