Today’s launch of Twitter Alerts in the UK and its adoption by emergency services and government organisations, from the Environment Agency to the Metropolitan Police shows that in times of crisis, text messaging is still the most effective, efficient and ubiquitous communication tool available. Even with the rise of new technologies like OTT messaging services and social media, every mobile phone (smart or feature) is capable of receiving an SMS via the operator or cell broadcast. Quite simply, this means it is better placed to reach more individuals than other methods including IP or internet based applications.
Acision’s global research shows that 96% UK smartphone users still use SMS as part of their messaging habits, co-existing with OTT and IP based applications. This popularity alongside, SMS’ ubiquitous nature, unrivalled reach, speed and ease of use across all mobile devices and operating systems would have been part of the deciding factor in Twitter’s decision to use this platform. It also would have played a major role in convincing some of the UK’s most vital emergency services such as the Metropolitan Police and the Environment Agency to be part of the rollout of the service at launch.
The familiarity and trust that users associate with SMS ( It enjoys an ‘open rate’ of over 97% within 3 minutes of being received), alongside its ability to reach every phone in the country makes it not only an ideal platform to be used in both emergencies but also by organisations across a range of sectors as a marketing tool. SMS has the ability to reach a large yet targeted audience – something that will only increase as the integration of SMS by large organisations like Twitter continues.
In the same way that the government plans to use SMS notifications to alert citizens of a potential emergency, organisations, large and small, from hairdressers to charities can use and SMS notification services to alert customers to everything from appointment times to campaign drives. While a multi-channel approach will always be best to reach people across diverse lines of communication tools, including IP and internet services, SMS is proven to be the most appropriate and reliable channel for such an emergency service as the only guaranteed route that provides reach to over 6 billion mobile users around the world in today’s hyper-connected world.