Whether you run a semi-professional rugby squad, an amateur cricket club or an under-11s swim team, you’ll appreciate that effective communication is an essential part of your job. As well as training, motivating and prepping your team for upcoming games or competitions, you have the challenging task of keeping everyone involved with the team informed about everything they need to know.
Communicating with your sports team can be time-consuming and tedious, especially if you’re sending out individual messages from your personal phone. The process can be hugely simplified by using an SMS provider. Read on to learn why.
Alongside team text messaging, a sports text alert can keep the club community informed of all the latest events. When the fan community receive text messages from your club, these will come with instant notifications on their mobile devices. This is just one of the many reasons why text messaging is superior to other marketing channels. Unlike email, you can quickly grab the attention of recipients with text alerts and communicate timely information.
The benefits of texts for sports teams and coaches
Text messages are fast and reliable – they’re sent and received over a cellular network, meaning they can be transmitted even in the most remote of places, providing there’s a phone signal. However, the benefits of SMS really come into play when you use an SMS provider (like Messente), as you’ll be able to:
Send bulk texts – to hundreds or even thousands of contacts simultaneously.
Easily create groups of contacts – making your life simpler when texting team members, parents, venue organisers, coach drivers, or the administration team.
Choose a specific Sender ID – this can be a phone number, a shortcode or even the name of your sports team.
Create a range of text campaigns – e.g. fundraising, marketing and reminders – and you can schedule them to send at a later date/time if needed.
Set up message templates – to save you time when creating future campaigns.
Carry out analytics – to see which texts have been delivered and which haven’t (this can help you identify incorrect numbers).
Manage texts in an online dashboard – really handy when you need to keep your sports team communications separate from your personal texts.
Better all-round communication – all of the above will help you deliver stronger communication – and that’s one of the top three characteristics of a phenomenal coach.
If you want to reach team members at your club with speed, you need a short message service in your corner. A robust text messaging service will enable you to send photos and videos to communicate important updates.
Fortunately, when you are sending messages to a phone number, there is no spam folder. You do not have to worry about your text messages landing in a spam folder as you share information.
How sports team text messaging can be used
From sending out training session reminders to asking for fees, there are many ways to use text to disseminate or request information associated with your sports team. For instance, SMS could be used for:
1. Confirming game schedules
Keep all team members informed about when and where they need to be for upcoming games or matches by sending out a mass text with a link to the programme. A simple message can get everyone on the same page and bring your team together.
Example:
Hi Rovers! The details of this season’s home and away matches are now confirmed. Here’s the full programme – please note the dates/locations. [URL]
2. Sending out reminders
Likewise, texts are ideal for sending out a range of reminders – for practice sessions, a KIT checklist, coach pick-up times, and more. Using merge tags, you can pull specific content from your contact list to personalise your text, making certain types of reminders easier to create and send. Text messaging can ensure team members are instantly notified of these reminders through notifications on their mobile phones.
Examples:
Dear [parent], a friendly reminder that [child group 7] needs to be at Swim Sharks at 9am this Saturday for an additional practice session.
Hi [team A], a reminder that the coach will collect you from Rovers Football Club on 10/09/21 at 6pm.
Hi [team B], a reminder that the coach will collect you from Rovers Football Club on 11/09/21 at 4pm.
3. Communicating last-minute changes
Because texts are delivered almost instantly, they are the best form of communication for sending out urgent information, like game cancellations or a change of location, date or time. With text messaging, you do not have to worry about an important message landing in a spam folder.
Examples:
Urgent! Today’s game has been cancelled. The pitch has flooded due to the wet weather. Stand by for a new date.
Hi [name], please note that our practice session at 11.30am will now be held on the village green, not the grass pitch next to the sports hall.
4. Asking for payment
You need to collect fees and subs on time to ensure you can run your club smoothly – but chasing members for payment and accepting cheques or envelopes of cash is cumbersome. Streamline this process by setting up an online payment portal and sending out a text request with a payment link.
Example:
Hi Rovers, this season’s fees are now due. Please pay €75 by Friday. Online payment only please – here’s the link: [URL]
5. Requesting for volunteers
Sending out a mass text is a fast way to secure extra helping hands for a game or training session. If you have two-way texting set up, you can easily collect responses too.
Example:
Hi [parents], we need five volunteers to support our gymnasts at the regional competition on 25/09/21. Please reply Y/N if you can help that day.
6. Sharing congratulatory messages
Boost team morale and motivate players who have performed well by sending congratulatory messages after a great session.
Example:
Rovers are VICTORIOUS! Well done to everyone who played today – and a special shout out to the man of the match, Luis, for his incredible hat-trick!
How to use Messente for sending text messages
You can send all of the above messages (and more) with Messente, either through our online dashboard or by integrating our SMS API into your app. Follow these steps:
1. Sign up for an account (free).
2. If integrating Messente, locate your API keys and copy them into your app.
3. Apply for a Sender ID – this can be a mobile number, a shortcode or your sports team name.
4. If you’re using our API, follow our Quickstart guide to install Messente and send your first message.
5. Otherwise, create texts to send or schedule in our simple online dashboard (see example below).
Before sending texts, you’ll need to upload your contact list to Messente (making sure you have permission from individuals first). Once you’ve done that, you can segment your contacts into different groups using our Phonebook API – you can even place the same person in multiple groups if needed.
Utilising text for sports team communication
Using texts to keep in touch with everyone involved with your sports team could strengthen your communication efforts and streamline specific admin processes.
Are you exploring the full potential of text messaging for your sports team? When you have the right text messaging solution in your corner, communicating with your sports team is a walk in the park.
With Messente, you can quickly create a wide range of text campaigns and manage them from our dashboard or your application. Features like message preview, scheduling, analytics, campaign history, and group creation will help you communicate with your sports team more effectively.
See how Messente's SMS API works here. Then sign up for your free account to start using text for your sports team today.
