In today’s digital age, staying connected with your supporters and donors is more important than ever. Nonprofit organizations need to be able to communicate with their audience in a way that is quick, efficient, and easy to understand. That’s where text messaging comes in. Text fundraising, also called text-to-give, or SMS (Short Message Service) is a simple and effective way to engage your supporters and donors and increase your fundraising efforts. In this blog post, we’ll explore the glossary terms and definitions for text fundraising, text marketing, and SMS messaging to help nonprofit organizations engage their supporters, increase donations, and amplify their mission.
Text fundraising is not only sending messages asking supporters for a donation. While it is a quick and easy way for supporters to give and is especially useful for fundraising events or campaigns that have a limited timeframe, using texting as a holistic part of your digital marketing strategy is a highly engaged way to promote your organization or cause. It can be used to share news, updates, or even a call to action to your supporters. SMS messaging is the technology that allows for the sending and receiving of text messages. Understanding these terms and how they relate to each other can help nonprofits to effectively incorporate text messaging into their fundraising and marketing strategies, ultimately leading to better engagement with supporters and increased fundraising efforts.
New to text messaging? Here are the top terms to get you familiar with text messaging and demystify it all.
Text Marketing Terms
Let’s start with the basics:
SMS: Short message service, also known as text messaging, is a text-only format for sending messages to mobile devices.
MMS: Multimedia messaging service, allows users to send messages that include a richer media experience by including multimedia content, such as images, emojis or videos.
Key Takeaway: In summary, SMS is a simple text-only format for sending messages, while MMS allows for the sending of multimedia content in addition to text. Which format to use depends on the specific message and results desired. Tatango sees higher engagement and ROI from MMS messages.
Other text marketing terms to know:
A/B Testing: The process of testing two different messages to determine which one is more effective in terms of engagement and conversion.
Call-to-Action (CTA): A phrase or button that prompts a user to take a specific action, such as clicking a link or visiting a website.
Click-through rate (CTR): The percentage of people who click on a link in a text message.
Delivery Rate: The percentage of messages that are successfully delivered to subscribers.
Conversion Rate: The percentage of people who take a desired action after receiving an SMS message.
Open Rate: The percentage of people who open the text message. (Find out how your messages can achieve a 99% open rate!)
Opt-In: The process by which a person specifically agrees to receive messages from an organization. Opt-in can be done via keyword texting, web forms, or other means.
Opt-Out: The process by which a person unsubscribes from receiving messages from a specific campaign or organization.
Keyword: A word or phrase that subscribers can text to a short code or long code to opt-in to a text marketing campaign or to receive specific information.
List Segmentation: The process of dividing a subscriber list into smaller groups based on specific criteria, such as location or behavior, for more targeted messaging.
Long code (10DLC): A ten-digit phone number that companies use to send and receive SMS messages.
Mobile Carriers: Enable text messaging through their network connectivity and regulate messaging policies such as spam prevention and message limits.
Open Rate: The percentage of subscribers who open a message.
Personalization: Tailoring a message to a specific subscriber’s preferences or behavior.
Send: A message sent to a group of subscribers at the same time.
Sender ID: The name or number that appears as the sender of a text message.
Short Code: A five- or six-digit number that companies use to send and receive text messages. Learn more about the difference between 10DLCs and short codes here.
SMS Gateway: Technology that allows SMS messages to be sent and received between a mobile network and an application.
Text Marketing/Messaging Platform: Software that enables businesses to create, manage, and send SMS & MMS campaigns (Tatango is a Text Marketing/Messaging Platform).
TCPA – Telephone Consumer Protection Act: An important law that regulates SMS marketing in the United States. Learn more about the TCPA here.
So, there you have it. Text fundraising is easy to use when you know the terms and definitions. And Tatango is here to be your partner every step of the way. If you’d like to learn more about text marketing and how it can amplify your nonprofits mission and raise record donations, contact us today.
