Peer to Peer Texting Starter Guide
Introduction
Text messaging is light on your budget and strong on returns. The open and response rates clearly puts it above other forms of communication.
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Open Rate
Average Response Time
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Response Rate
Take a GOTV campaign
A voter who doesn’t know his polling location has only to send a text to receive instructions.
Merge tags i.e { }, are replaced by values stored for that contact in your CSV file.
Hi Melinda, can you help find my polling location?
Sure {first_name} 😀 Your polling location is {poll_location}. Polls close at 7pm.
Thank a lot!
Take a GOTV campaign
A voter who doesn’t know his polling location has only to send a text to receive instructions.
Merge tags i.e { }, are replaced by values stored for that contact in your CSV file.
Get started with Peer to Peer Texting Campaigns
What is Peer to Peer Texting?
Take action
Hey John, this is Melinda again with Hope Society. 58% of surveyed voters oppose the repeal of the Clean Energy Act. Do you agree with them?
Yes, I do!
Glad to hear that! Can you ask your rep to pledge support for the bill? You can visit bit.ly/dac for talking points or call your rep right now at (251) 546-9442.
I’m making the call right now.
Personalize everything
Hi {first_name}, your poll location is {poll_location}.
Ask and answer
RSVP to events
Pre-saved replies
Hi {first_name}, this is {agent_name} from Hope Society. The address for tomorrow’s meetup is {event_location}. See you there!
Fundraise
How it works
Personalize your texts
Hey Jon! This is Melinda from the Hope society. We're organizing a rally next weekend to support clean
energy. There's a party after. Want to come?
Sounds like fun! What's the address?
Great, it's at Marleybone, from 3 - 8. See you there!
You will and I'm bringing friends.
We’re holding a rally this Saturday 21st March at Baker St, Marylebone at 11am to support clean energy. Reply ‘Yes’ to RSVP. YES
Advantages
Personalized conversations at scale
Record survey responses on the fly
Save frequent replies as templates
View interaction history across campaigns
Personalize your texts
Hey Jon! This is Melinda from the Hope society. We're organizing a rally next weekend to support clean energy. There's a party after. Want to come? Sounds like fun! What's the address? Great, it's at Marleybone, from 3 - 8. See you there! You will and I'm bringing friends.
We’re holding a rally this Saturday 21st March at Baker St, Marylebone at 11am to support clean energy. Reply ‘Yes’ to RSVP.
YES
Establish a local presence
Campaign management made easy
Ensure TCPA compliance
Segment your contacts
Get access to detailed reports
Create teams for your agents
Recycle your volunteers
Ensure conversations don’t hit a standstill
Avoid spamming your contacts
Filter your responses
Recruit text banking volunteers
Nurture Volunteer leaders
Tips & Best Practices
Tips and Best Practices for your Peer to Peer Texting campaigns
Train your volunteers
Manage volunteer numbers
Budgeting
Write scripts to cover FAQ’s
“yes” response
“no” response
Who is this?
How did you get my number?
Don’t text me.
I’d like more information.
Embrace emojis
Spend time on your initial text
Your initial text message lays the foundation for every future conversation. It’s the most important text in a Peer to Peer Texting campaign, the one that can either bring home the cake or rot away as spam. But this shouldn’t scare you. Most people ask themselves three questions when they give a text the once over, three questions that are easily answered.
‘Is it meant for me?’ i.e. Are they just another name on a list, or, is this text meant specifically for them
‘Who is this?’ i.e. Do they know the person sending the text
‘So what?’ Now that they’ve read the message, what is the next course of action
Personalize your message for each individual contact
Identify yourself and your organization
Prompt them with a call to action or a question
Something to the tune of,
Hey Ethan, this is James from Hope Society. We’re holding a rally next Saturday at 3pm to support the clean energy bill ✊. There’ll be snacks and drinks 🍕. Want to come?
Pro Tip: It’s always advisable to text people who’ve opted in to receive your texts. If you’re texting people directly from the voter list or from a bought list, you’re bound to get a lot of, “Who is this?” and “How’d you get my number?” responses. But for campaigns like GOTV or rapid response where the priority is reaching the maximum number of people in the shortest time frame without breaking any rules, peer to peer texts wins the cake. Just remember to make your texts personal and ensure that you have enough volunteers to handle conversations.