Student support and guidance company Gateway Education has collaborated with UK-based Textlocal to use innovative technology allowing them to send attachments via text message. The company reports a significant increase in click through rates with the new format compared to its previous email communication.
Gateway has used the attachment tool to host its monthly newsletter and to share official documents such as confirmation of Parents Evening time slots with around 500 host families and 160 students studying at 11 independent schools across the UK.
“There is a 95% chance of a message being opened in the first five seconds of it being received which is critical for time sensitive information around student well-being”
The attachment service has reduced reliance on telephone calls and email correspondence by providing Gateway with a click through rate of 40%, compared to just 1% of students who clicked on email attachments.
Neil Harvey, managing director at Gateway Education said text messaging was the obvious channel to use to communicate with young people, partner contacts and parents.
“Beyond this, and importantly, there is a 95 per cent chance of a message being opened in the first five seconds of it being received which is critical for time sensitive information around student well-being,” he added.
Textlocal, which was listed in the 2013 Media Momentum’s Top 50 as the UK’s third fastest growing mobile marketing company, hosts material online, to be accessed via a link sent in a text message.
The service could represent a significant marketing advantage for educators and industry providers as the use of smartphones continues to increase worldwide. According to the International Data Corporation total smartphone shipments are estimated to increase 18% to reach 1.7 billion units globally by 2017.
“With the amount of information shared electronically in the modern world, attachments are an important consideration for any business,” said Rob Townsend, marketing director at Textlocal, said.
“Gateway Education’s engagement results serve to demonstrate why more organisations should look to make the most of text messaging for communicating business critical information.”
