How an emergency communications company drives app downloads using texts

What would we do without the silence settings on our phones? Countless naps would be needlessly interrupted, movies would be ruined, and endless notifications would distract us from work. However, there is one situation in which the silent or Do Not Disturb mode can be dangerous—during an actual emergency.

Our phones can be a useful tool for receiving urgent information, but not if they’re on silent. In-telligent’s patented technology allows enterprise and government organizations to bypass the silent settings on mobile devices in the case of emergencies.

Businesses, municipalities, special interest groups, and other organizations use In-telligent to get important and life-saving messages to the people who connect with them on the platform.

For example:

• Schools rely on In-telligent to inform parents if there is a lockdown at their child’s school.
• Building managers use it to alert tenants if there is a life-threatening situation, such as an active shooter in the lobby.
• Police departments are able to send time-sensitive alerts to their area schools and residents.

The use cases are numerous, but the purpose of the platform is singular: make sure people see urgent information as soon as possible.

When time is of the essence, In-telligent is the only solution that forces recipients to take notice and read the message the moment it is received with an audible alert. But in order for the system to work, mobile devices must have the In-telligent app downloaded and an account created. Without the app, the phone won’t make a sound.

How does In-telligent ensure users download the app? By sending download links via text message.

Prior to using SMS, the team at In-telligent verbally communicated to clients and their partners how to find the app on the Google Play and Apple Store, explained how to download on printed materials, or shared download links through email or social media.

“You can’t effectively share links in printed materials, and many people aren’t familiar with how to find and download apps manually,” explains Ember Ferrantino, Marketing Manager at In-telligent. “Also, many people don’t read emails or would miss posts we put out on social containing a download link. Our methods just weren’t as effective as they could be.”

Now Ember and her team rely on keywords and short codes.

“Nearly everyone knows how to text in a keyword, so we can very easily get our download links into the hands of people who need it,” she says.

SimpleTexting offers unlimited keywords, which means In-telligent can create a keyword for each of their clients. Here’s how it works: An organization partners with In-telligent and they receive a custom keyword that their users can text to a short code.

When someone texts in the appropriate keyword, they receive a direct download link to the In-telligent app. This cuts down on user errors dramatically. No more relying on emails or social media. No more misspelled searches in the App or Play Store.

With the app downloaded and an account created, all users need to do is search for the group they want to receive information from, hit Connect, and done! They’re all set up!

Now the organization can send out emergency alerts and be confident that the intended recipient is actually receiving them.

In many cases, a 100% download rate is essential. To help make this a reality, the In-telligent team schedules autoresponders to text out a reminder message a few hours after sending their initial download link.

By adding a keyword and short code, marketing methods that proved to be less effective before, such as word of mouth and printed materials, are now driving a lot more downloads for each of their clients.

Thanks to In-telligent’s unique platform, people around the world are safer and better equipped to handle emergencies. And thanks to SimpleTexting, their users are able to easily find and download the app.

Ready to use SMS to help users sign up for your service? Get started with a free trial to see how simple it is to send text campaigns.