Running a successful political SMS marketing campaign requires skill, strategy, and the right SMS text message marketing platform. Among so many choices and tools available, two leading names in the business stand out: Tatango and RumbleUp.
Both platforms can send political text messages to help you raise donations, increase voter turnout, update constituents about breaking news, and bolster your base. The two platforms complement each other well as part of an overall SMS text message marketing strategy.
Here, we highlight key similarities and differences between the SMS marketing platforms Tatango and RumbleUp.
Why Use Text Message Marketing for Political Campaigns?
SMS text message marketing, a relatively new form of political fundraising and marketing, differs from more traditional communication and promotion methods. Email newsletters have a relatively low open rate of about 22.71% and an even lower click-through rate of 2.91%. In contrast, SMS and MMS text messages boast far more impressive numbers. For example, 78% of consumers say SMS is the fastest way to reach them.
Text message marketing is the perfect channel for marketers who need to share time-sensitive promotions or information. More than 90% of text messages are read within three minutes of being received, making it a powerful tool to add to your campaign and connect to their base in real time, break fundraising records, and win elections. It’s no secret that text message marketing has become essential for raising money, improving voter engagement, and growing support.
What Is Tatango?
Tatango is an SMS marketing platform that helps you easily send mass political text messages to opted-in subscribers, reaching millions of potential voters with each text message.
An industry leader in app-to-person (A2P) text message marketing, Tatango has helped political candidates and advocacy organizations for the past 14 years. Tatango offers messaging speeds of up to 6 million text messages per hour and provisions more short codes than any other SMS text message marketing provider, earning a place with the CSCA (Common Short Code Administration) as a preferred partner. Organizations that work with Tatango often see an average of $5 in political donations for every $1 invested in SMS marketing.
In October 2020 alone, Tatango helped campaigns send over 5 billion text messages. An additional 270 million went out in the days following the election.
Sending mass text messages with the Tatango platform couldn’t be easier:
- Compose your text message. Quickly build SMS or MMS marketing messages and use our advanced functionality to customize and target your messages—all within a handy WYSIWYG (“what you see is what you get”) editor, similar to Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
- Send your text message. Share your message instantly with millions of supporters and donors with the click of a button. Or use automation to schedule your message in advance to avoid last-minute scrambling or a missed deadline.
- Track results. See how many people received your message, clicked on the link in your message, and donated. Use this valuable data to pivot your campaign based on real-time feedback from your subscribers.
What Is RumbleUp?
RumbleUp is also an SMS text message marketing provider. However, RumbleUp specializes in peer-to-peer (P2P) messaging rather than A2P text messaging. Organizations can use RumbleUp in tandem with a mass SMS messaging company like Tatango to send individual texts and reply to supporter messages.
With the RumbleUp platform, a campaign or political committee can communicate and respond to voters and volunteers. The emphasis of this type of communication is on tailored messages and individual connections. Rather than sending mass SMS text messages, each text goes out manually, sent by one person to another.
Compare Tatango and RumbleUp
A political organization can benefit from using both A2P and P2P SMS strategies to optimize impact. Mass messaging with Tatango offers a broad reach, while individual messaging with RumbleUp can strengthen a movement’s foundation. A2P and P2P messaging are both powerful tools in a campaign’s toolbox. Now that you have an overview of these two companies and what they offer, let’s look at a few of their differences.
A2P Messaging with Tatango
A platform like Tatango helps political groups and organizations use A2P messaging to send mass text messages that reach millions of subscribers per hour.
Marketers can use Tatango to fully integrate political fundraising platforms so subscribers can donate to their favorite candidates and campaigns by simply tapping a link in a text message. Tatango also offers sophisticated SMS marketing tools for greater engagement, such as messaging workflows, audience segmentation, and messaging analytics.
Things in politics move fast, so political campaigns must also move fast. Updating constituents on policy changes and news is crucial, especially with many groups vying for control of the narrative. Using a mass SMS platform like Tatango, politicians and candidates can instantly reach a large audience with their message, especially since 97% of Americans own some kind of cell phone.
Tatango not only sends messages but also provides tools to organize texts by time zone, which helps campaigns avoid disturbing recipients in the middle of the night. Timing is vital, particularly in close races. With intelligent systems in place, Tatango sends SMS messages almost instantly, so messages go out at the right times.
Check out the Tatango platform demo:
P2P Messaging with RumbleUp
RumbleUp focuses on P2P text messaging, and there are valid reasons to use individual text messages concurrently with mass text messaging campaigns. For example, RumbleUp can offer a more custom, personalized feel to text messages since they come from individual people. This helps drive hyper-localized engagement and strengthen individuals’ connection to a campaign.
Tatango helps clients narrow a campaign’s focus down to all recipients in a single zip code, but sometimes a political group or campaign needs to send personalized follow-up messages to individual volunteers or supporters. That’s where RumbleUp can help. Both A2P and P2P are valuable and offer a well-rounded strategy to increase support and communicate effectively, two important factors that help campaigns win elections.
Check out our video further explaining A2P versus P2P messaging:
SMS Keywords and Short Codes
A service like RumbleUp uses long codes, 10-digit phone numbers, just like personal phone numbers. This phone number format contributes to that personal feel, making it clear that messages are coming from another person. Long codes are great for a smaller subscriber list.
In contrast, Tatango uses short codes, five- or six-digit phone numbers. These simpler numbers have several benefits. For example, short codes are easy to announce, promote, and remember in political ads, billboards, and yard signs.
Having a short, dedicated number helps a campaign unify its messaging platform. The cleaner and simpler option offers a clear advantage when candidates want to broaden their base and bring others into their camp. Short codes are easy to share and save, which helps increase donations and raise awareness. Learn how to get a political SMS short code.
Short codes are also great for large-scale campaigns. Voters can text specific keywords, such as “Kansas” or “Florida,” to a simple five-digit number. Keywords provide valuable information that helps organizers understand their demographics better as the campaign moves forward. Remembering a 10-digit number from a brief TV ad can be difficult for some people; sending a specific keyword to a short code is often a lower barrier to entry.
In the end, a combination of both helps create a winning political campaign. Cover your bases by working with an A2P messaging platform like Tatango and using a P2P platform like RumbleUp for personal follow-ups.
SMS Messaging Speeds
With so many voices spinning every story, instant texts and clear communication are essential for political campaigns to stay ahead. Tatango understands the pace of a competitive campaign. Time wasted on slow processes can upset an entire race. Efficiency is a top priority. Tatango sends up to 6 million text messages per hour. (Try this calculator to gain more insight about how quickly you could send a message to your list using Tatango.)
The RumbleUp system can send 10,000 text messages an hour when multiple staff members use it simultaneously. RumbleUp is an excellent strategy for less urgent communication, such as confirming that constituents are registered to vote ahead of an election or encouraging people to sign petitions. Tatango is an excellent option for sharing breaking news, fundraising deadlines, or reminders about a quickly approaching election.
See how Tatango compares to other A2P messaging platforms:
Political Campaign Size and Scale
RumbleUp and other long code SMS companies are powerful tools to build a political campaign from the ground up. With smaller subscriber lists, these platforms can foster authentic connections and ensure a personal tone in every message. However, with thousands of followers, a short code A2P model (like Tatango) is vital for maintaining momentum and fundraising enough to stay in the race.
The Tatango platform allows campaigns to scale up sustainably. Tatango has worked with many prominent political figures and has a proven record of growth and positive results. With Tatango, you have access to tested systems and experts who will work with you to achieve concrete results—even for the largest political campaigns in the country.
Take the Next Steps to Create a Winning Political SMS Campaign
Tatango and RumbleUp are both beneficial to a political campaign, and using them in tandem can help you reach the right audience when you need to reach them, at the speed that will keep you in the race.
Now that you know more about some advantages of different text message marketing systems, contact our SMS marketing experts to learn how your campaign can benefit from Tatango’s A2P efficiency, reliability, security, and expertise to win your next election.
