Enterprise Tier 1 Short Code
Texting
Meeting the Communication Needs of
the New Generation of Help-Seekers
www.preventionpaystext.com
PreventionPays short codes strictly adhere to CTIA & FCC Communication
Guidelines
Proud Members and Supporters of AIRS
Texting on PreventionPays is Very Easy to
Implement and Staff Adapt in Hours
 All the sites you are hearing from in the case studies concur that
text is very easy for staff to do
 Increasing staff efficiencies by handling 3 or more text cases
concurrently is routine (compared to only one phone call in the
same amount of time)
 Sites are reporting that they are achieving increases in outcome
measures instantly
 Sites are reporting large increases in overall text cases with
remarkably high satisfaction. Feedback from end users is
remarkable.
United Way of Greater Houston
2-1-1 Texas/United Way HELPLINE
Case Study #1: “The Cold Case Files”
“We Started and 16 Hours Later the System
Was Producing Remarkable Data”
1. We thought that clients who had previously requested
financial resources would be a good population to work with
at tax time
2. We built a push text program to help them this year
3. We started very near Tax Due Date… March 2015
4. The work with EMS on Implementation was easy and
efficient
Pulled from Pool of Users Needing Past
Financial Help
 Consent process and buy-in from management
 Project sold itself
 New service delivery model; needed to move into technology of our
callers/consumers.
 This fit our overall goals very nicely
 Needed a new way to reach people
 Heard consistently from callers that they wanted to reach us via text
“PreventionPays Texting Platform is easy and
fun to use”
 We uploaded from our data base easily
 We tested system uses and traffic flow
 Financial literacy program launched afternoon of 4/2/2015, n=120
 Tax help added 350 more persons on 4/3/2015
 More tax help mobile numbers added on 4/7/2015, n=1,500
 We launched in Harris County N=9000
 Avg. calls/day = 3,500 x 1.7 referrals/caller = 5,950
 Amt of work performed with platform (with 1.25 persons) would
equal the same amount of work performed over 2 days of
calls/referrals with avg. of 32 persons/day
Data started to flow in…
 We carefully opened it up more
 It was easy to learn and refine as we went
 We got instant gratification and recorded measures of success\
 Texted total of 32 links (used www.bitly.com): 28 links were for
“single sites” and 4 were for multi-service sites
 75% of multi-service links received clicks; only 35% of single sites
received clicks
 Multi-service accounted for 90% of total.
 The platform integrated well into our system of service
Several Other Intended Uses Coming Up!
 This is a useful tool


Launched Houstonflood on May 29, 2015 while at AIRS conference
Providing real-time resources to persons who have consented verbally to
opt in or persons who have opted in on their own
 Low impact on team with terrific results instantly
 Our professional community “Loved it” (award)


Houston Money Week (financial literacy) – presented us with award for
Outstanding Partner for 2015
Increased our Houston Money Week referrals by 1,717% - total referrals
from 2009-2014 compared to what we pushed out in 2015 alone!
 We plan to launch live I&R soon!


Strongly considering a launch to deaf/hard of hearing community
Most vocal proponents right now of the need to text to us rather than
use a relay service.
Who to Contact
Sandra Ray, CIRS
Email: [email protected]
Manager, Training & Quality Assurance
United Way of Greater Houston
2-1-1 Texas/United Way HELPLINE
50 Waugh Drive
Houston, TX 77007
Direct: 713-685-2469
Case Study #2: United Way 211, Atlanta
“Live I&R in 48 Hours”
United Way 211 in Atlanta has been live
since early 2015 and they share their
process and experiences using
PreventionPays Text Platform
Website: http://www.unitedwayatlanta.org/get-help2-1-1/
Live Text in Under 48 Hours
 Soft launch in April received about 200 unique requests for help
 Able to control use rates simply by how we promote the service
 Soft launch used social media, Twitter and Facebook
 Starting in April 2015 added to our home page as an additional way
to get live help.
 Use rates more than tripled (from 200 in March to over 680 in April)
 Since April, use rates continue to climb steadily!
The Buzz
I&R Specialists
 Call Specialists prefer text over all other mediums, chat, email.
 All specialists are very comfortable using the Platform
 “Compared to chat and other services, using this system is “a lot
easier”
End Users/Clients

We have received a very positive response from the public
 People love the convenience of being able to text for live help.
Thank you for all of your help. I think this is a great thing which is providing
help for people in need. Thank you again!
Love this option (text). Thanks
This is so much better than being on hold.......great service
Very prompt and great service...would highly recommend!!!!
Outgoing Alerts
 Deployed “Operation Shoebox” in under 24 hours
 Provide information to low income families about food share
resources!
 The group messaging capacity is just as robust and easy to use as
the live help
 The platform integrates well into our system of service
The Verdict
Texting is very popular among our clients. They prefer to text over
chat, email or even calling us!
“While calling, chatting and emails are all declining, text use rates
just keep going up.”
We highly recommend this platform for all I&R related services and
populations! They have been extremely responsive to all our needs.
Stream 211 Atlanta’s Presentation by Marioly Botero:
https://youtu.be/KGNUaNvNZOE
Who to contact with questions?
Marioly Botero, CRS, CIRS
Database Manager | United Way 2-1-1
United Way of Greater Atlanta
[email protected]
Or
Don Zubler
Operations Director | 211
United Way of Greater Atlanta
[email protected]
T: 404.614.1017
Case Study #3: MissionUnited – Guiding
Veterans to Resources and Live Help
 The most common issue veterans face is not knowing
where to go for help and then when they find it having
too many options to choose from
 MissionUnited provides veterans in Central Florida a
single point of entry! Increased access to resources that
are verified as being the best options for their specific
need.
 Program combines two styles of texting, one-way push
for the group messages that follow the three primary
issues and then one-on-one conversational live help for
any questions related to the messages or if they just
need to speak with a live person.
Combining Two Styles of Texting: One-Way
Push and Two-Way Conversational I&R
 Capacity includes tailored group messages based on the
following categories: employment (job related
services), education, legal aide and important events
specifically for veterans!
 Two-way live help! Veterans are reminded they can
always text “vetanswer” to begin a conversation with an
I&R Specialist. The I&R queue will update and staff will
know it’s a veteran because of the keyword they texted.
Outcome Data
 Over 100 veterans have already opted in and receiving
texts (in less than one month, minimal marketing)
 Additional marketing efforts planned
 With big marketing plans, a majority of veterans in
Central Florida will be aware of the program over the
next year and 50% will have opted in.
 What’s next? Stay tuned!
What’s Next?
Text “MISSIONPLUS” to 898211 for updates
about this exciting new project!
By texting MISSIONPLUS you will get news/updates about the
progress of the project with links to data and opportunities
to share ideas and work towards building similar project in
your area!
What Questions Should We Have
Proceeding with Text Service?
Is this an Application to Person Platform (A2P) YES!
Is this Tier 1 capacity as supported by all US Mobile Carriers YES!
Is this certified by CTIA.org our US mobile regulatory agency YES!
Do we have fully automated opt-out End User Privacy as FCC
mandates YES!
 Can we audit all records YES!
 Do they have a history of being a collaborative and creative text
partner YES!




Building Your Local Text Networks!
 Comprehensive Text Service meeting your needs One-Way Push plus
Live Two-Way (Easy and efficient; tapping into populations not using
211, less than 2% convert to calls and 99% would not have contacted
us if not for text)
 Cut costs drastically (Contact Centers pay on average 80 cents per text
encounter/case, whereas, phone can cost as much as $20 per encounter)
 New lines of business, unlimited program potential!
 Open SMS Publishing “ DreamUnited”
 System of Care-Local Capacity Building
1. Give platform access to local partners with warm hand-offs
2. Become a text hub for local agencies
 Funding Opportunities
 Branding Strength “Zip Code to 898211” (google search)
 Join the sites and hundreds of programs using this text platform
Who to Contact
Larry Olness Sr. Vice President & Chief
Strategy Officer Community Services
Heart of Florida United Way | Dr. Nelson Ying
Center | 1940 Traylor Blvd. | Orlando, Fl
32804 P: (407) 849-2360 F: (407) 244-2802 E:
[email protected]
Texting Trends
 Americans under 55 now text more than they talk on the phone and email
 Over 70% of Americans prefer to text over phone for live help
 Over 98% of texts are opened in first 5 minutes
 Over 100 Million US households no longer own a landline
 80% of all web browsing in the US is happening on smart phones
 Contact Centers pay 80 cents per encounter whereas, a call can cost as much as $20 per
call.
 Individuals who grew up texting are now adults. And it’s this group that is seeking
human services and resources with the expectation that these services be accessible by
text.
 Studies on text behavior report that subjects prefer texting when dealing with
emotional issues, or asking for help. Many individuals find it easier to ask for help by
text.
Security Protocols
PreventionPays Text is a web-based service and supports https secure socket
layer (ssl)*. I&R Specialists log in with a username and password.
All data resides on dedicated servers to ensure availability, access, and security.
Absolutely no software or information (e.g. unique identifiers, or text message
content) is downloaded onto staff computers.
As such, PreventionPays Text is on dedicated co-lo servers owned and operated
wholly by Educational Message Services.
Web-Based Computing (where the secure environment is shared among other
nonprofits and like-minded agencies) also supports sharing capacity, like the
ability to transfer “sms traffic” between queues, e.g. a 2-1-1 is experiencing
downtime due to inclement weather. They temporarily route their I&R traffic to
a neighboring 2-1-1, outside the impact zone (as just one example).
End User Privacy
Short codes assure the opt-in/opt-out is fully automated.
All carriers test this functionality regularly.
“Automated Opt-in” means the end user has the right to request
communication by texting a keyword to a short code.
Example: “For help from a specialist, text your zip code to 898211”
They also have the right to opt out by texting STOP, CANCEL, QUIT,
UNSUBSCRIBE. Opt out requests will remove the number from the
“queue” and the mobile phone will be alerted they will not receive any
further messages from the short code. The site will have a complete
record of the encounter; they just won’t be able to continue texting
with the phone. End user can opt in again simply by re-texting the
keyword.
Message Routing
The opt in is also how the system assures routing.
When the end user texts the keyword to 898211 (in the case of 211 I&R the end
user’s 5 digit zip code) they will be routed to the proper site (the site
responsible for the zip code). If they text a keyword that isn’t
active/recognizable, they will get an auto-response asking for their zip code or if
they are texting from an unsupported zip code, they will be told they can call 21-1 for live help.
The system is calibrated to be symbiotic with phone support so that no one is
left unsupported.
Short code services are strictly governed by CTIA and FCC laws and guidelines.
It is because of these regulations that end user initiated texting is the only
strategy recommended and used by HHS, CDC, HRSA
Tier 1 assures access across all US Carriers and supports message tracking
Message Tracking
PreventionPays Platform supports an industry-leading “In-App Message Tracking
System” – a fully-automated system of alerts when messages are delivered to
the mobile phone!
Our unique message tracking system ensures every message is being
securely recorded and archived on dedicated servers. Every message
will update when it’s delivered to the mobile phone. In the background,
the system is being alerted by the mobile carriers with delivery
confirmation receipts.
When delivery is not possible we are also alerted. We receive a
different code depending on whether the delivery attempt can be
retried. We also employ auto-retry so you don’t have to repeatedly
send the same message if you get an “unable to deliver” alert. The
system will auto-retry every five minutes until delivered.
Short codes are the only numbers that support message tracking/ticketing.
Messaging Capacity
Live, one-on-one texting for live help (I&R)
Manage simultaneous, concurrent conversations spread across multiple responders
Reminders/auto-responses to keywords
Create reminders that will go out at specific dates/times or stagger them according to a
message track, at specified intervals
Triages (as seen in the demo)
Build and manage live questions and answers, fully automated.
Reminder Series
Create educational messages that begin when a client joins and stagger them over time,
weekly, biweekly or whatever intervals you desire.
Group Messages
Create ad-hoc groups based on preference, response to triage questions, information
obtained during a live encounter
Appointment Reminders
Create and manage appointment reminders by text!
More Info About I&R Texting and Tier 1
Enterprise Short Codes
You can read more about the crucial role of I&R Texting
here: http://www.preventionpaystext.com/news/2015/3/25/pew-internetsays-70-of-americans-prefer-text-over-calling
And here:
http://www.preventionpaystext.com/news/2014/7/8/demographics-arechanging-rapidly
You can read about Tier 1 Short Code Texting Here:
http://www.preventionpaystext.com/news/2015/1/6/the-skinny-on-shortcodes
And
here: http://www.preventionpaystext.com/news/2014/8/3/wq60dype5wag1m
po0dpxeui213iljm
Questions
Contact PreventionPays Text:
1252 Devon Ln
Ventura CA 93001
(805) 653-6000
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.preventionpaystext.com
PreventionPays Text was highlighted at the 2-1-1
General Assembly this year at AIRS in Dallas! Make sure
to check out the presentation now available on the AIRS
website!