Text Messaging for Outreach 101: Learn Marketing Strategies That Work
Learn the basics of text messaging marketing, discover outreach with sms, and explore mobile marketing strategies that drive real engagement. Perfect for nonprofits, businesses, and organizations looking to connect. Transcript below.
00:11 – Casey Loewenthal
Hello, everybody! As you come on in, I want to welcome you. Thank you for joining us today. Gonna get going in just a few minutes. Get your last sip of water, pop off your coffee, whatever it is you guys need to do. Gav and I will get going in a couple minutes. Also, if you are not typical users of Zoom, there is a chat option. We have everybody muted and off-camera that isn't a panelist, me and Gavin. But we do want this to be interactive, if you all do have questions. Throw them into the chat. Why don't you start out by finding that chat now and throwing in your name, maybe where you're calling in from, and the business you're with. I'll start it out.
Thanks, everybody. See some more people trickling in. As I mentioned, we'll get going in a couple minutes. Go ahead and throw in the chat where you're from, what organization you're with, your name, and that way, we can get acquainted with everybody. Hey, Lamorne, how you doing? Chatted with you before. Still coming in. Everybody, one more. David, welcome, thank you. Montgomery County Leadership Academy is here. Hello, team! Thanks for joining. As well as Amanda, thank you, Newark. Lawyer, alright. Well, I think some people will probably come in a little bit later, but we'll go ahead and get going. Thank you for joining us. We are Engage by Cell. My name is Casey Loewenthal, I'm the Customer Success Manager here, at Engage by Cell, and I am joined by Gavin. How you doing, Gavin?
02:45 – Gavin Crisler
Yeah, thanks for having me, Casey, and great introduction there. My name's Gavin Crisler, and I'm a Mobile Solutions Consultant at Engage by Cell, and we are excited to have everyone on the call today.
02:57 – Casey Loewenthal
Perfect. And as I mentioned, we want this to be interactive, feel free to ask questions in the chat. We have Megan behind the scenes, who is fielding any questions. She will either fire them off to us, and we'll attack the questions directly, or at the end, we’ll save some time for Q&A.
03:21 – Casey Loewenthal
What we want to do today is just give you a quick overview of Engage by Cell, but more importantly, we want to show you some of the technology live and in action. So, what I’d like you all to do right now is take out your cell phones.
03:34 – Casey Loewenthal
On your cell phone, go to your text message application, whether that's Android or iOS. What you're going to see there is the word CONVO already preloaded into that text body. All you need to do is push send, just like any other text message.
What's going to happen is really a two-step process. First, you’re immediately going to get a response back from Engage by Cell. Secondly, you’ve opted in to receive text messages from Engage by Cell. That’s how quickly the process takes place.
As we get into this, Casey’s going to push out a few additional messages to you. But I want to make sure you’ve walked through this process, because this is going to highlight the way in which you can use text messaging in your own organization — to boost engagement, marketing, or whatever your goals may be. We think this is the simplest way to get the message out, right on the device you have with you all day.
I think we've given enough time for everyone to join. Let's go ahead and move on. Just be prepared for some additional messages that will come out throughout the webinar.
10:50 – Casey Loewenthal
You can also do this manually. The opt-in can be through a QR code, or you can open a new text message, put the phone number in, and add the keyword in the body. There are several ways to do this. Adding QR codes is very versatile — they can go on websites, business cards, brochures, social media, email signatures, or banners at conferences and job fairs. Think about where your organization already has a captive audience, and place QR codes there.
You can also upload subscriber lists into our platform — employees, donors, volunteers, or job seekers. That first automated response you got is customizable. Everything you see today is customizable to your organization.
I’ll send out a couple more examples. One might be a staff reminder about holidays, open enrollment for benefits, or even fun things like food trucks in the parking lot. For donor outreach, you could send reminders about upcoming events. The next one I’ll send is an MMS message, which can include images, GIFs, audio, video, or even a digital contact card.
Finally, I’ll include a link to our mobile site so you can explore more examples of what we offer. And if you’re interested, Gavin and I are always available to chat about how this could fit into your organization.
15:40 – Casey Loewenthal
Now that you’ve received a few messages, let’s talk about best practices for text outreach.
The goal with texting is to grow your list of subscribers. You want phone numbers, just like with an email campaign. But while email open rates are often 20–30% at best, text messages have a 90%+ engagement rate, typically within minutes. Think about your own phone — most people don’t have 50 unread texts, but many of us have dozens of unread emails.
If your organization needs to get information out, texting is the fastest, most reliable channel. It works for every age group. The messages are short, digestible, and can include links or phone numbers for follow-up.
Within our system, those links are trackable. For example, if you send a batch message to 100 employees about open enrollment, you can see who clicked the link and who didn’t. You can then create targeted sublists and follow up accordingly.
You can also personalize messages. If you have names attached to phone numbers, you can send, “Hi Gavin” or “Hi Patty,” making a mass message feel like one-to-one communication. Segmenting lists is also powerful — for example, invite only construction workers to a construction job fair, rather than sending it to everyone. This reduces opt-outs and increases engagement.
All of our messages include opt-out language automatically, keeping you compliant.
19:06 – Gavin Crisler
Perfect. So how do you get started? At Engage by Cell, the setup process is very simple. Most of what we’re discussing today revolves around text messaging, though we also provide additional products.
The first step is regulatory: carriers require proof that your organization is legitimate — EIN number, business details, etc. This process is called 10DLC registration (10-Digit Long Code). Once completed, you’ll be able to send and receive text messages.
At that point, you can either use a new number we provide — typically in your local area code — or text-enable an existing phone number your organization already uses.
From there, you’ll have a kickoff call with me, Casey, and our trainer Fred. We’ll discuss your goals, walk through the system, and host a hands-on training. We don’t just hand over an account — we make sure you’re comfortable using it effectively.
We also provide ongoing support. If you call us, you’ll reach a human being, not a bot. We can hop on Zoom calls, answer questions, and scale with your needs. You may start with texting, then later add our mobile web app, expand users, or increase messaging volume. We grow with you.
22:11 – Casey Loewenthal
I’m going to take a question real quick before we continue. Brianna asked: “Is there an option to send a career web link to customers via text?”
Yes. As long as it’s a standard URL, you can absolutely include it. Our platform also has a URL shortener that makes long links about 15–20 characters. This also tracks clicks, so you can see how many people engaged.
There are some nuances with texting special characters and emojis that affect character limits, but we can walk you through workarounds. Overall, linking to web content is very easy.
23:50 – Gavin Crisler
Thanks for answering that, Casey.
23:55 – Casey Loewenthal
Yep.
23:56 – Gavin Crisler
One of our newest features is the ability to text-enable a business phone number. That could be a landline, VoIP, or even a toll-free number. Traditionally, Engage by Cell accounts included a separate 10-digit number. Now, we can convert your existing, branded number into a texting line.
That’s important for two reasons. First, your clients or staff already recognize and trust that number. Second, you don’t have to manage multiple numbers — calls and texts can go through the same line.
It functions just like any other Engage by Cell number: fully HIPAA-compliant, PCI certified, carrier-approved, and capable of mass and one-to-one messaging.
We’ve also built features like a Chrome extension that gives desktop pop-up notifications for incoming texts, making it easy for staff to reply quickly without logging into the dashboard.
27:00 – Casey Loewenthal
Thanks, Gavin. Now, let’s open it up for questions. We can also follow up with a hands-on demo customized for your organization. Workforce development programs may want to see different features than HR departments, for example.
Yes, we will send out the slide deck and a recording of this session.
Has anyone on the call already tried texting their staff or clients? For those asking about compliance — yes, we are TX-RAMP certified. We’ve gone through that process, and we have a strong presence in Texas, working with many workforce boards and Goodwills.
As for enabling a business phone number, we have an 8–9 step process. We’ll need to know your current carrier, a copy of your phone bill to verify ownership, and the account PIN. Once we have that, it usually takes about two weeks to enable texting on your number.
29:18 – Gavin Crisler
Becky asked if direct numbers assigned by their phone system can be used for texting. In most cases, yes — but it depends on how the phone tree is set up. We’d need to look at the specifics before confirming. We can take that conversation offline and provide a clear answer.
29:49 – Casey Loewenthal
We also offer call forwarding. If you set up a number within our platform, each keyword can have a forwarding number. For example, if your staff uses personal phones, but you send a text from our system, any return call to that number can be forwarded to a support line or a designated staff member.
And to clarify: no, recipients don’t need an app. They receive messages as normal texts — this isn’t WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. On the staff side, inbound replies are managed through our Text Chat feature, which provides a conversation thread and keeps all communication centralized.
31:29 – Gavin Crisler
Sorry, I think Casey may be having some technical difficulties.
31:32 – Casey Loewenthal
Alright, can you all still hear me?
31:35 – Audience (chat noted)
Yes.
31:36 – Casey Loewenthal
Perfect. Just making sure.
31:38 – Gavin Crisler
Great.
31:40 – Casey Loewenthal
Alright, let’s wrap this up. Thank you again for joining us today. We’ll send out the recording and slides. If you’d like a customized demo, feel free to reach out directly — we’re happy to walk you through how this technology can fit your specific use case.
31:55 – Gavin Crisler
Absolutely. Thank you all for your time. We appreciate you being here.
32:00 – Casey Loewenthal
Thanks again, everyone. We really appreciate your time today. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions, want to schedule a deeper dive, or explore how Engage by Cell can work for your organization.
32:15 – Gavin Crisler
Yes, thank you all. Have a great rest of your day, and we look forward to connecting with you soon.
