Three Text Alert Programs, No Opt-outs

Programs in three states have deployed alert projects that focus messaging on very specific issues and/or segments of the population.  During last year's Super Storms, Wisconsin and Oregon created text alerts for shelters:  when they open, how many beds are available, and where to go for assistance in finding an emergency shelter when all standard shelters are overpopulated. Time-sensitive messages that help groups of individuals in precise ways have done tremendously well.  Both projects remain live and will ramp back up as we move towards a new season of storms that experts are already predicting will be bigger than last year.  While these programs occurred 2,000 miles apart in two different states, they share one extremely important statistic - not a person cancelled the messages. In mobile communication terminology, no one "opted out". 

This is great news for any agency looking to capitalize on the sms boom. 2-1-1s exploring partnerships with the state or other health agencies can provide assurances about reach as well as efficacy.  This data clearly demonstrates that group messaging can be just as meaningful to the end user as getting a live one-on-one message from a contact center specialist. We are seeing similar results with other issues. For instance, this past summer the state of Idaho launched a summer lunch program where individuals text a keyword to opt-in for the closest meal.  They are auto-queried for their zip code and then the system sends out the closest meals that are open and available for lunch (some resources offer breakfast and supper too!).  And after the first few months, this project has also enjoyed a zero percent opt-out rate! 

A Florida 2-1-1 is providing a tax assistance program that helps educate citizens about free tax help and how they can maximize their return and avoid falling victim to tax scams and advance return programs that unfairly target the poor.  Additionally, they have partnered with state universities and colleges to help educate high school juniors and seniors about the critical life-choice of "going2college". The program sends tailored content to subscribers that helps them meet application deadlines to their chosen institution as well as FAFSA, the two most critical pieces in the process.  Again, two programs that focus on very specific populations and provide alerts that are highly tailored to each group's unique needs.

Other 2-1-1s have implemented fire alerts within moments of a statewide disaster designation. A California 2-1-1 provides incoming college students with time-sensitive education about the issues of alcohol and campus violence. Texts with facts, tips and resources are sent on the weekends just as students are keying up for a big night of partying. 

These agencies have also shared their protocols with each other in an effort to improve response during disasters and create best practice. Text offers new ways to educate communities about services offered by 2-1-1 and make them lifelong advocates and users of your services. Getting tips about going2college can lead to tips about finding a job, which may lead to an I&R encounter on how to find local public transportation which leads to alerts about parenting and so on and so forth. 

At its core, 2-1-1 is about people helping people.  And 898211 is helping 2-1-1s open their door to a new generation of help-seekers.  At our core, we are about helping nonprofits increase their value to their communities by empowering and enriching the lives of individuals and their families. Text offers many exciting, new ways to make that possible.  

There are many new projects coming online over the next several months! We plan to share about them and the profound impact they will undoubtedly have on their communities.

Need an a text service you can count on? Contact us today!

Or text MYTEXT to 898211 and see how secure, enterprise texting is changing how health and human services engage the public!

New Features Help Alleviate Stress on Phones

We are doing some exciting things with text!
 
In addition to live I&R support and health education message tracks that help cultivate new community partnerships, we're helping agencies (providing live help to their community) tackle high contact issues with fully automated mobile triages that query end users for information on where they are texting from and then sends referrals based on those responses.  And these tasks are fully automated! The system keeps track of every encounter and this can be done with any number of issues.  We're also helping 2-1-1s convert calls that are on hold to live text traffic! And that text traffic can be presorted based on high frequency issues and with mobile triage, those instances will be recorded and archived so every encounter is counted and archived in your private database.

We're growing and we're adding capacity!

Very soon we will deploy new ad-hoc messaging tools that will enable service providers and health information innovators to create subgroups based on information gathered over time during live text encounters. So, your message tracks evolve with your priority population as their health needs evolve.  Our text platform empowers health services with the ability to move seamlessly between live one-on-one text encounters and sms education alerts. From texting with one to texting with many in one click!

Contact us for a demo!

Mobile Carriers Crack Down on Spam Texting

As texting grows in health and human services there is a greater level of scrutiny on the manner in which texting platforms function.  Our clients have always taken comfort in knowing we developed our system specifically for the work they do.  PreventionPays Text uses Enterprise Short Code Technology, the gold standard in the texing industry.  In fact, short codes obtained through Neustar are the only method of texting used by HHS, CDC, HRSA, mHealth Alliance, Healthcare.gov and many others because of the rigorous provisioning process they must go through in order to operate on each mobile carrier gateway. Short codes support automated optin/out and must comply with all FCC anti-spamming rules and regulations which are closely monitored by CTIA and the mobile carriers.  During the provisioning process, message tracking capacity is initiated.

PreventionPays Text will be highlighted at APHA 2014 and the National WIC Association Technology conferences in the fall as "best practice" for two-way conversational texting and outgoing, group messaging for education and improved health outcomes. In addition to supporting text line services for hotlines/helplines, PreventionPays Text is now widely used by WIC agencies, 2-1-1 Contact Centers, Medicare agencies as well as numerous state and regional health departments, universities and research institutions. 

Carriers Have Banned A2P (Application to Person) Use of Long Codes

The Mobile carriers (AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile) have banned Application to Person (A2P) use of Long Codes because the numbers are not provisioned to automate the opt-in/opt-out and are not registered with CTIA.org to provide services to people originating from applications.  Penalties range from carrier-wide blocking to severe fines, up to $1,000 per instance.  Additionally both the aggregator and the application providers (managing the A2P long code) may be named in a lawsuit.  Our aggregator mBlox (the largest sms aggregator in the world) does not offer long codes because "the risk is just too high. Financial institutions and health services recognize the risks and we want to make sure our focus is where those industries want to be... and that's short codes." (Mary D'Allesandro, Head of Account Management, mBlox)

“Long numbers for A2P messaging is not supported by the carriers and they go to great lengths to detect it and block it as spam. That’s why you see all of these special “rules” that application providers use to try and avoid being detected and having their number shut off or their bind cancelled. The risk is generally not worth it, which is why we (mBlox) have decided not to offer longcodes.”

— mBlox, Largest Aggregator, Worldwide

PreventionPays Text is the only service of its kind in the industry that is built according to HIPAA, CTIA and FCC security guidelines since 2006. New anti-spamming laws now regulate the SMS industry with severe penalties for operating outside the specified guidelines.

Short codes are the only numbers that automate the opt-in/opt-out and this is by design - they are provisioned to do so by the mobile carriers during setup. Before they can begin to send and receive messages they must first pass these tests completed by each carrier.

If you are unsure about the vendor or services you can ask the question, is you company registered with CTIA.org Compliance? If the answer is "no" then they are providing services using numbers that are out of compliance making them subject to the above mentioned penalties.

EMS is in frequent communication with the CTIA Compliance team to ensure our short codes are meeting mobile industry communication guidelines which include how the number functions as well as how the number is being presented on the Internet and in printed materials.

You can read about these guidelines by going here:  Common Short Code Best Practices

Key Facts:

• Mobile carriers have banned the use of long codes for Application to Person (A2P) texting
• Do not support fully automated opt-in/opt-out
• Long codes are not able to support handset delivery receipts (zero message tracking)
• Carrier-wide blocking that occurs at any time without warning
• Throughput restrictions (8 messages per minute) If a long code exceeds 8 per minute it will be blocked by carriers without warning.
• Unable to support end user privacy and are deemed non-compliant with FCC and CTIA
• Recycled numbers, origin unknown
• Operate Outside Industry Regulations

The FCC Anti-Spam Act states that it is the public's right to request texts and then cancel them at any time and this should occur in a fully-automated way.

Long codes are not provisioned to support end user privacy. If you text STOP to a long code, you won't get any message back.  In fact, you'll always wind up getting more spam messages than before because they now know there's a live person at the other end. And most often, the next time you're spammed, it will be from an entirely different long code. The companies that are leasing long codes are re-selling the phone numbers that interact with their long codes. The worst part is, it's entirely unbeknownst to their clients that are leasing the long codes and the owners of the mobile phones that interact with them.  So next time you get a text from your dentist and it's from a 10-digit number, DO NOT send a message back (unless you want to get spammed) and alert your dentist about long code spamming. He'll thank you for it.

It's also important to note that carrier blocking can occur on a long code before your program started using it. All digital numbers are recycled.  So, you have no way of knowing how it was used before you started using it.

We've all received unsolicited texts from numbers we don't recognize and they're always from 10 digit numbers. Spammers don't use short codes (5 or 6 digit numbers) because they are provisioned and operate in a regulated industry that protects end user privacy. These rules and end user privacy make short code texting a secure, safe and enduring environment.  

The entities that govern short code texting are: Mobile Carriers, CTIA, Common Short Code Administration

HHS provides texting recommendations to public health agencies. Every example they reference uses Short Code technology SEE: http://www.hhs.gov/open/initiatives/mhealth/recommendations.html
Also check out King County Public Health at:  http://www.nwcphp.org/docs/sms-toolkit/overview/glossary.htm
King County Public Health has published several papers on texting in public health. And they make recommendations about how to build a program.  None of their literature mentions using long codes. It's always about short codes because they're secure and protect end user privacy. 

Big News! PreventionPays Text will be highlighted at AIRS 2015 during the 2-1-1 General Assembly! Whether you're a 2-1-1 or other I&R, there will be something for everyone! 

PreventionPays Text Strictly Adheres to FCC and CTIA Anti-Spamming Rules and Regulations

New Features Make Case Management Simple

In addition to Enterprise two-way texting with community alerts/education, we're now supporting integrated case management tools that allow staff to send ongoing messages and engage specific individuals/groups according to types of service or type of responder. For example, once a crisis is deescalated, re-assign the case to another staff who manages followup communication. Move completed cases to aftercare, a separate queue with a separate dashboard. And with our Live Data Markers, track followups using status updates (how are you feeling today? Did you connect with your therapist? Were you able to refill your meds?) so that over time, you can demonstrate the effectiveness of your work using longitudinal, fluctuating data. 

Set automated messages to query individuals after the encounter ends. Schedule messages one week, two weeks apart that stimulate ongoing dialogue.  Learn how clients are doing over time without requiring any staff involvement. All messages will be visible and archived with each case. Services that demonstrate behavioral changes over time shed new light on mental health and greatly increase your funding potential.

In our next issue of the user guide we will cover the utilization of these new features! Or if you have questions, contact us at support@preventionpaystext.com

End user privacy is always protected with automated opt-in/opt-out!  New FCC laws make automating the opt-in/out a requirement.

Over 89 Million U.S. Land Lines Replaced by VOIP, and Mobile Phones but Do They Offer the Same Service?

As more and more "land lines" are converted to VOIP or canceled (replaced by the mobile phone) people will lose capacity (the ability to communicate with numbers that are not VOIP or mobile enabled) and not realize it until after the fact or worse never realize it at all. And in the race for real estate and customers, cutting land lines has become a marketing ploy for mobile carriers as a way to justify spending more for service packages (TV, phone, internet)  like U-Verse and Verizon's FIOS, and of course Skype, Google Voice and others. These companies are under no obligation to notify customers of changes in capacity.  According to Pew Research, "89 million US households no longer own a land line."  When we look at expanding 2-1-1's communication capacity, VOIP based services are not helping matters.

Text can help mitigate the damage caused by unscrupulous products that care far too much about winning customers and not nearly enough about maintaining a consistent level of service.

Americans are also making fewer and fewer voice calls.  According to Pew Research, "Americans under 55 now text more than they make voice calls and email."

We recently conducted a webinar on the crucial role and future of texting and 2-1-1.  See:  Enterprise Short Code Texting Webinar Slides

For contact centers that are seeing their call volumes decline (even more so from land lines), text is helping offset the negative impact VOIP products have had on the industry. Text offers a much more economical way to provide live help and is now the preferred channel by the next generation of end users (in a recent poll 98.7% of WIC eligible moms prefer texting over all other channels, voice, email).  Your clients want to text your agency for help. In fact, everyday folks who come across our services on the Internet try to text from zip codes (that haven't been activated). They are alerted that 898211 is not yet available for their region and they should make a voice call to 2-1-1.

When folks text their zip code to 898211 good things happen.

We have a solution!
898211 is fully provisioned as a Tier 1 Enterprise Short Code for bi-directional text across all mobile carriers in North America. The majority of Americans own mobile phones. However, not all mobile phones can call 2-1-1. As mentioned in a discussion on the AIRS Networker, VOIP products are not required to provide home phone services with access to 2-1-1.  Expanding 2-1-1's reach to all Americans has always been the core mission of United Way and its partners and 898211 helps accomplish this by expanding capacity and filling the gaps.

Increase reach and augment phone support with Enterprise Short Code Texting!

For a new generation of help-seekers, text is their primary choice.  In an increasingly complex world of communication, 898211 offers a simple, easily-integrated text platform so your contact center is prepared for this next generation of help-seekers. 

Key Facts about 898211

All mobile phones in the US can text 898211 (Try it!  Text MYTEXT to 898211 You will receive a text back letting you know about the service! And if you request followup, we will do so).

898211 is provisioned as a Tier 1 Enterprise short code to support text communication for I&R (live, conversational support) and health/community alerts
 

898211 is registered as a 2-1-1 service with cell phone carriers, and is bound by CTIA, FCC and carrier guidelines to always function according to two categories of service: 
1. Two-way I&R (live help from contact center specialists)
2.  One-Way Health and Safety Alerts, Regional Disaster Alerts (pre/post) Community-Based Programs

898211 takes a big step toward expanded access by supporting 2-1-1's aim to reach more Americans with information and referrals!