Higher Education Mass Texting: SMS for Colleges and Universities

Higher education texting has become the preferred method of communication by current students and prospective attendees. Textedly provides texting for universities, colleges, and higher education institutions. With one mass text, education staff members are able to see both higher response rates in admissions outreach and increases in student engagement.

College text messaging delivers information directly to smartphones, laptops, or tablets. As a form of marketing, admissions texts are quick, reliable, and affordable. Mass texting for education has allowed universities to send thousands of individuals valuable details at once.
TRY US FREE

Texting for Higher Education

The process of texting college students is simple and easy using Textedly. Our features allow you to automate, segment, and review analytics so every text can be crafted to your sms campus messaging.
College SMS messaging is a powerful marketing tool for delivering customized information to particular populations, such as parents, prospective students, alumni, and donors. Higher education SMS messages can also serve as an effective call to action for a range of purposes, such as surveying recipients, soliciting donations, and driving traffic to online materials.

Prestigious Universities love using Textedly

Why Texting College Students Works

Reach students easily and instantly with mass texting for educators.
33%
of undergrads own a smartphone.
5
hours are dedicated each day by students on their phone
28
times every day a student will pick up their phone up and check notifications or messages.
91%
of college students prefer text messages over voicemails.
According to the ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 95% of undergraduates own a smartphone. An analysis by communication scholars in 2019 found that most students are on their phones five hours per day and check messages 28 times per day. So messaging clearly provides an immediate and inclusive means for connecting with members of the campus community.
More than three-quarters of all college students want to receive information from their institution by text message and 91% prefer it over voicemail. Sending texts is a far more effective means of communicating than sending emails. Less than one-quarter of emails are opened but 98% of text messages are opened. Emails receive less than a 5% click-through rate (CTR) and those typically occur an hour and a half after the email is sent, but texts have a nearly 50% CTR and are acted on in under two minutes.

18 Sample SMS Messages for Colleges

College SMS marketing is a vital part of the higher education system. It allows colleges and universities to reach their own communities and build direct relationships with constituents in and beyond the campus instantaneously. Education staff can prioritize school sms efforts and save time when applying college texting to these use cases among others:
  • Fundraising campaigns

  • Marketing sports, arts, and other events

  • Outreach to alumni

  • Connecting prospective students to admissions officers

  • Reminders about upcoming deadlines

  • Sharing news and studies

  • Sending alerts about emergencies

  • Linking to websites or online content

  • Publicizing contests and other forms of engagement

Universities and education institutions are actively using texting to increase enrollment, reach their students, minimize drop-outs, track campaign success, and develop supportive communication channels that benefit students. The benefit of college texting is that people on staff do not have to over allocate efforts on less effective outreach and instead, can quickly create impact at scale.

Try any of the university text templates below for your sms campus campaign.

18 Sample SMS Messages for Colleges

Athletics Announcement:

This Sunday the Trojans play at home against the Bruins! Get discount tickets at www.usctrojans.com

Tutoring for Finals:

It's the (dreaded) Finals Week, but you’ve got this! Stop by the tutoring center for help if needed.

Get more info at www.nyu.edu

Registration:

Students, reminder that the last day to register for spring 2020 semester classes is Friday, March 6th, 2020.

Class Group Chats:

Did you see our very own Professor Robbins was featured in the New York Times??

Read the article here on: www.nytimes.com

Information Gathering:

Help the Dean’s office plan for Ohio State’s future: complete this campus climate survey online at www.osu.edu for a chance to win a Brutus Buckeye t-shirt.

Emergency Alert:

ALERT: severe weather — our campus center now closed until tomorrow morning.

University Fees & Financial Aid:

Learn more about how to apply for student aid, grants, work student programs, and more

Text “AID” to 878345

General Announcements

The new Science building is now open! Join us in settling in.

Visit our science student center on February 10th for free food and drinks.

Templates for Texting Alumni

Business Alumnis:

Sophomore class at Stanford launches internship networking project: here’s how your business or organization can join in www.news.stanford.edu

Development Outreach:

First-gen scholarship campaign at 80% funding!

Have you given yet?

Alumni Events:

Hello Texas Alumni.

Check out our brand new redesigned website and keep up to date on all future events: www.utexas.edu/alumni

Templates for Texting Parents

Achievements:

Study shows Yale grads earning in top income brackets.

Read all about it at www.yale.edu

Announcements on Safety:

We’re rolling out an after-dark bodyguard service for students headed home late.

Text “SAFETY” for more details.

College Fees:

39 Ways You Can Cut The Cost Of College.

Click here www.collegeinfogeek.com to find out more.

Sample SMS for College Admissions

Deadlines & Registration:

High school seniors stay on track. Our college application deadline is March 15th.

Don’t delay. www.ucla.edu/apply

Segmented Campaigns for Programs:

Prepare for a new career with our online courses.

Earn a degree that will impact your life. www.phoenix.edu

Campus Tours:

Greetings. Don’t feel overwhelmed with our campus. We can provide you with a private tour.

Text “TOUR” and we will send you a date and time that we can meet.

Scholarships:

Looking for a College Scholarship? Text the word “SCHOLARSHIP” and we will send you a website link where you can apply for our University scholarship.

Thank you.

Engaging Facts:

Did you know Wake Forest University is now SAT-optional?

Click here: www.prepscholar.com to find out more!

Logistics for Student Orientation:

You’ve been admitted to USC! Congratulations on this life changing moment. Here are your details for orientation: https://orientation.usc.edu

How to Start Sending College & University Text Messages

Ready to take advantage of education marketing campaigns and all that mass texting has to offer? Here’s how to start sending college and university text messages:
  • Sign Up For a Text Marketing Platform

    Research the platforms that are available and find the one that is best for your institution. Not every platform is designed to serve the particular needs and populations of higher education institutions. Choosing the right platform will save time and money later.

  • Upload Current List of Contacts

    Using the platform’s tools, upload your organization’s list of contacts in one of the file formats available. As your contact list grows over time, be sure to remember to update the platform.

  • Compile Text Templates

    Different audiences call for different kinds of messages. Crafting thoughtful templates for the different outreach needs your organization will have can improve the efficiency of your campaigns. Save those templates so you can easily find them when needed.

  • Set Up a Campaign Keyword

    When it comes to mass texting for education, it all starts with a keyword. Carefully select a keyword that is relevant to your audience and campaign. Then, set it up in your text marketing platform. When potential or current students text in this keyword to your number, they will automatically be opted-in to your college SMS messages.

  • Promote Your Keyword

    Once you have your campaign keyword set up in your text marketing platform, you’ll have to spread the word to encourage users to opt-in.

  • Send College & University Texts

    When you’re using an SMS platform, actually sending the message is easy. You can send it immediately, schedule it to be delivered at a particular time, or have it be triggered by a specific action, such as clicking on a link or replying to a message.

Additional SMS Features for Universities

Scheduled Text Messages

Secure SMS Payments. Request and collect secure payments by text messaging. Create payment requests that send as text messages to customers asking them to pay. Track requests and revenue all in one place and watch as your revenue grows as payments come into your bank account.

Text Surveys

Textedly’s higher education texting platform makes it easy to create and send SMS surveys to students, parents, and faculty. You can use surveys to request feedback after orientation day or to ask students about preferred events.

Auto Reply Texts

These are automated replies triggered by specific keywords or actions from the recipient. For example, a student might text a specific code to get information on library hours or to confirm their attendance.

Group Texting

Our texting platform lets you segment your contacts into groups who you can text simultaneously. You can have different groups for new students, parents, staff, and interested prospects.

Personalized Messages

Personalized texting offers better engagement for your university. Refer to your students by their first names or reference their majors.

Sending College SMS Messages With Textedly

Textedly is a leading provider of SMS messaging services. Whether you need a college texting service to send ten messages to a targeted group or a bulk message to 100,000 people, Textedly has the tools and expertise to make it happen.

And Textedly’s flexible, state-of-the-art platform makes it easy to monitor your campaign’s performance. Sign up for a 14-day free trial today.

TRY US FREE