Sending out a text blast, or SMS blast, is an efficient tool to add to your Open Enrollment or year-round HR efforts. Text messages get results, and provide a simple way to direct employees to perform an action. Here are four reasons to use text blasts in your Open Enrollment strategy.
- Beat the Low Open Rate on Emails
We love emails. You can tell because our inboxes are just stuffed so full of them! Unopened, unread, or never seen: most emails are doomed to obscurity. It’s not always because of a lack of enthusiasm or interest — emails are just so constant, “email anxiety” is a real issue. Assume your emails about deadlines are being skipped and send out a text blast to get your employees onto your enrollment site!
- People Are Responsive to Texts
Short, snappy texts with a clear call-to-action get results. Digital marketers have been touting the open rates and action rates of texting over email for years now. That’s because texts produce quick response times and enjoy low spam rates. People are conditioned to ignore email these days, but they’re still checking — and clicking on — their texts. Texts encourage an immediate response.
- Texts Are Targeted
Zero in on your message with a text. There’s no opening, no conclusion. Just a message and a link — texts get targeted results because they’re narrowed down to the essentials. A targeted message eliminates confusion and makes the action required very clear: time to enroll, click here to see plans, your deadline is coming up!
- Texts Are Trackable
An SMS texting solution will include tracking data, so you can see just how effective your messaging is. WBD tracks and documents all correspondence in the convenient HR Access application, which is the HR-facing component of our benefits administration platform. Know who is getting the information and acting upon it — and who still needs a nudge with a second text blast.
Maybe you’ve poured your heart and soul into crafting amazing Open Enrollment emails. Don’t be disheartened if your open rate is low. Everyone’s open rate is low. Just know you can rely on a text message to really alert people to the big deadlines as they approach.
Text message blasts are part of WBD’s managed services and call center offerings. Contact us today to learn more about streamlining your benefits and creating a better employee experience year-round with WBD.