Overcoming Digital Accessibility Challenges
For state and local governments working to overcome digital accessibility challenges, text message communication is a powerful alternative to traditional community engagement tactics. According to the Pew Research Center around 60 million Americans do not have a smartphone or broadband internet. This staggering access barrier statistic draws into focus how SMS text message communications serve as a critical lifeline between many residents and their community.
Six Ways SMS Text Integrations Can Supercharge Community Engagement
The integration of SMS text messaging into community engagement efforts can offer a seamless method of public communication for state and local governments. Pairing text message integrations with telephone and other forms of engagement (such as public meetings and surveys) creates a comprehensive engagement strategy that works to expand community access and participation.
Here are just a few ways to integrate text messaging with other communication channels for a unified approach to community engagement:
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- Meeting Reminders: Use text messages to send meeting reminders, agendas, and important updates to attendees.
- Interactive Participation: Enable attendees to submit questions or provide input via text during both virtual and in-person public meetings for a more interactive experience.
- Text Message Surveys: Distribute quick surveys through text messages to gather instant input.
- Multichannel Approach: Integrate text messages, telephone calls, and in-person/virtual meetings to ensure that information reaches the community through various channels.
- Live Interaction: Allow real-time interaction during public meetings through text message questions and live telephone call-ins.
- Immediate Feedback: Gather instant feedback through text message polls or surveys during meetings to gauge community sentiment.
By combining the strengths of text message integrations and traditional telephone, public meeting and survey tactics, state and local governments can create a versatile and inclusive communication strategy. Put to good use, SMS Text can facilitate the creation of a dynamic and inclusive engagement strategy that supports a wide range of community preferences and needs.
PublicInput: Traditional Community Engagement Meets Innovative
PublicInput’s centralized database supports the aggregation of SMS Text input with all other sources of input including Facebook comments, online survey comments, and responses from meetings.
Here are just a few more ways the PublicInput SMS Text feature integrates to support state and local government community engagement:
- Add and associate a text short code to any project (see image to the right)
- Deploy surveys in an automated ‘chat’ format
- SMS Text continuity allows residents responding by text to see the same questions as their online and in-meeting peers
The above image features the PublicIput SMS Text survey short code “MTA” being used for a transit initiative.
Want to learn more about how your community can increase accessibility and supercharge your community engagement approach with SMS Text integration?
