Texting works best when it’s personal. That’s why it’s crucial to use a platform that embraces peer text messaging. We’ll explore five ways your nonprofit organization can use peer-to-peer (P2P) text messaging to send more effective and personalized messages.
What Is P2P Texting?
Text message marketing isn’t just bulk texting where you spray and pray, firing out mass texts and hoping they respond to your call to action. Short message service (SMS) text messaging is conversational. You can follow up and reply in real time.
But it depends on your type of texting: Replying relies on peer-to-peer texting or person-to-person texting, often abbreviated P2P texting. As opposed to application-to-person texting or A2P texting. This is your classic bulk SMS approach. Learn more about the difference between A2P and P2P texting.
The Right Peer Texting Platform
P2P allows for two-way conversation. Shouldn’t it always be that way?
Yes it should, but not every texting service allows it. Some don’t even let you reply.
You need a P2P texting platform that allows replies.
Even more, you want a single tool that allows you to do both A2P and P2P. You need a text messaging platform that’s built for conversation, which means being able to reply and has tools to help you filter replies so they’re not overwhelming.
5 Ways for Nonprofits to Do Peer-to-Peer Texting
So let’s explore real-world use cases for P2P text messaging:
1. Reach Out to Top Donors
Building relationships with your top donors has to be personal. You can identify a small list of top donors (or potential top donors) and reach out with P2P texting to offer that personal, one-on-one connection. It can be an ideal way to ask for a meeting to pick their brain.
2. Organize Volunteers
When people are ready to volunteer their time and energy for your nonprofit, you should reward their sweat equity with a personal response. A text message RSVP with a quick thank you can help you confirm event attendance and is way more personal than social media.
Coordinate details ahead of time, share last-minute changes or mid-event notifications, and then share that team pic with a high-five emoji to say thanks.
3. Support Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
Peer-to-peer fundraising is all the rage and peer-to-peer texting can help. Yes, the peer-to-peer terminology overlaps, so to avoid confusion we’re talking about using conversational texting to encourage volunteers who will fundraise from their friends to support your nonprofit.
P2P texting is a great way to reach out to these fundraisers. You can check in to see how it’s going, offer encouragement, give reminders, and more. The HEADstrong Foundation uses this approach to reach their busy college student fundraisers who sometimes need reminders.
4. A/B Test to Refine as You Go
P2P is a great way to do simple A/B testing while you’re sending out messages. You can send a larger texting campaign one message at a time and tweak things as you go depending on the response.
This is an ideal approach to gauge response, refine your message, and make improvements on the fly.
5. Throttle Your Messages
A final way to use P2P you might not think of is to throttle your messages so you can keep up with the response. Our artificial intelligence (AI)-powered filtering can help you handle any volume of replies, but sometimes you’re still limited by human power.
- Calendar: If you’re reaching out and scheduling meetings, sending a few P2P messages at a time can keep your calendar from being overwhelmed.
- Membership: If you send out membership renewal notices, those can generate a lot of customer questions. P2P is perfect to handle replies, but you can also send a few at a time so your team can handle all those questions.
Rally’s Human-Centered Text Messaging Service
Two-way texting campaigns aren’t just for political texting with get out the vote campaigns and election day outreach to boost voter turnout. Political campaigns try to make the most of texting because of the incredible open rates and response rates, but it can work for nonprofit advocacy and fundraising too. Rally can help with your next mobile campaign because we care about personal connection and effectiveness.
- Compliance: Successful SMS marketing campaigns start with the legal compliance, including opt-in when you collect data to grow your contact list and always following the TCPA and FCC guidelines. You need confirmed consent to text those phone numbers, and Rally’s functionality makes sure you get it and keep it synced with your CRM.
- Support: We’ve got webinars, FAQs, and we’re available for a phone call if you ever need help or want to talk marketing strategy. We’ve got pre-written templates and customers rave about our simple user interface and easy customer experience.
- Tools: With 10dlc, short codes, custom keywords, and plenty of integrations, we have all the texting tools you need. We can handle multimedia and GIFs, workflows, segmentation, Plus ringless voicemail, fundraising thermometers, QR code generators, voice calls, and more.
At Rally, we understand not every person is the same, not every campaign is the same, and not every nonprofit organization is the same. You need a text messaging platform that allows you to be versatile and personal. Book a demo today to see how Rally can help you connect.
