Mass Notification System for Colleges: Phone Broadcasting Services

There has been a dramatic uptick in the use of our phone broadcasting services by colleges and universities.  Why?  Because it’s the easiest, fastest and most cost efficient mass notification system available to get information to prospective students, registered students, and alumni.  Phone broadcasting, also known as voice broadcasting, or automated calling, can get a recorded voice message to hundreds, even thousands, of people at once.

Colleges are also finding that student and alumni response to phone broadcasted messages is much higher.  Apparently, listening to a college administrator’s voice reminding students about tuition and registration deadlines conveys a sense of urgency that an email can’t deliver.

The same is holding true when it comes to alumni announcements.   Graduates are thrilled to hear voices they recognize — maybe a head coach in athletics, or a favorite dean of students, or even fellow classmates — reminding them about upcoming events or programs of interest.  That’s the beauty of the system and technology.

An Integral Part of Mass Notification

Simply, phone broadcasting is an integral part of any mass notification system and sends a prerecorded message to a large group of people by phone.  You can now send messages to any college segment and know what your message is targeting and reaching the right people.

You might think that texting would be preferred.  However, recent studies have shown that up to 5-10% of all text messages are either delayed or never reach their destination.  The texting infrastructure is great for one-to-one text messages but was never intended to handle a mass influx (several hundred or thousand) of texts hitting the system all at once.  Cell carriers always give priority to voice communications over their bandwidth.  That’s why in emergency situations, colleges are pursuing ways to overlap notification services with redundant back-up messages.  For example, in a college lock down situation, a recorded voice message broadcast over the phone could come first, followed up with text, email and then even announcements over the public-address system.

How do you go about setting up a phone broadcasting program for your school?  It’s easy and there are no set-up costs.  Just give us a call at 888-387-8636 and we can get you up and running in no time.  Monarch Broadcast is your one stop shop for all of your mass notification system needs.

How to Get your College Started with Phone Broadcasting

Getting started with phone broadcasting is easy. By following a few simple steps, you will be on your way in no time. 

Your most valued resource for this project is your database of phone numbers.  You can segment your lists anyway you want.  Need to send an announcement to your alumni in Florida?  Looking to let the students on campus know the big game schedule?  Maybe let parents know about Parent’s Weekend?  Once you isolate your audience, you can format your phone list (we can help) and you just email it to us.

Next, prepare your script and practice it.  You don’t want to be long winded — just get right to the point.  You can record your message right over the phone.  Your message will then be sent to everyone on your list in just minutes.  We can play your message to people who answer their phones, and/or leave the message on their voicemails.

As a mass communications tool, you’ll find phone broadcasting for college purposes is an ideal way to get news and information out to those who need it quickly.  It’s convenient, inexpensive, and you can’t beat the personal touch by communicating with a human voice.

You are welcomed to visit our college service page here for more information.

Phone Broadcasting Advantages:  Personal, Fast and Effective

We serve dozens of college and universities who use our system to contact thousands of students, fans and alumni about upcoming events and programs.  We also do mass texting but from what our clients tell us, the most effective way to get notices out is with phone broadcasting.  Phone broadcasting involves sending pre-recorded voice messages out to everyone who will either listen to the message live or later on voicemail.  The process is cost effective, straightforward and you’ll be able to broadcast out thousands of notices, almost instantly.

Yes, many colleges have students make live outbound calls as part of their work-study program.  That’s an ideal solution, especially for fundraising calls.  But capacity can be limited, and the content of the call can be restrictive.  Students can only make so many calls per hour.  However, with phone broadcasting, you can deliver thousands of calls in a few minutes.  Moreover, let’s say you want everyone to hear from the college president — in his or her own voice — about an upcoming and important event.  The only way everyone will hear the president is if he or she records an announcement and you broadcast that to everyone at the same time.

And that’s exactly what we can do to help you.  You can record your messages right over the phone if you want, and the rest is done online so you don’t need any special hardware or software.  We can launch your jobs for you, or you can do it yourself with our easy-to-use interface.  Either way, you can reach everyone in just minutes.

Getting Started and Compiling Your Phone Lists

The best way to get started is to give us a call at 888-387-8636 and set up an account for free.  If you prefer managing your own account, we’ll show you how to do it and you can buy minutes to put into your account.  You can access the system at any time.  We’ll provide you with a username and password, enabling you to log in whenever you want to launch a broadcasting campaign.

The primary advantage to having web access is that you’ll be able to send a project any time you want, from anywhere you want.  It is important to note that, for security purposes, you may be required to get a college or university compliance officer’s approval prior to the campaign being released.

If you want our full-service option, we’ll do all the work, and just charge your credit card after your jobs go out.

Next, begin compiling your phone list.  List area codes and phone numbers in one column (Excel spreadsheet works fine) and then decide what you want to say.  Write and practice your script.  After these two steps are complete, let us know you’re ready for the message to be delivered and within minutes it will be done.  Your pre-recorded notices/messages can be accepted by live pickups or left on answering machines, ensuring that all your bases are covered. This allows you to maximize your outreach.

Perfect for Reminders for Payment and Registration Deadlines

Our college clients use the service for many applications — mostly notably for reminder calls regarding payment and registration deadlines.  But it is also popular for alerting alumni to special events and functions.  The uses are unlimited — everything from urgent emergency calls such as storm closings, to athletic program news, to informing parents about Parent’s Weekend.  Anything and everything that a college population needs to know can be the subject of a phone or text broadcast.

Getting “Best in Class” Service

As one of the nation’s leading messaging services and we are proud to be the vendor of choice for dozens of colleges and universities across the United States who distribute hundreds and thousands of recorded phone messages/texts to students and alumni.  Just give us a call today at 888-387-8636 we’ll explain how the system can get important notifications to students and alumni in minutes.

We think you’ll be impressed, not only with how inexpensive it is to reach your students (just pennies a message) but at how convenient and easy it is.  What used to take hours or days, can now take less than 10 minutes.  In summary, this is what we can do for you:

— We can provide you full service and do all the work for you.  Or you can opt for self-service and launch all of your own jobs on our easy-to-use online interface.

— You can record your messages on the phone or create your own .wav file and upload it yourself.

— There is no extra charge for data and list management.

— We can work with multiple users on your campus since every department or division will have its own needs.

— Our customer service has been acclaimed for its superior and personal assistance — you’ll come to appreciate it during an era when good customer service is hard to find.

— Our online system is robust and can process thousands of calls in just a few minutes. If you need to get a message out quickly, there is no better way to do it.

— We have a pay-as-you-go pricing model.  This means you’ll save money because you only pay for the services you use when you use it.  There is no set-up fee, no equipment to purchase, no special software to buy and no monthly or annual minimums you must worry about.  If you don’t use the service, there is no charge.

You can get more information about our college notification services here.